2000_ata annual conf proceedings_kids stuff (games, etc.)_moskowitz

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(From “Topics in Spanish lexical dialectology: kids’ stuff” by Andre Moskowitz in Proceedings

of the 41st Annual Conference of the American Translators Association, Orlando, Florida,

U.S.A., September 20-23, 2000. Thomas L. West III, comp. American Translators Association,

2000. 328-366. The original publication from the Proceedings included illustrations of many of

the items which, unfortunately, do not appear in this file.)

TOPICS IN SPANISH LEXICAL DIALECTOLOGY: KIDS’ STUFF

Andre Moskowitz

Keywords: Games, Pastimes, School, Spanish, Regionalisms, Terminology, Dialectology,

Lexicography, Sociolinguistics.

Abstract: This paper presents information on the regional Spanish-language names of games,

pastimes, and playground devices, as well as school and other terminology related to children.

0 INTRODUCTION

There are many games, pastimes, playground devices and school-related phenomena that have

different names in different regions of the Spanish-speaking world. For example, people in

Bogotá, Colombia call the game of ‘hopscotch’ golosa whereas in Mexico City the same game is

called avión. In cases where regional variation in terminology has been noted, this paper seeks to

provide information on which terms are used where.

This article, and the series of articles by the author on Spanish lexical dialectology that have

previously appeared in Proceedings of the Annual Conference of the American Translators

Association, 1995-19991, also seek to promote the view that all varieties of Spanish are merely

varieties, no more and no less, and to dispel the notion, held by many, that the Spanish of Castilla

is the primary and privileged form of the language and that all others are substandard, divergent

variants. By presenting a series of pastels or chromatic scales of Spanish regionalisms, the author

wishes to both explore and celebrate Hispanic diversity.

The emphasis of this article is not on children-related phenomena that exist only in certain

regions, but on ones that are common in many Spanish-speaking countries. The word “item” will

be used to refer to the particular phenomenon that is addressed in each of the paper’s sixteen

sections.

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The material is catalogued under two general headings (“Fun & Games” and “School &

Miscellaneous”), and the title of each section is the item’s common name(s) in United States

English.

A) Fun & Games: 1) balloon, 2) car(r)ousel or merry-go-round, 3) Ferris wheel, 4) hopscotch, 5)

jacks, 6) kite, 7) marbles, 8) seesaw or teeter-totter, 9) slide, 10) slingshot, 11) swing, 12)

ticktacktoe / tic(k)-tac(k)-toe.

B) School & Miscellaneous: 1) cheat-sheet, 2) homework, 3) to play hooky, 4) school year.

Illustrations2 of many of the items are provided, and each section is divided into three

subsections:

1) Terms by Country

2) Details

3) Real Academia Regional Review

0.1 Terms by Country

These subsections consist of lexico-geographic tables in which the terms used in the Spanish-

speaking regions of peninsular Spain and the nineteen Spanish-speaking countries of the Western

Hemisphere are presented. Since the countries are arranged in a geographical order, they often

highlight ‘lexico-geographic blocs,’ or groups of countries that are in geographic proximity and

also share the same lexical usage for a given item.

The information on each item was obtained from between ten and sixty native speakers of

Spanish from each country, by one or several of the following methods:

1) through observation in the countries themselves;

2) by showing informants the item, or a picture of the item, or by giving them a

description of the item (sometimes using pantomime) and asking them to give the term

most commonly used in their region for it; and,

3) by asking informants who are highly proficient in English to give the equivalents of

English language terms that are used in their native regions.

The number of people from each country that was queried on each item varied for two reasons.

First, the author attempted to collect more data for items such as ‘hopscotch’ and ‘slingshot’ that

have many different names within individual countries, and less data for items such as ‘carousel’

and ‘slide’ that show little regional variation within countries. Basically, if the first ten or fifteen

informants gave identical answers, the author was less eager to press on than in cases where the

initial responses were all over the chart. The second reason for the discrepancies in the amount of

data collected is merely logistical. It was relatively easy for the author, who lives in the San

Francisco Bay Area of the United States, to find and question forty or fifty individuals from

some Spanish-speaking countries, such as Mexico, and more difficult to come up with even ten

respondents from others, such as Paraguay.

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Following each Spanish-language term, a numerical proportion is given indicating the number of

informants out of the total who used a particular term or gave it as their response to a question.

Thus, in the first table, ‘balloon,’

GUATEMALA vejiga (14/18), globo (6/18).

is to be interpreted as, “Of the eighteen Guatemalans who were observed referring to a ‘balloon’

or were asked to give the term they used for this item, fourteen gave or used the term vejiga and

six the term globo” (several people said both terms were used). In many cases, the people

interviewed indicated that more than one term was commonly used in their homeland and,

therefore, the sum of the ratios frequently total more than one.

An effort was made to seek informants from each country who were from different regions and

were of different ages, genders, and socioeconomic classes, but how representative they are of

their entire nation or region is a question that can only be determined by research that tests much

larger numbers of people. However, the author is confident that further studies will show that the

usage indicated is typical for the region in question in the case of most of the terms that were

offered by at least eight out of ten participants.

In order to consolidate the information, the data for groups of countries is sometimes presented

in a single line with the use of categories such as Hispanic Central America (Panama, Costa

Rica, Nicaragua, Honduras, El Salvador and Guatemala), Hispanic Antilles (Cuba, the

Dominican Republic and Puerto Rico), Southern Cone (Paraguay, Uruguay, Argentina and

Chile), and Rest of Spanish America (all Spanish-speaking Latin American countries that are not

listed in the table with an individual country specification).

When informants used or offered several very similar variants, words or letters appear in

parentheses or separated by slashes. Thus, where trúca(me)lo appears in subsection A4.1

(‘hopscotch’), informants indicated that both trúcamelo and trúcalo are used.

It should be noted that in more formal situations some educated Spanish speakers try to avoid

using the terms that are most common in their own region__

terms like vejiga, papalote and

maules__

because they perceive them as being regional, national, lower-class (popular or

populachero) or anglicisms, and opt to use terms that they believe sound more international,

proper, or “pure” Spanish (castizo), such as globo, cometa and canicas, respectively__

terms

which not coincidentally are the ones used in standard Peninsular Spanish. Although the

preferences speakers exhibit may be the result of local linguistic customs, the choice of words

can also serve as a badge with which they consciously display their sociocultural identity.

0.2 Details

In these subsections more detailed information is provided on the usage of particular regions, and

on international and national standards, where applicable. All place-names that are both cities

and provinces refer to provinces. Unfortunately, information on the respondents’ places of origin

is not always complete. In some cases, for example, the person’s country or general region of the

country is known, but his or her specific province or town is not known.

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0.3 Real Academia Regional Review

These subsections present an evaluation of the 1992 edition of the Diccionario de la Lengua

Española (the Spanish Royal Academy Dictionary), henceforth referred to as the “Spanish Royal

Academy Dictionary” or, simply, the “Dictionary”. Its coverage of the regional usages described

in this article is evaluated using the following grading scale:

A Corresponding definition, correct regions. This grade is given when the Dictionary

defines the term as used in the section of this article and correctly indicates the countries

and/or regions in which the term is used in this sense.

B Corresponding definition, incorrect regions. This grade is given when the Dictionary

defines the term as used in the section and specifies a region or regions but does not

specify them correctly. Its definition either fails to include regions in which the usage

occurs or includes regions where the usage does not occur. However, the grade of B is

raised to an A if the Dictionary’s definition is appropriate, “Amér.” (América, that is,

Spanish-speaking Latin America) is specified in the definition, and the term is used in ten

or more (over 50%) of the nineteen Spanish-speaking Latin American countries.

C Corresponding definition, no regions specified. This grade is given when the Dictionary

defines the term as used in the section but does not specify any countries or regions in

which the term is used in this sense. In essence, it fails to identify the usage as regional.

However, the grade of C is raised to an A if the term is used in at least ten of the twenty

Spanish-speaking countries (at least 50% of them).

D No corresponding definition. This grade is given when the Dictionary does not include in

its definition of the term a sense that corresponds to the section.

F Term not in dictionary. This grade is given when the Dictionary does not list the term at

all.

