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SFandH
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My Oxford Spanish Dictionary, which is very comprehensive and shows Spanish usage in different Spanish speaking countries and accounts for
the differences in British and American English says that "gabacho" translates to "frog" in Spain and Chile.
Maybe as in someone from France?
In Mexico "gabacho" means a foreigner of North America or Europe. The dictionary has (fam & pey) prior to the translation which I think
means the word is used in both the familar and pejorative sense.
It's a great dictionary, as thick as a NYC phone book with tiny print.
[Edited on 8-27-2011 by SFandH]
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DENNIS
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| Quote: | Originally posted by gnukid
in baja there is no might, could've, should've, maybe, might not have been, there is only present tense, simple future and past (copreterito and
preterite). |
Yeah....OK....but we don't have a word in our vocabulary that even comes close to the myriad meaning of "Mañana" either. If people want to complicate
communication with fifty tenses, that's wonderful...for them, but it doesn't render us all mute if we don't have that range to work with.
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Gypsy Jan
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How About This Explanation?
According to some accounts, during the Mexican-American War, Irish immigrants deserted their involuntary assignment as soldiers in the U.S. army to
join the Mexican side because the Mexican government promised them land and citizenship, were highly regarded for their ferocity and
fight-to-last-man tenacity, one of the reasons being that if they were caught alive, they would executed by hanging - a British punishment for a
common criminal.
The Irish fought for Mexico while waving the flag of Ireland and from that collaboration, it is said that the Mexicans cheered the English-speaking,
Irishers on with the phrase, "Green Go!."
“Travel is fatal to prejudice, bigotry, and narrow mindedness.”
—Mark Twain
\"La vida es dura, el corazon es puro, y cantamos hasta la madrugada.” (Life is hard, the heart is pure and we sing until dawn.)
—Kirsty MacColl, Mambo de la Luna
\"Alea iacta est.\"
—Julius Caesar
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DENNIS
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| Quote: | Originally posted by Gypsy Jan
The Irish fought for Mexico while waving the flag of Ireland and from that collaboration, it is said that the Mexicans cheered the English-speaking,
Irishers on with the phrase, "Green Go!." |
Snopes says FALSE, but they don't know either. No one really knows when or where it started.
http://www.snopes.com/language/stories/gringo.asp
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Gypsy Jan
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Snopes, SHMOPES
Both Snopes and Wikipedia have to be verified - lots of ridiculous stuff on each site.
I like this version - it is a good fit with the character of the Irish and Mexicans.
“Travel is fatal to prejudice, bigotry, and narrow mindedness.”
—Mark Twain
\"La vida es dura, el corazon es puro, y cantamos hasta la madrugada.” (Life is hard, the heart is pure and we sing until dawn.)
—Kirsty MacColl, Mambo de la Luna
\"Alea iacta est.\"
—Julius Caesar
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DENNIS
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| Quote: | Originally posted by Gypsy Jan
I like this version - it is a good fit with the character of the Irish and Mexicans. |
Nobody liked the Irish before or after they immigrated. That's why they were treated so badly in the US military then and that's the reason they
defected. They were promised land and respect by Mexico.
What most of them got was hung and face-branded.
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SiReNiTa
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| Quote: | Originally posted by Santiago
My uncle had the nick-name of 'Tripod Harry' - as an 8-year-old I caused quite a stir one Thankgsgiving dinner when I asked how he got that nickname.
My mom choked and my aunt got real red.
[Edited on 12-9-2008 by Santiago] |
Ooooh that almost made me pee my pants!!!
Live life as well as you can,
don\'t regret the things that once made you smile,
learn from your mistakes,
and thank God for every second he gives you upon this earth.
Visit me at
Http://BajaScents.Scentsy.com.mx
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wessongroup
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WOW ... and I only used booze, money... and cigars... had a great time... no communication problems at all..... ever... even with the narco's diving
for coke, smack and speed in front of our place we rented right on the beach.. but, then ... we didn't talk all that much...
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pauldavidmena
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I'm glad I found this thread, and that it gets bumped every so often, because I was going to ask the very same question. Truth be told, while I've
always heard the word "gringo" to describe an American in Mexico, I had never heard the word "gabacho" until reading Gustavo Arellano's "Ask A
Mexican" column in the OC Weekly. It was featured in his very first column:
Question: "Dear Mexican, Why do Mexicans call white people gringos?"
Answer: "Dear Gabacho, Mexicans do not call gringos gringos. Only gringos call gringos gringos. Mexicans call gringos gabachos."
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Cypress
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You can call me most anything as long as you're smiling and mean no harm.
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tecatero
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Gringo is way more offensive than gabacho........It is the equivalent to using the "N" word to african americans.......But being a gringo myself, I
've just excepted the fact that whitey has no rights to discrimination and that whitey is at fault for everything,,,,,,,,please pass me a beer.lol
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DENNIS
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| Quote: | Originally posted by pauldavidmena
Question: "Dear Mexican, Why do Mexicans call white people gringos?"
Answer: "Dear Gabacho, Mexicans do not call gringos gringos. Only gringos call gringos gringos. Mexicans call gringos gabachos."
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Wrong, but when you hear it, "Gringo," it ain't nice, and the Mexican saying it isn't just being overly familiar. He's being an "in your face"
a-hole.
"YOU CAN'T LITTER ALUMINUM"
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bajabuddha
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Must admit, 'Gabacho' is a new one for me, and I've been called just about everything in the book...... 
I don't have a BUCKET LIST, but I do have a F***- IT LIST a mile long!
86 - 45*
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BajaBoomerBabe
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And in Cuba, us gringos/gabachos are called Yumas!
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treuboff
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All Mexicans I come in contact with love it when I refer to white USA citizens as Gobacho's. They really crack a smile and give a chuckle when I tell
them all Gobacho's look alike.
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bajabuddha
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Awright, is it GA or GO-bacho? Double spelling here; which is it?
I don't have a BUCKET LIST, but I do have a F***- IT LIST a mile long!
86 - 45*
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DENNIS
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Gabacho
Gabacho (Spanish pronunciation: [ɡaˈβatʃo]; feminine, gabacha) is a word used in the Spanish language to describe foreigners of
different origins. In Spain it is used as a pejorative reference to someone French, coming from the Catalan word gavatx which translates as foreigner.
Gabacho - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gabacho
Wikipedia
"YOU CAN'T LITTER ALUMINUM"
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EnsenadaDr
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you can also spell it gavacho, or in a case of a woman, gavacha.
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dasubergeek
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I hear both "gabacho" and "gringo", but usually just overly familiar. It's when words get added to it, like "p*nche gringo" or "p*to gabacho" that it
becomes fighting words. On Revolución in Tijuana you'll only hear "gringo". Nobody uses "americano", because Mexicans see themselves as Americans just
as much as estadounidenses and Soviet Canuckistanis.
The one that's never used pejoratively is güero. My Spanish, once I get going, is accent-free enough that Mexican people, especially in the U.S., will
stop and ask me if I'm from Sinaloa. Why Sinaloa? "Porque en Sinaloa hay muchos güeros como tú."
As for nicknames, everyone in Baja calls me "El Grenache" because my face is as red as the wine they grow. Up here I get called "the Mountain" because
I'm pretty physically imposing.
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dasubergeek
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Oh, and to the person who asked what it means when a woman is a "fresa", it means she's stuck-up and fancy. There's a whole "fresa" subculture in
Mexico City, with their own manner of speaking ("O sea...") and very judgmental about clothes and taste. The opposite of "fresa" is "naco" or "naca",
low-class, the Mexican equivalent of powhitetrash.
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