A Way with Words A Way with Words

ansina

Posted by Grant Barrett on · 2 Comments

ansina
 n.— «Gente humilde, casi todos indígenas o mestizos morenos. Que no saben usar palabras elegantes. Que champurran el spanglish con los “haiga”, los “ansina”, los “mesmamente” y los “dendenantes.” Que gustan de andar de sombrero y botas. De bigote ancho, y cinturón ‘pipeao’.» —“Mexicanos discriminando paisanos: El racismo que faltaba” by César Fernando Zapata in Dallas, Texas La Crónica (Juárez, Mexico) Sept. 25, 2004. (source: Double-Tongued Dictionary)

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  1. Jacquelyn Griffin García says:
    May 1, 2008 at 10:43 am

    “Ansina” is absolutely NOT “bad Spanish”! It is actually an older form of “así,” and its use reflects the fact that some areas of the world have retained the usage of older terms which were common at the time of colonization.

    In fact, many Sephardic Jewish communities, descendants of Jews expelled from Spain in 1492 (irony of ironies) also use “ansina” in their daily speech, reflecting the Spanish of the time of their expulsion — and their long-standing presence in Spain before that horrible event.

    In short, those who criticize users of such words as “ansina” are themselves ingnorant and should study a bit of their linguistic history. Or perhaps their criticism reflects some sort of misguided “elitism” — sometimes dubbed self-hate, which plagues many of our communities today, both in the U.S. and throughout Latin America, as though some of use have “bluer blood” than the rest. It’s a shame.

  2. Xochil Moctezuma says:
    January 6, 2009 at 4:19 am

    I admire those native communities in latin america. They speak what some people call bad spanish. Doi nolt forget that they have another language. Their native language.n TheY ARe the real owner of the land and, a culture thAT were stolen from them in the name of God(AKA INQUISITION). For sure theu deserve respect and opportunities.

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