In the case of compound terms, all components were tested and the grade assigned corresponds

to that of the component that has the most complete information. For example, “equis cero (F)”

means that the term equis cero does not appear in the Dictionary under equis or under cero.

When a term is used in some regions of a country but not others, the Dictionary is given the

highest possible grade if it correctly lists the country. For example, it receives an A in the case of

golosa (‘hopscotch’)__

which is defined as “Col. infernáculo”__

even though there are many

regions of Colombia where golosa is not used in this sense. Some grades appear with a question

mark because the author is not sure which of the above categories the corresponding definition

falls under.

The purpose of this evaluation is to expose gaps and inconsistencies in specific definitions in the

hope that they will be modified in future editions of the Dictionary so that they accurately

describe usage in the Spanish-speaking world from an international perspective. At the very

least, the issues raised should be investigated by the Dictionary’s researchers.

The fact that so many regionalisms are included in the Dictionary leads one to believe that the

Spanish Royal Academy generally favors including them, and this view is supported by

Professor Manuel Alvar who states that:

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La Academia pensó siempre en allegar provincialismos a su repertorio, desde los

días mismos de su constitución. (Alvar 51).

From the time of its inception, the Academy always intended to include

regionalisms in its repertoire. (Author’s translation.)

However, while many regionalisms are probably not included in the Dictionary simply because

the editors are unaware of their existence, others may have been deliberately omitted. Over half a

century ago, Professor Julio Casares made the following comment that, even today, may reflect

the Spanish Royal Academy’s attitude regarding lexicographical censorship.

Hay que tener presente, y lo olvidaron con frecuencia los lexicógrafos

americanos, que la Academia deja de incluir muchas voces no porque ignore su

existencia ni porque dude de que son de uso corriente, sino porque las considera

espurias, mal formadas, superfluas, perjudiciales, cacofónicas, etc. (Casares

302).

One must bear in mind, and Latin-American lexicographers have often forgotten

this, that the Academy does not include many words not because it is unaware of

their existence, nor because it doubts their use is commonplace, but rather because

it considers them to be spurious, ill-formed, superfluous, detrimental,

cacophonous, etc. (Author’s translation.)

Do many members of the Spanish Royal Academy still believe in a two-caste system in which

there are “proper” words that are worthy of being included in a serious dictionary, and “inferior”

words that should not be afforded any official lexicographical recognition?

One factor that influences whether or not a term is included in any Spanish-language dictionary,

is whether or not the word is considered “Spanish”. An important question for Spanish

lexicographers is, therefore, how should “Spanish” be defined, that is, what words count as

Spanish? For example, if words such as michi (‘ticktacktoe’), tukã’e (‘tag’), charranca

(‘hopscotch’), and yax (‘jacks’) can also be considered Quechua/Quichua, Guaraní, Catalán, and

English, respectively, does that mean they should not be considered Spanish? No doubt many

members of the Spanish Royal Academy take this view and believe these words have no

business being included in a Spanish-language dictionary. However, since all Spanish words

ultimately derive from some foreign source, be it Indo-European, Basque, Greek, Latin, Iberian,

French, etc., word origin alone is not what determines a term’s Spanishness.

Is it the case that members of the Royal Academy__

and Spanish speakers in general__

are less

comfortable accepting as Spanish, words that are easily identified as coming from less

traditional, and often more recent sources such as Quechua, Guaraní, Catalán, and English? This

seems to be especially true when, as many language purists would say, “a perfectly good Spanish

word already exists” and there is “no need to resort to the extranjerismo (foreign term)”. The

problem is that while a term such as tres en raya (‘ticktacktoe’) may be “perfectly good” for

millions of Spanish speakers, it is not the one most Spanish speakers from Peru actually use in

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this sense. In fact, Spanish speakers from most Latin American countries use a term other than

tres en raya when referring to this game. (In many cases, the term used consists of elements of

traditionally Spanish stock such as gato or equis cero.) Similarly, in the regions where tukã’e,

charranca and yax are used in the sense of ‘tag,’ ‘hopscotch’ and ‘jacks,’ respectively, they are

the terms for these items. This author believes that any word that is used by millions of native

speakers of the language is Spanish and should be defined in Spanish-language dictionaries. The

practical, lexicographical question of what counts as a Spanish word is, of course, related to the

linguistic issue of when an utterance counts as Spanish and when it qualifies as something else.

As the Spanish language’s international standard and national and regional varieties continue to

evolve and compete in the 21st century and beyond, the issue of what is Spanish__

and therefore

what should be included in Spanish-language dictionaries__

will be a key question lexicographers

will have to address.

A FUN & GAMES

A1 BALLOON

A1.1 Terms by Country (5 terms)

SPAIN globo (20/20).

MEXICO globo (21/30), bomba (9/30).

GUATEMALA vejiga (14/18), globo (6/18).

EL SALVADOR vejiga (12/16), globo (4/16), chira (2/16).

HONDURAS vejiga (8/18), globo (7/18), chira (4/18), bomba (3/18).

NICARAGUA chimbomba (10/10).

COSTA RICA bomba (10/13), globo (4/13).

PANAMA globo (12/12).

CUBA globo (15/15).

DOMIN. REP. vejiga (10/12), globo (3/12).

PUERTO RICO bomba (14/16), vejiga (3/16).

VENEZUELA bomba (11/20), globo (8/20), vejiga (3/20).

COLOMBIA bomba (20/22), globo (5/22).

ECUADOR vejiga (9/19), globo (7/19), bomba (6/19).

PERU globo (20/20).

BOLIVIA globo (14/16), vejiga (2/16).

SOUTHERN CONE globo (at least 10/10 for each country).

A1.2 Details

General: Globo can be considered the international standard term in that it is recognized and

understood by educated Spanish speakers throughout the Spanish-speaking world. In

most tropical Spanish-speaking countries, however, another term__

usually bomba or

vejiga__

is more commonly used in the generic sense. Bomba is also used in many places

to refer to balloons filled with water.

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Mexico: Globo appears to be used throughout Mexico, but bomba was offered by people from

Jalisco, Michoacán, Nayarit, Puebla and Sinaloa. Where else is bomba commonly used?

El Salvador & Honduras: Is chira commonly used in this sense in certain regions, and, if so,

where? In Honduras, where is bomba commonly used?

Venezuela: Vejiga was given by people from Zulia.

Ecuador: Are there regional preferences among bomba, globo and vejiga?

Bolivia: Vejiga was given by people from Santa Cruz.

A1.3 Real Academia Regional Review

Bomba (D), chimbomba (F), chira (D), globo (A), vejiga (D).

A2 CAROUSEL (also spelled carrousel) or MERRY-GO-ROUND

A2.1 Terms by Country (5 terms plus variants)

SPAIN tiovivo (19/25), caballitos (10/25), carrusel (6/25).

MEXICO carrusel (19/30), caballitos (8/30), volantín (5/30).

GUATEMALA carrusel (14/18), (rueda de) caballitos (6/18).

EL SALVADOR carrusel (7/12), (rueda de) caballitos (7/12).

HONDURAS (rueda de) caballitos (8/12), carrusel (5/12).

NICARAGUA (rueda de) caballitos (7/11), carrusel (4/11).

COSTA RICA caballitos (9/15), carrusel (7/15).

PANAMA carrusel (8/12), caballitos (5/12).

CUBA (feria de) caballitos (8/12), carrusel (5/12).

DOMIN. REP. caballitos (7/10), carrusel (4/10).

PUERTO RICO caballitos (11/18), machina (6/18), carrusel (4/18).

VENEZUELA carrusel (12/14), caballitos (5/14).

COLOMBIA carrusel (14/15), caballitos (1/15).

ECUADOR carrusel (13/13).

PERU carrusel (14/20), caballitos (6/20).

BOLIVIA carrusel (14/15), caballitos (1/15).

PARAGUAY calesita (10/11), carrusel (1/11).

URUGUAY calesita (15/15).

ARGENTINA calesita (29/30), carrusel (5/30).

CHILE carrusel (13/13), caballitos (3/13).

