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Anybody speak Mexican?


Alpo

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Because he died just recently, I was thinking of Manolito Montoya - Henry Darrow.

 

When High Chapperal was on, back in the sixties, I just accepted into his name, like John's name was John and Victoria's name was Victoria.

 

But I wonder. With the "lito" ending, which means little or small, it seems like it would be a nickname. Like Bobby for Robert.

 

So I decided that it was probably "little Manuel". And then I got to thinking some more and wondered if it might be "little brother".

 

Just as many people shorten brother to bro', I have seen the California Mexicans shorten hermano to 'mano.

 

Don't know whether Mexican Mexicans do that or not though.

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Why is there a subgroup of "California Mexicans"?  I've never heard of "Nevada Mexicans" or "Arizona Mexicans" or "Manitoba Mexicans"; why does California get to be special?

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10 minutes ago, Joeronimo Caffiend said:

Why is there a subgroup of "California Mexicans"?  I've never heard of "Nevada Mexicans" or "Arizona Mexicans" or "Manitoba Mexicans"; why does California get to be special?

 

Is that a rhetorical question?:P

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In Spanish, Manolito means “God is with us”.

Also, “Mano” means hand. “Lito” means little, so Manolito means “little hand”. The next time you watch the show watch his hands. One is much smaller than the other.
 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

PS: Everything after the word “also” is complete BS. 

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I too heard it as "Manolito" -- little hand -- but I also accepted it as his name with no other significance, at least until I took Spanish, at which time I figured a little knowledge was a dangerous thing and I knew just enough to get in trouble.

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I had never heard Manolo as a name by itself. It seems like occasionally I heard it on the show, but I presumed it to be another nickname. I just went and researched it.

 

First, it is a variation of Manuel, so I was right with that. Sorta. Both Manuel and Manolo come from the Greek Emmanouēl, which is derived from the Hebrew 'immānūēl (God is with us). In the Bible, Emmanuel is the name of the promised Messiah.

 

So it appears he was little Manolo, not little brother.

 

I have no idea of what the ages of the characters were, but I just looked up the actors. Don Sebastian Montoya was 19 when Manolito was born. Victoria was born a year later. So actually Mano was the big brother. :P

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Keep in mind that until very recently, most Spanish taught in schools was based on Andalusian or Castilian grammar and not Central or South America. While it is all considered Spanish there are a plethora differences some subtle and some not so subtle.

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Only Spanish I speak is Taco Burrito chimichanga & Corona en gracias :D

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Your Spanish lesson for today is,

 

El control remoto de su televisor tiene un botón de "apagado". Tu mundo se expandirá inmensamente si lo usas.

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15 hours ago, Alpo said:

Asking weird-ass questions in the Saloon(ACS) is my hobby.

Keep it up Alpo, it’s entertaining and there’s worse hobbies you could have!;)

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Manolito’s (the tv character) real name was “Manuel,” a common “Hispanic” name.  The “dimutive” Of Manuel is “Manolito”.  Little brothers (or sisters) or others in their families often are called by some various diminutive of their first name, jusT like “Robert” or “Jessica” could be referred to as “Bobby” or “Jesse”.  Etc., etc., etc.  “Mano” is a shortening of “Manuel”. The suffix, “lito” added to the shortened “Mano,” gives us the family-famiar nick-name, “Manolito”.   Yes, Meskin Spanish, especially on the border, such as El Paso, is different, but not so’s it cannot be understood.  El Paso/Juarez/US Military is one very large sociop-economic area.  The Spanish spoken there has its quirks and variations and is what I call “El Paso border Meskin.”   Comprende?

 

       Cat Brules

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Yellowhouse Sam said it rightly!
An Air Force sergeant illustrated it well in class.
He was presenting on do's, don'ts, etiquette and things-to-avoid for airmen newly assigned to a base in Spain.
He asked for a show of hands:  "Who here speaks Spanish?"
One fellow with a ready grin and dark eyes raised his hand.
The Sergeant whipped off a brisk sentence and the hand-raiser said, "Huh?"
"You speak Mexican," the Sergeant explained.  "I spoke SPANISH. It's different from Puerto Rican, Mexican or Cuban.  Now if you're driving and the police pull you over, here's what you do ..."

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While we are on the subject of speaking Mexican, does anyone know what Mexicans use to pick up the side of the car so they can change the flat tire?

 

The reason I ask is because I discovered when I was in Puertorico that they do not use a jack. They use a cat. Whether it is a standard bumper jack, or a hydraulic jack, or one of them high lift farm jacks, it is called a gato.

