Jamie A. Thomas
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#languagestory blog

Video & perspectives on communication, intercultural learning & the impact of anthropological research.

25% of Spanish Originates with Other Languages: What Are They?

1/11/2022

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by Diego Guillermo Diaz
"In this blog post, I describe how languages like Basque, Nahuatl, Quechua, Guarani, and Fang have contributed to the development and expansion of Spanish(es)."
Do you speak Spanish? ¿Tu hablas español?
Speak in a “Neutral” Accent, Please!

With more than 543 million speakers in so many places, it’s no surprise that there’s more than one way to speak Spanish. My sister and I grew up in Los Angeles with parents who taught us Spanish words such as ¡che! (hey!), morfi (food), remera (t-shirt), quilombo (mess), and piba/e (girl, boy). Truly, Spanish has always been a part of my life but it took me till about the age of 11 or so to realize that I don’t just speak Spanish, I speak Argentinian Spanish. 
The word
Learning to speak Spanish this way has kept me in touch with friends and extended family in Buenos Aires. Middle school was where I took my very first Spanish language class.

​
One day, it was my turn to read aloud from the textbook. Afterward, my teacher came to me and asked that I use a “neutral” accent when reading, since some of the students weren’t familiar with the “different accents in Spanish.”

It was the first time anyone told me my Spanish was different. I couldn’t understand why I had to change the way I spoke.

​​Ever since then, that interaction inspired me to pay closer attention to all things language-related. I have become motivated to learn new languages and explore linguistic diversity. 

Map of the principle Indigenous languages of Latin America.
For the better part of the last 15 years, I’ve dabbled in a number of languages, and listened to and watched hours of language-related podcasts and YouTube videos. More recently, I even completed an introductory linguistics course at my local community college (with Prof. Thomas) – I just can’t get enough of languages!

​And it has amazed me to learn that, while Spanish’s historical link to Latin is well noted, its ongoing relationship with numerous Indigenous languages on different continents remains under-appreciated.


An official language in at least 21 countries, Spanish has developed numerous, unique varieties (dialects) across several parts of the globe. This wide diversity results from Spanish’s historical and ongoing contact with many other languages.
  • So, if words of Latin origin only make up about 75% of all Spanish vocabulary, where do the rest of the words come from? 
  • And what are some of the languages that have influenced Spanish? 

In honor of Hispanic Heritage Month and Native American Heritage Month, as well as Indigenous Peoples’ Day–and basically our collective survival of Pandemic Year 2021–I want to take you on a journey through a few of the languages that have, and continue to, transform Spanish. In this blog post, I describe how languages like Basque, Nahuatl, Quechua, Guaraní, and Fang have contributed to the development and expansion of Spanish(es).


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The Bronx Spoke and I Talked Back

2/9/2016

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By Jamie A. Thomas
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Closing Social Distance on the Street

When I stepped onto the street, all around me I heard sounds. Car horns, cell phone conversations. Clothing outlets and grocery stores lined the avenue, some with doors ajar, and folks were selling things in the open air, too. Everyone else was making their way home as though at the end of a long work day, their footsteps ladened with backpacks, boxes, and other packages they were carrying onwards. My first time in the Bronx, and it could've been a scene from a vibrant street in one of Mexico City's several colonias. I was awestruck by the lively rhythm of this community. Words in Spanish and Vietnamese renewed old Jewish storefronts, where Stars of David still crest brick and mortar facades.

On my way to the nearest subway station, a colorful man standing on the corner approached me, advertising for a local business over a megaphone. He was doing his energetic best to get me to support a nearby salon. As I kept walking, I responded to let him know he had been heard, but that I wasn't interested. Why not? I told him I wouldn't be around long enough, that I wasn't a New York local. Where you from? Philly, and I was on the move, I said smiling, having used a phrase my mom often returned to.

But an interesting thing happened as I was talking to this guy.

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Insults Hurled on a Philadelphia Train.

12/22/2015

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by Jamie A. Thomas

Standing Room Only.

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"That's why I'm voting for Trump, send all ya'll motherf***ers back on the banana boat."
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By the time the train finally arrived, the platform was already crowded because of delays on the Market-Frankford line. We all piled onto a train just as packed. I quickly checked my phone. It was 12:40pm, standing room only. I had to reach over someone's head with my left hand to grab hold of the nearest handrail, and steady myself before the train took off again.

As the doors to the SEPTA train closed, I found myself face-to-face with another passenger, and was quickly reminded of my many times riding insanely packed subway lines underneath the vast expanse of Mexico City years ago. Millions of people circulate through the Distrito Federal everyday, and at the time, I became one of them, living in Mexico's largest urban center for more than a year during my fieldwork. The city's peak-time trains and buses were always a miasma of bodies, with more passengers than I could ever count, more stories than I could ever hope to know. But during each ride, I'd find myself face-to-face with someone new, avoiding their gaze while monitoring my personal space. I wondered where they were going, or what they did for a living, what part of the country their extended family was from. Sometimes we might share the occasional word or two, a brief exchange of greetings or "Pase", "¿Quiéres sentar?", "Gracias."

So when I got on the Philly subway earlier today, after passing by the ticket booth with my $2.25 in exact change, it all somehow felt familiar. And even though I could see the nearest oncoming train car was totally full, the thought never occurred to me that I should pass up the train for an emptier, more breathable ride. I waded through the train's crowded entryway, as did two or three or four others behind me, and then the doors unceremoniously closed.

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    Main Author

    Jamie A. Thomas is a linguistic anthropologist and digital media producer. Her forthcoming book Zombies Speak Swahili is all about the undead, videogames, and viral Black language. She teaches at Santa Monica College.

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