A2.2 Details

General: The item in question is the large, electrically-powered ‘carousel’ or ‘merry-go-round,’

not the small one children (and adults) push off on for it to go around. A number of

people from countries other than Paraguay, Uruguay and Argentina indicated that

caballitos or rueda de caballitos is the term that kids use whereas the other term (tiovivo

or carrusel) is the more “official” term. The above chart simplifies the survey responses

somewhat in that a number of variants of carrusel, such as carrousel, carrosel and

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carusel, were offered both in speech and writing, as well as variation between diminutive

and non-diminutive forms for caballos/caballitos and rueda de caballos/rueda de

caballitos (the diminutive form is more common in both cases). Carrusel de caballitos,

which can be considered a variant of carrusel or of caballitos, was also offered by a few

respondents.

Spain: Some people indicated that carrusel is the word used by adults and caballitos and tiovivo

are the words used by children, but the majority stated that tiovivo was the word most

commonly used by all.

Mexico: Volantín was given by people from Jalisco, Nayarit and Zacatecas.

Puerto Rico: Machinas, in the plural form, refer to amusement park rides in general, and often to

non-permanent rides that are set up for a particular fiesta patronal (patron saint holiday)

and then dismantled and relocated elsewhere. Several Puerto Ricans also indicated that in

the singular form, la machina refers specifically to the ‘carousel’ while others indicated

that it can also refer to the ‘Ferris wheel’ (see section A3).

Paraguay, Uruguay & Argentina: Written and spoken variants of calesita such as calecita and

calisita were also offered. Calesita comes from calesa which derives from French

calèche (‘calash,’ a type of carriage), but what explanation can be given for the use of

calesita in this region? Several older Argentines indicated that carrusel refers to a larger,

more sophisticated carousel with horses that move up and down, whereas calesita refers

to a smaller carousel in which the horses merely revolve but do not move in a vertical

plane (as well as to the manual merry-go-round found in playgrounds). The vast majority

of Argentines, however, stated that calesita is the only term used for all motorized

carousels. It is possible that, in Argentina, the above distinction between calesita and

carrusel used to be made a generation ago but has since been lost with the term calesita

taking over both functions. Do any Paraguayans or Uruguayans make a distinction

between calesita and carrusel?

The small, manual ‘merry-go-round’: This item was not researched extensively, but how

common is it in the different regions of the Spanish-speaking world and what is it called?

Quite a few people from different Spanish-speaking countries indicated it is not very

common in public parks. Others, however, said the same terms presented in subsection

A2.1 above for the (motorized) carousel are also applied to the manual merry-go-round,

but rueda (Venezuela) and ruleta (Puerto Rico) were also offered in the latter sense.


Caballitos (A?), calesita (B?), carrusel (A?), rueda de caballitos (F), machina (D),

tiovivo (C?), volantín (D).

Caballitos, calesita and carrusel are all cross-referenced to tiovivo which is defined as

“Recreo de feria que consiste en varios asientos colocados en un círculo giratorio.” Does this

definition adequately describe the mechanical and/or manual merry-go-round? Compare it to the

American Heritage Dictionary’s definition of “merry-go-round”: “1. A revolving circular

platform fitted with seats, often in the form of animals, ridden for amusement. 2. A piece of

playground equipment consisting of a small circular platform that revolves when pushed or

pedaled.” The Spanish Royal Academy Dictionary’s definition seems to fall short of the mark. It

should accurately describe and clearly distinguish the two types of merry-go-round.

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A3 FERRIS WHEEL

A3.1 Terms by Country (c. 10 terms plus variants)

SPAIN noria (17/17).

MEXICO rueda de la fortuna (13/13).

REST OF HISPANIC CENTRAL AMERICA rueda (de) Chicago (at least 10/10 for each country).

PANAMA estrella (7/10), rueda (de Chicago) (3/10).

CUBA estrella (10/10).

DOMIN. REP. estrella (10/10).

PUERTO RICO estrella (11/13), machina (3/13).

VENEZUELA rueda (5/11), (viaje a la) luna (4/11), rueda de la fortuna

(3/11).

COLOMBIA rueda (de) Chicago (11/11).

ECUADOR rueda moscovita (10/10).

PERU rueda (de) Chicago (10/11), rueda de la fortuna (1/11).

BOLIVIA rueda (de) Chicago (8/12), rueda giratoria (3/12), rueda de

la fortuna (1/12).

PARAGUAY rueda (de) Chicago (10/10).

URUGUAY rueda gigante (11/11).

ARGENTINA vuelta al mundo (17/22), rueda de la fortuna (3/22), rueda

gigante (3/22).

CHILE rueda (8/10), rueda de Chicago (3/10).

A3.2 Details

General: In most countries, the term used has rueda as its base and a modifier such as de

Chicago or de la fortuna, etc. added; the exceptions are Argentina, the Hispanic Antilles,

Panama and Spain where non-rueda terms predominate. For the sake of brevity, the terms

are presented in the above chart without an article, even though the definite article is

usually included (la noria, la rueda moscovita, la vuelta al mundo, etc.).

Puerto Rico. Is machina commonly used in this sense? See subsection A2.2, Puerto Rico.

Uruguay: Is the term rueda gigante a calque of the British English term “big wheel” (“Ferris

wheel” in United States English), or did the Uruguayans coin their term independently?

Variants of rueda de Chicago: A number of variants are used such as rueda Chicago, rueda

Chicagua, rueda Chicao and chicao, especially in Hispanic Central America. The term

rueda de Chicago was coined because the first Ferris wheel, invented by the American

engineer George Washington Gale Ferris, was set up in Chicago during the world’s fair

of 1893 (Soukhanov 673).


Estrella (D), luna (D), machina (D), noria (D), rueda (D), rueda Chicago (F), rueda de

Chicago (F), rueda de la fortuna (D), rueda gigante (F), rueda giratoria (F), rueda moscovita

(F), vuelta al mundo (F).

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What explanation can be given for the fact that the Dictionary provides no definition for

this item under any of the terms encountered in this study, including noria, the term used in

Spain? How should the term be defined in the Dictionary? A rough Spanish translation of the

American Heritage Dictionary’s definition of “Ferris wheel” is: En los parques de diversiones,

rueda grande, montada sobre un eje horizontal, cuyos asientos colgantes permanecen

horizontales mientras gira la rueda.

A4 HOPSCOTCH


SPAIN avión (3/60), carabañola (1/60), cascallo (5/60), castro (2/60), cielo (1/60),

chancla (1/60), chapa (1/60), charranca (3/60), china (1/60), descanso (1/60),

imbo cachimbo (1/60), juego de la cruz (1/60), lunes (2/60), mariola (1/60),

muñeca (1/60), pata coja/paticoja (4/60), piedra (1/60), piso (1/60), pite (1/60),

rayuela (6/60), rola/role (1/60), semana (2/60), sambori (3/60), tejo (6/60), toco

(1/60), tranco (1/60), truco (1/60), truque (7/60), truquemé (1/60), turco (1/60),

unela (1/60), zancarrilla (1/60).

MEXICO avión/avioncito (16/50), bebeleche (12/50), bembeleche (1/50), bimbalete (1/50),

chácara (1/50), gigante (2/50), mamaleche (3/50), mambaleche (1/50), muñeco

(1/50), peleche (6/50), pelenche (1/50), peregrina/pelegrina (4/50), la tabla (1/50),

tembereche (1/50).

GUATEMALA avión/avioncito (14/14).

EL SALVADOR peregrina (10/18), pelegrina (5/18), avión (5/18).

HONDURAS rayuela (13/13).

NICARAGUA rayuela (11/11).

COSTA RICA rayuela (14/14).

PANAMA rayuela (12/14), hopscotch (3/14).

CUBA pon (8/20), arroz con pollo (3/20), tacha (3/20), tejo (3/20), pata coja/cojita (2/20),

machicha (1/20), muñeco (1/20), peregrina (1/20), ponso (1/20).

DOMIN. REP. trúca(me)lo (12/25), trúcano (4/25), muñeco (4/25), pelegrina/peregrina (2/25),

pateco (1/25), tablita (1/25).

PUERTO RICO peregrina (13/18), pelegrina (5/18).

VENEZUELA avión/avioncito (12/23), semana (10/23), (un-dos-tres) pisé (7/23), descanso

(2/23).