 

And I've wondered ever since what Mexicans used, and what Cubans used, and what Guatemalans used, and what Argentines used etc etc etc.

 

I was at a diner in Little Habana, in Miami. I was amusing myself by trying to remember my 4th grade Spanish and translating the menu on the wall. Huevos Fritos, for example, was fried eggs.

 

They had a tuna sandwich listed. In Mexican, tuna is the fruit of the prickly pear cactus. So I ordered one. Curious as to what this pear tasted like.

 

They brought me tuna fish. Because the menu was not written in Mexican. The menu was written in Cuban. That's when I learned that Spanish is not Spanish.

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One of my spanish teachers in high school had worked for years in the US embassy in spain.  We were in Texas.  She was forever complaining about how we were speaking "very mexican".  One day I asked her if she'd taken a look at a map recently.  What we need to learn to get along around here is mexican spanish not spanish spanish.  She apparently agreed because she made an effort to teach mexican after that. 

 

I've always liked how the lone ranger called his friend idiot.  I read somewhere once that Kemosabe actually also means idiot in Apache.  Probably not true, but it is funny to think they called each other idiot all those years.  Shows they were true friends. 

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Hermano (brother) can be curtailed in speech.  People will skip/slur the 'her' part so you hear, "mano".  A familiar for a little brother could be contracted to, "manolito".  Someone named Manuel could also be called by the diminutive Manolito (Manny).  It is just a fortunate turn of events when someone is a little brother named Manuel.

Similarly you will hear parents using "miho" and "miha" (actually mijo and mija) when addressing their children.  Just contractions for "mi hijo" (my son) or "mi hija" (my daughter).

I'll use contractions all the time, won't you use 'em too?

 

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That's an idiotic statement. The people in England speak English. The people in America did not speak English they speak American. The people in France speak French. The people in Quebec do not speak French, they speak Quebecois. The coonass is in Louisiana do not speak French, they speak Cajun. These are all different languages that are similar. They come from the same root. But they are not the same language. In Spain they speak Spanish. In Cuba they speak Cuban, in Puerto Rico they speak Puerto Rican, in Guatemala they speak Guatemalan. And in Mexico they speak Mexican. It is similar to Spanish, but it is not the same language.

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Cinco de Mayo!

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On 5/1/2021 at 8:32 PM, Joeronimo Caffiend said:

Why is there a subgroup of "California Mexicans"?  I've never heard of "Nevada Mexicans" or "Arizona Mexicans" or "Manitoba Mexicans"; why does California get to be special?

I've lived in CA all my life and never heard of California Mexicans.

On 5/2/2021 at 6:12 AM, Alpo said:

I had never heard Manolo as a name by itself. It seems like occasionally I heard it on the show, but I presumed it to be another nickname. I just went and researched it.

 

First, it is a variation of Manuel, so I was right with that. Sorta. Both Manuel and Manolo come from the Greek Emmanouēl, which is derived from the Hebrew 'immānūēl (God is with us). In the Bible, Emmanuel is the name of the promised Messiah.

 

So it appears he was little Manolo, not little brother.

 

I have no idea of what the ages of the characters were, but I just looked up the actors. Don Sebastian Montoya was 19 when Manolito was born. Victoria was born a year later. So actually Mano was the big brother. :P

If you were married, I'd say, "ask your wife." I bet the women have heard of Manolo Blahnik. It is a nickname for Manuel in his case.

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3 hours ago, Alpo said:

It is similar to Spanish, but it is not the same language.

I dare you to walk up to a Mexican and ask them if they speak Mexican!. You'll get told what for.

And I speak English. English is what's taught in our schools, not American!

J

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You think they speak the same brand of "American" in Brooklyn, New Yawk as they do in Gawga?  A lot of the slang in different parts of the U.S. of A. is different.  Do people in some places refer to a "soda" meaning ice cream with carbonated water or soda pop being a carbonated beverage?  "Why can't the English teach their children how to speak?  In America they haven't spoken it for years!"

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I had one of the funniest dinners ever when in College. Translating for my buddy from New Joisey and a Tay-axas way-a-tress!

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I had a class in college on Eubonics. It was stupid. Also worked in the language lab, which meant I was to help students with poor writing skills with their class papers. Got assigned a gentleman from the football team and instead of writing his paper for him, I tried to teach him how to write it himself with help. Turned out that was the wrong thing to do, evidently he complained to a coach and I was removed from working with him so someone else could write the paper for him. In my defense I was young naive and idealistic at the time.

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