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)
Further reading
Unwrap the name of a candy bar, and you just might find a story inside. For instance, one chewy treat found in many a checkout lane is named after a family’s beloved horse. And: 50 years ago in the United States, some Latino elementary...
It’s hard to imagine now, but there was a time when people disagreed over the best word to use when answering the phone. Alexander Graham Bell suggested answering with ahoy! but Thomas Edison was partial to hello! A fascinating new book about...
“Ansina” is absolutely NOT “bad Spanish”! It is actually an older form of “asÃ,” 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.
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.