COLOMBIA golosa (14/28), rayuela (8/28), peregrina (4/28), semana (1/28), tángara (1/28).

ECUADOR rayuela (19/20), semanita (1/20).

PERU mundo (19/25), rayuela (5/25), plij-plaj (1/25), zarzuela (1/25).

BOLIVIA rayuela (6/17), tuncuña (6/17), coscoja (3/17), coscojo (2/17), escalera (2/17),

mundo (1/17).

PARAGUAY descanso (11/13), rayuela (4/13).

URUGUAY rayuela (16/16).

ARGENTINA rayuela (20/24), tejo (3/24), luche (1/24).

CHILE luche (14/14).

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A4.2 Details

General: The terms presented above refer to any of various different games that are similar to

‘hopscotch’. The drawing made on the ground often varies in shape and the way in which

the boxes are labeled, whether with numbers or words (such as the days of the week), but

the games’ basic mechanisms and objectives remain the same. The above terms are also

abbreviated forms since in actual usage, the article is often included__

i.e. el luche, la

rayuela, el sambori, etc.__

and verbs and the preposition a can be considered part of the

name, i.e. jugar a la peregrina, saltar a la pata coja, etc. Many educated speakers

throughout the Spanish-speaking world, even those who do not know the local name for

the game in their own region, are familiar with the term rayuela. This is probably due in

part to the popularity of the novel by the same name by Julio Cortázar, the famous

Argentine writer, and to the fact that rayuela is used in this sense in parts of at least

twelve Spanish-speaking countries.

Spain: The following terms were given by people from specific regions: avión, Madrid;

carabañola and cascallo/cascayo, Asturias; castro and chancla, Alicante; charranca,

Barcelona; china, Pamplona; descanso, Aragón; imbo cachimbo, Madrid; lunes, León;

mariola, Galicia; pata coja/paticoja, Granada, Salamanca; piedra, Castilla; piso,

Tarragona; pite, Salamanca; rayuela, Galicia, León, País Vasco, Salamanca, Zaragoza;

semana, Santiago; sambori, Valencia; tejo, Alicante, Andalucía, Islas Canarias, Galicia,

Madrid; toco, País Vasco; truco, Ourense (in Galicia); truque, Castilla, Cuenca, León;

truquemé, Bilbao; turco, Andalucía; unela, Castilla; zancarrilla, Aragón. Should the

Asturian term cascallo/cascayo be written with an ll or a y? Does it have the same origin

as Spanish cascajo? If so, then cascallo would appear to be the “correct” spelling, but it

was not possible to tell based on pronunciation since none of the Asturianos who gave

this term exhibited any lleísmo; that is, they pronounced ll and y the same way.

Mexico: The following terms were given by people from the following regions: avión/avioncito,

Distrito Federal, Guanajuato, Guerrero, Hidalgo, Jalisco, Michoacán, Morelos, Nayarit,

Puebla, Quintana Roo (in the Yucatan), Sonora, Veracruz; bebeleche, Coahuila, Colima,

Jalisco, Nayarit, Nuevo León, Sonora, Tamaulipas, Tijuana, Torreón, Veracruz,

Zacatecas; mamaleche, Chichuahua; chácara, Quintana Roo; gigante, Guanajuato;

muñeco, Guerrero; peleche and pelenche, Michoacán. Perhaps mambaleche, bembeleche,

peleche, pelenche and tembereche can be considered phonetic variants of bebeleche or

mamaleche.

Panama: Hopscotch, pronounced as if written jop(e)scoch, was given by people from the former

Canal Zone.

Colombia: The following terms were given by people from specific regions: golosa, Boyacá,

Cundinamarca, Huila, Santander (much of the eastern interior); rayuela, Antioquia,

Riseralda, Valle (much of the western interior); peregrina, the Costa (Atlantic coast

region); semana, Pasto; tángara, Santander.

Ecuador: Rayuela was given by people from practically all regions of the country but semanita

was given by one person from Cuenca.

Peru: Mundo is used in many parts of the country, including Lima. Rayuela was given by people

from the North (Trujillo, Piura), but another person from Piura gave zarzuela. Plij-plaj

was given by a person from Abancay (Department of Apurímac).

12

Bolivia: Tuncuña was given by people from La Paz; rayuela by people from Santa Cruz and

Tarija but also by people from La Paz; coscoja and coscojo by people from Cochabamba;

escalera was also given by people from La Paz; mundo by a person from Santa Cruz.

Argentina: Rayuela is used in most of the country, but tejo was given by people from La Rioja,

Santa Fe and Córdoba, and luche was given by one person from Mendoza.


Arroz con pollo (F), avión (D), avioncito (F), bebeleche (F), bembeleche (F), bimbalete

(D), carabañola (F), cascallo (F), cascayo (F), castro (D), cojita (F), coscoja (D), coscojo (D),

chácara (D), chancla (D), chapa (D), charranca (F), china (D), descanso (F), escalera (D),

gigante (D), golosa (A), hopscotch (F), imbo cachimbo (F), jopescoch (F), luche (A), lunes (D),

machicha (F), mamaleche (F), mambaleche (F), mariola (F), mundo (D), muñeca (D), muñeco

(D), pata coja (C or D?), pateco (F), paticoja (D), peleche (F), pelegrina (F), pelenche (F),

peregrina (D), pisé (F), piso (D), plij(-)plaj (F), pon (F), ponso (F), rayuela (A or C?), sambori

(F), semana (C), semanita (F), tabla (D), tablita (F), tacha (D), tángara (F), tarea (D), tejo (D),

tembereche (F), toco (D), tranco (D), trúcalo (F), trúcamelo (F), trúcano (F), truco (D), truque

(C), truquemé (F), tuncuña (F), un dos tres pisé (F).

The following terms are defined as follows: infernáculo, “Juego que consiste en sacar,

saltando sobre un pie, un tejo de un trazado en el suelo”; rayuela, “3. Juego de muchachos que

consiste en sacar de varias divisiones trazadas en el suelo un tejo al que se da con un pie,

llevando el otro en el aire y cuidando de no pisar las rayas y de que el tejo no se detenga en

ellas”; a la pata coja (under pata), “Juego con el que los muchachos se divierten, llevando un pie

en el aire y saltando con el otro”; coroneja, “Murc. rayuela, juego que consiste en andar a la

pata coja y sacar un tejo con el pie de ciertas divisiones trazadas en el suelo”; coxcojilla and

coxcojita, “rayuela, juego que consiste en andar a la pata coja y sacar un tejo con el pie de

ciertas divisiones trazadas en el suelo”; golosa, “Col. infernáculo”; luche, “Chile. Juego de la

raya semejante al infernáculo o calderón” (underlines added); calderón, “Ál. Juego de

muchachos parecido al de la tala” (underline added; Ál is an abbreviation of Álava, province in

north-central Spain); tala, “Juego de muchachos, que consiste en dar con un palo en otro

pequeño y puntiagudo por ambos extremos colocado en el suelo; el golpe lo hace saltar, y en el

aire se le da un segundo golpe que lo despide a mayor distancia”; reina mora (under reina),

“infernáculo”; semana, “6. fig. Una de las muchas variedades del juego del infernáculo”

(underline added); truque, “2. Una de las variedades del juego del infernáculo” (underline

added).

Infernáculo and the terms cross-referenced to it (golosa, luche, reina mora, semana and

truque) are defined slightly differently from rayuela and the terms cross-referenced to it

(coroneja, coxcojilla and coxcojita), and a la pata coja is not cross-referenced to either

infernáculo or rayuela. Can all of these games be considered synonyms and, if so, shouldn’t a

broad definition be devised that encompasses all of the different varieties? In that case, one term

should be chosen as the base term and given a full definition that covers all of the different

varieties of hopscotch, and given that rayuela has by far the most international recognition, it

would be the most logical candidate. All other terms should then be cross-referenced to rayuela

and defined as simply “variedad de la rayuela3, juego” with the appropriate regional designation

indicated, so that it will be clear to the reader that all of the terms are regional synonyms that

refer to varieties of essentially the same game.

