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He implied that Mexicans, Mexican-Americans, Chicanos, Latinos, Hispanics or pure American Mexicans in El Paso prefer to hang on to stereotypes.
He said he detests Spanglish, when people switch back and forth, often speaking English and Spanish in the same sentence as in "Algo esta fishy con eso."
He had a serious quarrel with reading about pumpkin empanadas in the newspaper. Mixing languages isn't proper in the paper or anywhere, he said.
As the neighbor, Fred, might say, "pos, whatever."
It's the same argument language purists make all the time: Those of us who speak "that way" are uneducated and we're fluent in neither English nor Spanish and we bring Hispanics down when we speak or write like some undereducated school dropout.
Maybe this guy meant to say that he's ashamed of his roots or that he's convinced that those of us who abuse the language are not worthy of being 100 percent American. Or maybe he meant to say that Mexican-Americans are not really American unless they speak pure English, whatever that is.
Nothing is wrong with the argument that we all should strive to speak proper English or at least grammatically correct English. But there's a flaw in there somewhere when you suggest that we should abandon, forget or set aside generations of border lingo and embrace ingles only.
The fact is that those of us who still salute the hybrid
language of la gente, no matter how ghettoish it may sound, would not use that same language to write a doctoral dissertation or to speak to the Kiwanis Club.
The beauty of language is that it is imperfect, perfectly flexible.
This guy did not state his age, but judging from his indignation, he is probably well educated, perhaps even a professional.
Well, here's a little history lesson that's often neglected, swept under the rug.
Mexican-Americans in El Paso paid the price. They were swatted or sent to Spanish detention for speaking the language of their parents and grandparents. They were humiliated and made to feel inferior for speaking Spanish just so you can speak your flawless English, without an accent and without the clutter of your own culture.
Hundreds of Mexican-American students were once branded "burros," too dumb to succeed in school. No one has ever documented how much potential was lost when these people, unable to comprehend the instruction in English, gave up instead and quit school.
This guy who dislikes Spanglish so much said he can hardly wait to move back to Central Texas, where he said he belongs and supposedly where Spanish is not as common.
Pos dude, let us know when you're leaving y te hacemos help pack.
Ramon Renteria may be reached at rrenteria@elpasotimes.com; 546-6146.
To see more of the El Paso Times, or to subscribe to the newspaper, go to http://www.elpasotimes.com. Copyright (c) 2008, El Paso Times, Texas Distributed by McClatchy-Tribune Information Services. For reprints, email tmsreprints@permissionsgroup.com, call 800-374-7985 or 847-635-6550, send a fax to 847-635-6968, or write to The Permissions Group Inc., 1247 Milwaukee Ave., Suite 303, Glenview, IL 60025, USA.
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