13

The Dictionary also states that luche is a game called raya, but there is no definition for a

game by this name under raya. It then states that luche is similar to a game called calderón,

which, in turn it claims is similar to a game called tala, but when the reader finally gets to the

definition for tala, it turns out to be a completely different game from the one Chileans call

luche, a variety of ‘hopscotch’. Where are coxcojilla, coxcojita, infernáculo and reina mora used

in the sense defined? The Dictionary provides no regional specification for them and no

information on their use was obtained in this study.

The Spanish Royal Academy clearly did not have its act together in coordinating this

effort. In fact, one must wonder whether it ever consulted with the academias correspondientes

in Spanish America regarding these games, or whether the latter provided the former with

accurate descriptions of local usage. As we shall see in other sections of this paper, the lack of

consistency in cross-referencing regional synonyms and standardizing their definitions is a

recurrent problem.

A5 JACKS


SPAIN not common (10/10).

MEXICO matatena (22/30), yax(es) (4/30), pinyex(es) (2/30),

yaqui(s) (2/30).

GUATEMALA yax(es) (13/13).

EL SALVADOR yax(es) (10/10).

HONDURAS yax(es) (10/10).

NICARAGUA yax(es) (7/12), yac/yaque(s) (5/12), yaquis (2/12).

COSTA RICA yaxes (12/12).

PANAMA yax (11/11).

CUBA yaqui(s) (16/16).

DOMIN. REP. ya(s) (7/10), yax (3/10).

PUERTO RICO yax (13/13).

VENEZUELA yaqui(s) (12/12), yaquipón (2/12).

COLOMBIA yas (11/17), yax (6/17).

ECUADOR macateta (15/18), yax (3/18).

PERU yas(es) (13/21), yax(es) (7/21), pispís (2/21), pispicha

(1/21).

REST OF HISPANIC SOUTH AMERICA not common (at least 10/10 for each country).

A5.2 Details

General: The terms are listed in the above chart with phonetic spellings that indicate how

respondents pronounced the words. In most of the countries where this game is played,

the predominant term__

generally yas, yax(es) or yaqui(s)__

derives from English “jacks”.

The exceptions are Mexico and Ecuador where non-jack terms__

matatena and macateta,

respectively__

predominate.

14

Spain, Bolivia, Paraguay, Uruguay, Argentina & Chile: The game of ‘jacks’ does not appear to

be common in these countries, although many similar games, generally played with

pebbles, bones or marbles, are common. The following games were offered that are rough

equivalents of ‘knucklebones’ (a game played in ancient Greece by Ajax and Achilles

during a lull in the Trojan War!): Spain and Bolivia, taba or tabas; Paraguay, tiquichuela;

Uruguay and Argentina, payana; Argentina, aimenti, dinenti, tenenti and tinenti (these

appear to be derived from regional Italian dialects); Chile, payaya. If ‘jacks’ is played in

these countries (or if it is introduced in the future), is or will the game be called taba,

payana and payaya, etc., in the respective countries, or will it be called yax/yas?

Mexico: Matatena was given by people from practically every region of Mexico. However,

yaxes and yaqui were given by people from Nuevo León, Quintana Roo and Tamaulipas

and pinyex(es) was given by people from Sonora.

Peru: Yas and yax were given by people from many different regions of the country, both Costa

and Sierra, but those who gave pispís and pispicha were from the Sierra. One of them

also indicated that the phrase no sabe ni jugar pispís is commonly used in the sense of no

sabe nada (‘he/she knows nothing’).


Jacks (F), macateta (F), matatena (F), pinyex (F), pispicha (F), pispís (F), yaqui (F),

yaquipón (F), yas (F), yax (F), yaz (D).

Which term should be chosen as the base term to which all others would be cross-

referenced, and how should the base term be defined? A rough translation of the American

Heritage Dictionary’s definition of “jacks” is: Juego que se hace con un grupo de pequeñas

piezas metálicas de seis puntas y una pelotita cuyo objetivo es recoger las piezas en diferentes

combinaciones. Should the castillianized phonetic spellings yaquis, yas and yax be listed in the

dictionary, or should the anglicism jacks be listed, or should both be listed?

Juego de los cantillos is defined (under juego) as “El que juegan los niños con cinco

piedrecitas haciendo con ellas diversas combinaciones y lanzándolas a lo alto para recogerlas en

el aire al caer”. How should aimenti, dinenti, payana, payaya, tenenti, tinenti and tiquichuela be

defined in the Dictionary?

A6 KITE


SPAIN cometa (25/25), cachirulo (3/25).

MEXICO papalote (20/30), cometa (6/30), güila/huila (4/30), pandorga (2/30),

papagayo (2/30), papelote (2/30).

GUATEMALA barrilete (17/17).

EL SALVADOR piscucha (16/16).

HONDURAS papelote (15/22) barrilete (6/22), cometa (2/22), palometa (1/22).

NICARAGUA lechuza (9/18), barrilete (6/18), cometa (3/18), palometa (2/18), papalote

(1/18), papelote (1/18).

COSTA RICA papalote (11/23), papelote (10/23), barrilete (3/23).

15

PANAMA cometa (14/16), pandero (1/16), papalote (1/16).

CUBA papalote (17/23), cometa (7/23), coronel (2/23).

DOMIN. REP. chichigua (15/15).

PUERTO RICO chiringa (18/18).

VENEZUELA papagayo (15/22), volantín (4/22), cometa (3/22), petaca (3/22), fuga

(1/22), samuraca (1/22).

COLOMBIA cometa (20/20).

ECUADOR cometa (20/20).

PERU cometa (20/20).

BOLIVIA volador (15/20), volantín (5/20), cometa (3/20).

PARAGUAY pandorga (12/13), barrilete (2/13).

URUGUAY cometa (16/21), pandorga (4/21), barrilete (3/21).

ARGENTINA barrilete (20/25), volantín (4/25), cometa (2/25), pandorga (2/25).

CHILE volantín (20/20).

A6.2 Details

General: The term cometa can be considered the international standard insofar as it is

recognized, and often used in this sense by educated speakers throughout the Spanish-

speaking world. However, it is the most commonly used term in only six countries:

Spain, Panama, Colombia, Ecuador, Peru and Uruguay. In the remaining countries,

regional words for kite predominate.

Spain: Cometa was given by Spaniards from diverse regions of the country and is not regionally

weighted, but cachirulo was given by people from Valencia and Alicante.

Mexico: Papalote was given by Mexicans from diverse regions of the country and is not

regionally weighted, but the following other terms were given by people from specific

regions: güila/huila, Nuevo León, Tamaulipas; pandorga, Veracruz; papagayo, Quintana

Roo.

Venezuela: Papagayo was given by people from many parts of the country; volantín by people

from Zulia and Mérida; petaca by people from Zulia; samuraca by one person from

Caracas.

Bolivia: Volador was given by people from the Altiplano and volantín by people from Santa

Cruz and Tarija (lowland Bolivia).

Uruguay: Cometa is the predominant term in Montevideo and the coastal region, but pandorga

was given by people from Salto (the northwestern part of the country).

Argentina: Barrilete is the predominant term in much of the country, but volantín was given by

people from San Juan and Santa Fe (northwestern Argentina) and pandorga by people

from Entre Ríos and Misiones (northeastern Argentina).

Names for special kinds of kites: What are all the names for special types of kites, where is each

name used, and what type of kite does each refer to?


Barrilete (D), cachirulo (A), cometa (A), coronel (A or D?), chichigua (D), chiringa

(D?), fuga (D), güila (D), huila (F), lechuza (D), palometa (D), pandero (C), pandorga (C),

16

papagayo (D), papalote (B), papelote (B), petaca (D), piscucha (F), pizcucha (F), samuraca (F),

volador (D), volantín (B).

The following terms are defined as follows: barrilete, “3. En algunas provincias, cometa

de forma hexagonal y más alta que ancha”; birlocha, “cometa, juguete que se eleva en el aire”;

coronel, “3. Cuba. Cometa grande”; chiringa, “Cuba y P. Rico. Volantín, cometa pequeña”;

milocha, “cometa, armazón de caña y papel o tela”; pájara, “cometa, armazón”; pandorga, “3.

Cometa que se sube en el aire”; pandero, “3. cometa, juguete de muchachos”; papelote, “Cuba.

papalote, juguete que se echa al aire para que vuele”; volantín, “4. Argent. (Cuyo), Cuba, Chile

y P. Rico. cometa que se echa al aire como juguete”. (“Cuyo” is the region of Argentina

consisting of the provinces of Mendoza, San Juan and San Luis.)

Why define these regional terms in such a haphazard way? Did different people write the

definitions without any coordination or cross-checking among them? Why not give cometa a full

definition, and just cross-reference all of the other regional terms that refer to non-specialized

kites to cometa and define them as simply “cometa, juguete” with the corresponding regional

labels?

Does coronel refer to a large kite in Cuba? The definition for chiringa states that this

term refers to a small kite in Cuba and Puerto Rico whereas the data collected in this study

indicate that chiringa is not used in Cuba and that it refers to kites in general in Puerto Rico, not

specifically to small kites. The definition for chiringa also implies that volantín is a small kite

which is contradicted by the findings of this study and by the Dictionary’s own definition for

volantín which states that it refers to a kite in general. Birlocha, milocha and pájara are also

defined as generic kites, but where are these terms used in this sense? The Dictionary provides

no regional specification for them and no information on their use was obtained in this study. It

is clear, however, that these terms are not used universally in this sense.

A7 MARBLES


SPAIN canicas (26/30), boliches (4/30), bolas (3/30), bolindres (1/30), bolos (1/30),

chivas (1/30), pitos (1/30), pivitines (1/30).

MEXICO canicas (24/30), mosaicos (4/30), cayucos (2/30), bolitas (1/30), chibolas (1/30).

GUATEMALA cincos (13/15), canicas (3/15).

EL SALVADOR chibolas (16/20), canicas (3/20), maules (2/20).

HONDURAS maules (14/18), mables (3/18), canicas (2/18).

NICARAGUA chibolas (9/12), bolicas (1/12), bolitas (1/12), canicas (1/12), mables (1/12),

maules (1/12).

COSTA RICA bolinchas (10/14), canicas (9/14).

PANAMA bol(it)as (11/18), canicas (8/18), bolitas de guiñar (2/18), cristales (1/18), cuajaos

(1/18).

CUBA bol(it)as (19/23), canicas (2/23), balinas (1/23), balines (1/23), chinatas (1/23),

mechos (1/23).

DOMIN. REP. bol(it)as (9/13), bellugas/vellugas (5/13), canicas (2/13).

PUERTO RICO canicas (13/18), bolitas (3/18), bolas de corote (1/18), bolitas de yeco (1/18),

velludas (1/18).

17

VENEZUELA metras (18/18).

COLOMBIA bol(it)as (18/36), canicas (10/36), boliches (3/36), bolitas (de) uñita (3/36), bolas

chinas (2/36), maras (2/36), bolas de cristal (1/36), mollejones (1/36), pepas

(1/36), pinguas (1/36), piquis (1/36).

ECUADOR bol(it)as (22/28), canicas (5/28), bolillas (2/28), bolichas (1/28).

PERU bol(it)as (21/30), canicas (10/30), boliches (1/30), cristales (1/30), tiros (1/30),

ñocos (1/30), quinchos (1/30).

BOLIVIA cachinas (11/24) bol(it)as (7/24), canicas (6/24), pep(it)as (2/24), bolillas (1/24).

PARAGUAY bol(it)as (9/12), balitas (6/12).

URUGUAY bolitas (15/15).

ARGENTINA bolitas (30/36), balitas (3/36), canicas (2/36), bolillas (1/36), bolillos (1/36),

plomines (1/36).

CHILE bolitas (16/16).

A7.2 Details

General: The term canicas can be considered the international standard in that it is understood by

educated speakers throughout the Spanish-speaking world. However, it appears to be

commonly used by children in only six countries: Spain, Mexico, Costa Rica, Panama,

Puerto Rico, Colombia and Peru. In all others, bola, bolita or a regional term

predominate. Where bol(it)a is listed in the above chart, the diminutive form, bolita, is

generally more common than bola.

Spain: Canica was given by Spaniards from diverse regions of the country and is not regionally

weighted, but the following other terms were given by people from specific regions:

bolas, Alicante, Galicia; boliches, Islas Canarias; bolindres, Granada; bolos, Pamplona;

chivas, Zaragoza; pitos, León. Pivitines was given by a person from Asturias who

indicated that this is the word used in the Bable language, the singular form is pivitina

(not pivitín*), and the plural form, pivitines.

Mexico: Canica is used practically everywhere, but the following other terms were offered by

people from specific regions: mosaicos, Guanajuato, Michoacán, Nayarit, Zacatecas;

bolitas, Sinaloa; chibolas, Chiapas; cayucos, Veracruz.

Panama: Bolas/bolitas and canicas are used practically everywhere, but cristales and cuajaos

were given by people from Chiriquí.

Cuba: Bolas/bolitas are used practically everywhere, but mechos and balinas were given by

people from the Oriente (the eastern part of Cuba); one person from Havana offered

chinatas.

Peru: One respondent indicated that ñoco is the hole you shoot the marble into in certain games

played with marbles, but another said it was the ‘marble’ itself.

Argentina: Balita was offered by people from San Juan; bolillas by a person from Entre Ríos;

and bolillo by a person from La Rioja. An older person from San Juan offered plomines;

and one person (region unknown) also indicated that mendocinas referred to glass

marbles (ones that are transparent as opposed to opaque).

Large/small marbles: The following terms were offered by people in the sense of marbles that

are larger or smaller than the standard size ones: bochón (Uruguay, large); bolonca

(Honduras, large); pepona (Venezuela, large); pinguita (Uruguay, small); pota (Bogotá,

Colombia, large); tincuyo (Abancay, Peru, large).

18

Names of games played with marbles: What are all the different names of games that are played

with marbles, where is each name used, and how is each game played?


Balín (D), balina (F), balita (D), barro (D), belluga (F), bola (A), bola china (F), bolicha

(F), boliche (D), bolilla (D), bolincha (F), bolindre (C), bolita (F), bolita de corote (F), bolita de

guiñar (F), bolita de yeco (F), bolo (D), cachina (F), canica (A), cayuco (D), cinco (D), cristal

(D), cuajao (F), chibola (D), chinata (D), chiva (D), mable (F), mara (F), maule (F), mecho (F),

metra (D), mollejón (D), mosaico (D), ojo de gato (D), pepa (D), pivitina (F), pota (D), quincho

(D), velluda (D), velluga (F).

Bolinche is defined as “Bolita para jugar; canica.”. Where is this term used in this sense?

A8 SEESAW or TEETER-TOTTER

Note: This item is also called “dandle board,” “teedle board,” “tilting board” and other names in

some regions of the United States (Soukhanov 1844).


SPAIN balancín (20/35), subibaja (11/35), columpio (8/35).

MEXICO subibaja (25/40), bambilete (6/40), balancín (3/40), balanza (3/40),

bimbalete (2/40), chiquineo (1/40), pimbalete (1/40), regilete (1/40),

tambalín (1/40).

GUATEMALA subibaja (15/15).

EL SALVADOR subibaja (14/16), maroma (3/16).

HONDURAS subibaja (10/11), balim-balam (1/11).

NICARAGUA subibaja (11/11).

COSTA RICA subibaja (13/13).

PANAMA subibaja (9/15), tintibajo (7/15), tintiribajo (1/15).

CUBA cachumbambé (18/18).

DOMIN. REP. subibaja (11/11).

PUERTO RICO subibaja (12/13), burro (1/13).

VENEZUELA subibaja (18/18).

COLOMBIA subibaja (10/40), burro (8/40), balancín (7/40), balanza (7/40), machín-

machón (3/40), mataculín (3/40), balanceadero (1/40), gato (1/40) gatos

arriba (1/40), sonsón (1/40).

ECUADOR subibaja (15/26), guinguiringongo (11/26).

PERU subibaja (20/20).

BOLIVIA subibaja (16/16).

PARAGUAY subibaja (12/13), balancín (3/13).

URUGUAY subibaja (16/16).

ARGENTINA subibaja (23/24), maroma (2/24).

CHILE balancín (15/15).

19

C8.2 Details

General: The above chart simplifies the survey responses somewhat in that a number of variants

of subibaja, such as sube y baja and sube-baja, were offered both in speech and writing.

Subibaja and its variants are used in parts of almost all Spanish-speaking countries with

the possible exception of Cuba and Chile.

Spain: Are there regional preferences within Spain for balancín, subibaja/sube y baja and

columpio? All three terms were given by people from diverse regions.

Mexico: Subibaja seems to be used practically everywhere, but the following other terms were

given by people from specific regions: balancín, Jalisco, Nuevo León; balanza, Nuevo

León, Tamaulipas; bambilete, Guanajuato, Jalisco, Michoacán; bimbalete and pimbalete,

Jalisco, Querétaro; chiquineo, Nayarit; regilete, Hidalgo; tambalín, Guanajuato.

Bambilete, bimbalete and pimbalete can be considered phonetic variants of each other.

El Salvador: Maroma, according to several respondents, is a type of primitive seesaw found in

the countryside typically made from a log attached to a stump.

Colombia: Subibaja/sube y baja was given by people from diverse regions of the country,

including the interior and the Costa (Atlantic Coast region), but the following other terms

were given by people from specific regions: burro and balancín, Riseralda, Valle;

machín-machón, Santander; mataculín, Antioquia; gato or gatos arriba, Nariño; sonsón,

Antioquia.

Ecuador: Subibaja and its variants are used in the highlands, but guinguiringongo, and its

variants__

guinguirigongo, guinguilingongo and linguiringongo__

are the predominant

terms in Guayaquil where the following popular saying is heard: Guinguiringongo, pata

de longo, sube Panchito, y baja mondongo. (In Ecuadoran Spanish, longo is a pejorative

word meaning ‘indigenous person’ and, in Coastal Ecuadoran Spanish, it also refers

pejoratively to any ‘person from the Sierra, serrano’.)

Argentina: The two who gave maroma were from Mendoza and San Juan.


Balancín (D), balanza (D), balim-balam (F), bambilete (F), bimbalete (D), burro (D),

cachumbambé (F), columpio (D), chiquineo (F), gato (D), gatos arriba (F), guinguilingongo (F),

guinguirigongo (F), guinguiringongo (F), linguiringongo (F), machín-machón (F), maroma (D),

mataculín (F), pimbalete (F), regilete (F), sonsón (F), sube y baja (F), subibaja (F), tambalín (F),

tintibajo (F), tintiribajo (F).

What explanation can be given for the fact that the Dictionary has failed to provide a

definition for the item in question under any of the terms encountered in this study, including the

three terms given by Spaniards, balancín, subibaja/sube y baja and columpio? Have its editors

never played on a seesaw or observed others doing so, or did they just forget to include a

description of it in the Dictionary? It does include definitions of the Peninsular Spanish words

for ‘swing’ and ‘slide’ and, therefore, not defining ‘seesaw’ does not appear to be an intentional

act. Are seesaws much less common in Spain than swings and slides? This author had no

problem coming up with Spaniards who were familiar with and could name the seesaw.

20

A9 SLIDE


SPAIN tobogán (20/20).

MEXICO resbaladilla (22/40), resbaladero (13/40), resbaladera (9/40).

GUATEMALA resbaladero (14/14).

EL SALVADOR deslizadero (13/20), deslizador (3/20), choyadero (2/20), tobogán (2/20).

HONDURAS deslizador (10/12), deslizadero (3/12).

NICARAGUA resbaladero (13/13).

COSTA RICA tobogán (11/11).

PANAMA zurra-zurra (10/15), zurradero (5/15), tobogán (2/15), resbalador (1/15).

CUBA canal (10/10).

DOMIN. REP. tobogán (5/10), not common (5/10).

PUERTO RICO chorrera (13/13).

VENEZUELA tobogán (14/14).

COLOMBIA rodadero (14/25), resbaladero (6/25), tobogán (5/25), deslizadero (2/25),

canoa (1/25).

ECUADOR resbaladera (13/15), tobogán (2/15), rodadera (1/15).

PERU resbaladera (17/24), tobogán (4/24), resbaladora (3/24), resbaladero

(1/24).

BOLIVIA resbalín (12/17), tobogán (5/17), resbalador (2/17).

PARAGUAY tobogán (10/10).

URUGUAY tobogán (15/15).

ARGENTINA tobogán (20/20).

CHILE re(s)falín (9/16), resbalín (5/16), tobogán (3/16).

A9.2 Details

General: Tobogán is the most frequently used term for generic slides in Spain, Costa Rica,

Venezuela, Paraguay, Uruguay, Argentina, and possibly the Dominican Republic, but in

the remaining countries other terms__

generally derived from the verbs resbalar or

deslizar__

are more commonly used in this sense. Tobogán is also used in many countries

to refer to the large, curvy, water slides that are found in some amusement parks.

Mexico: Resbaladilla appears to be used in much of southern and central Mexico whereas

resbaladera and resbaladero appear to be used more in the North. Resbaladilla was

offered by people from the Distrito Federal, Guanajuato, Guerrero, Jalisco, Michoacán,

Morelos, Puebla, Quintana Roo, Sinaloa, Tamaulipas, and Zacatecas. Resbaladero was

offered by people from Baja California del Norte, Chihuahua, Guanajuato, Jalisco,

Michoacán, Nayarit, Nuevo León, Sonora and Zacatecas. Resbaladera was given by

people from Colima, Guanajuato, Jalisco, Michoacán and Tamaulipas.

Panama: Opinions vary on whether the correct spelling is surra-surra or zurra-zurra. The same

applies to surradero vs. zurradero. Assuming the word derives from the verb zurrar, then

the z-forms would appear to be the “correct” spellings. In addition to the s vs. z question,

should the first pair be written with a hyphen or without, i.e. surra-surra/zurra-zurra or

surrasurra/zurrazurra? Panamanians also seem to be divided on this point.

21

Cuba: Canal, when used in this sense, is feminine (la canal).

Slang/vulgar words for ‘slide’: What regional slang and/or vulgar words are there for ‘slide’?

Several Chileans gave rascapoto or raspapoto (poto means ‘rear end’ in Chilean

Spanish). One Spaniard from Zaragoza also indicated that esbarizaculos is used there by

older people. The term comes from General Spanish culo (‘ass,’ ‘asshole’ in the

anatomical sense) and the verb esbarizar which is defined as “(Cruce de esbarar y

deslizar.) intr. Ar. [Aragón] resbalar.” Esbarar is defined as “resbalar”.


Canal (D), cholladero (F), choyadero (F), chorrera (D), deslizadero (D), deslizador (F),

esbarizaculos (F), rascapoto (F), raspapoto (F), refalín (F), resbaladera (F), resbaladero (D),

resbaladilla (F), resbalador (D), resbaladora (F), resbalín (F), resfalín (F), rodadera (F),

rodadero (D), surradero (F), surra-surra (F), tobogán (A), zurradero (F), zurra-zurra (F).

A10 SLINGSHOT


SPAIN tirachinas (25/40), honda (6/40), tirador (6/40), tiragomas (3/40), tirabeque (1/40),

tirabolas (1/40), tiradera (1/40), tirapiedras (1/40).

MEXICO resortera (27/50), charpe (6/50), hulera (4/50), honda (3/50), tirahule (3/50),

flecha (2/50), horqueta (2/50), tirador (2/50), tiradora (2/50), estirador (1/50),

jaladera (1/50), negasura (1/50), parche (1/50), recua (1/50).

GUATEMALA honda (17/17).

EL SALVADOR hondilla (15/18), honda (4/18).

HONDURAS honda (10/10).

NICARAGUA tiradora (8/14), honda (5/14), hulera (5/14).

COSTA RICA flecha (9/15), resortera (8/15), honda (2/15).

PANAMA biombo (14/16), honda (2/16), resortera (2/16).

CUBA tirapiedra(s) (15/21), tiradera (5/21), flecha (3/21), tiraflechas (3/21).

DOMIN. REP. tirapiedra(s) (12/15), tirador (2/15), escopeta (1/15), goma (1/15), horqueta (1/15).

PUERTO RICO honda (18/21), tirabete (2/21), tiradeque (1/21), flecha (1/21).

VENEZUELA china (17/30), honda (9/30), fonda (3/30), tiratira (2/30), flecha (1/30), resortera

(1/30), tiragomas (1/30).

COLOMBIA cauchera (25/30), honda (5/30), flecha (2/30).

ECUADOR cata (4/38), catapulta (4/38), cauchera (2/38), cimbra (1/38), flecha (3/38),

gauchera (1/38), honda (2/38), horqueta (10/38), jebe (1/38), lanzadera (1/38),

liga (1/38), liguera (1/38), paica/pailca (4/38), resortera (3/38), tiradera (1/38),

tirajebe (2/38).

PERU honda (25/33), resortera (3/33), callampa (2/33), horqueta (2/33), estirador (1/33),

goma (1/33), guaraca/huaraca (1/33).

BOLIVIA flecha (10/21), honda (9/21), resortera (3/21).

PARAGUAY hondita (12/15), honda (4/15).

URUGUAY honda (18/20), gomera (2/20).

22

ARGENTINA honda (27/37), gomera (21/37).

CHILE honda (20/20).

A10.2 Details

General: The item in question is the Y-shaped device with an elastic strap, often used to kill

birds, (not the weapon David is believed to have used to kill Goliath which appears to be

honda everywhere).

Spain: Tirachinas was given by Spaniards from diverse regions of the country and does not

appear to be regionally weighted, but the following terms were offered by people from

specific regions: tirador, Galicia, Madrid; honda, Cataluña; tiragomas, León; tirabeque,

Pamplona; tirapiedras and tirabolas, Galicia; tiradera, Islas Canarias.

Mexico: Resortera seems to be used practically everywhere, but the following terms were given

by people from specific regions: charpe, Oaxaca, Puebla, Veracruz; hulera, Distrito

Federal, Hidalgo, Nuevo León; honda, Chiapas, Veracruz; tirahule, Quintana Roo;

flecha, Distrito Federal, Hidalgo; horqueta, Distrito Federal, Sinaloa; tiradora, Chiapas,

Nuevo León; estirador, Sinaloa; jaladera, Distrito Federal.

Cuba: Tirapiedra(s) appears to be the dominant term in many regions, including Havana, but

where are flecha, tiradera and tiraflechas used? All five of those who offered tiradera

were from the Oriente.

Venezuela: China seems to be used practically everywhere, but tiratira (should it be spelled tira-

tira?) was given by people from Falcón and Zulia; fonda was offered by people from

Barquisimeto.

Ecuador: The following terms were given by people from specific regions: cata and catapulta,

Quito; cauchera, Esmeraldas, Tulcán; cimbra, Tulcán; flecha, Ambato, Baños; gauchera,

Esmeraldas; honda, Guayaquil; horqueta, Ambato, Guayaquil, Riobamba; jebe, El Oro;

lanzadera, paica and pailca, Cuenca; liga and liguera, Los Ríos; resortera, Chimborazo,

Pichincha; tiradera, Los Ríos; tirajebe, Loja. Paica/pailca, also spelled pallca, is of

Quechua/Quichua origin (Cordero 81).

Peru: Honda was given by Peruvians from diverse regions of the country and is not regionally

weighted, but the following other terms were given by people from specific regions:

resortera, Lima; horqueta, Lima, Tacna; callampa, Junín; goma, Huánuco; guaraca,

Trujillo; estirador, Piura.

Bolivia: Flecha was given by people from the Altiplano; honda by people from Santa Cruz and

Tarija and by some from the Altiplano.


Biombo (D), callampa (D), cata (D), catapulta (D), cauchera (D), cimbra (D), charpe

(F), china (D), escopeta (D), estirador (F), flecha (D), fonda (D), gauchera (F), goma (D),

gomera (D or F?), guaraca (D), honda (D), hondilla (F), hondita (F), horqueta (D), huaraca (F),

hulera (F), jaladera (F), jebe (D), lanzadera (D), liga (D), liguera (D), negasura (F), paica (F),

pailca (F), parche (D), recua (D), resortera (F), tirabeque (C), tirabete (F), tirabolas (F),

tirachinas (B or C?), tiradera (D), tirador (C?), tiradora (C?), tiraflechas (F), tiragomas (C),

tirahule (F), tirajebe (F), tirapiedras (F), tiratira (D).

23

The following terms, all beginning in tira-, are defined as follows: tirabeque, “2.

Horquilla con mango, a los extremos de la cual se sujetan dos gomas unidas por una badana, en

la que se ponen piedrecillas o perdigones; tirador, tiragomas”; tirachinas, “tirachinos” which in

turn is defined as “Sev. Tirador de horquilla con gomas para tirar con pedrezuelas; tiragomas”;

tiragomas, “Horquilla con gomas para tirar pedrezuelas; tirador, tirachinas”. Sense 9 of the

definition for tirador is identical to sense 2 of tirabeque except that “en la que se ponen

piedrecillas o perdigones; tirador, tiragomas” is changed to “en la que se colocan piedrecillas o

perdigones para dispararlos” (underlines added).

Why is there a lack of uniformity in the definitions? Did several different people write

them and not know what their colleagues were doing? Why not select one term and give it a full

definition and merely cross-reference all of the others to that one? Since honda is the only term

that is used in this sense by at least some people in almost all Spanish-speaking countries (Cuba

and the Dominican Republic being possible exceptions), this would be the most logical candidate

for the lead term. The suggestion, therefore, is to add a sense 3 to the definition of honda that is

similar to the Dictionary’s definition of tirabeque (sense 2) or tirador (sense 9) and have all

other regional synonyms be defined as simply “honda3, arma en forma de horqueta para lanzar

piedritas”.

A11 SWING

A11.1 Terms by Country (7 terms plus variants)

SPAIN columpio (20/20).

EL SALVADOR columpio (12/17), trapecio (6/17), mecedora (2/17).

HONDURAS columpio (13/17), mecedora (3/17), trapecio (3/17), mecedor

(1/17).

NICARAGUA chino(s) (11/14), columpio (5/14), trapecio (3/14).

COSTA RICA hamaca (12/12).

PANAMA suinsuán (9/14), columpio (4/14), trapecio (2/14).

BOLIVIA columpio (14/15), hamaca (1/15).

PARAGUAY hamaca (10/10).

URUGUAY hamaca (13/13).

ARGENTINA hamaca (20/20).

REST OF SPANISH AMERICA columpio (at least 10/10 for each country).

A11.2 Details

General: The above chart simplifies usage somewhat in that a number of respondents offered

variants of columpio such as columbio, culumpio and golumpio. Although such forms

were offered both in speech and in writing by people from Colombia, Ecuador, El

Salvador, Honduras, Nicaragua and Peru, there is little reason to believe that these

variants are not also found in many other parts of the Spanish-speaking world.

El Salvador: Several respondents indicated that trapecio refers to a primitive type of swing that

often consists of a rope, whereas columpio refers to a manufactured swing of the type

installed in parks.

24

Panama: How should the Panamanian term be spelled, suinsuán, suin-suan or swing-swang? One

respondent also pronounced the word sinsuán.

Bolivia: Columpio appears to be the dominant term, but hamaca was offered by a person from

Santa Cruz.

Hammocks vs. swings in Costa Rica, Paraguay, Uruguay & Argentina: In Uruguay and

Argentina, ‘hammocks’ are often referred to as hamacas paraguayas to distinguish them

from ‘swings’ (hamacas). One Argentine indicated that the term coy or coi is also used in

the sense of ‘hammock’ and she believed it was of Guaraní origin. A Paraguayan

indicated that the Guaraní term for this is kyha (with a nasalized y), and the castillianized

pronunciation is quijá. Are coy and quijá used in Argentina and Paraguay, respectively,

when people are speaking Spanish? Are there terms other than hamaca that are used to

refer to ‘hammocks’ in Costa Rica?


Columbio (F), columpio (A), culumpio (F), chino (D), golumpio (F), hamaca (D),

mecedor (C), mecedora (D), sinsuán (F), suinsuán (F), trapecio (D).

Mecedor is defined as “3. columpio”. Other than possibly Honduras, where is this term

commonly used in this sense?

A12 TICKTACKTOE (also spelled tick-tack-toe and tic-tac-toe)


SPAIN tres en raya (20/20).

MEXICO gato (20/26), gato y ratón (3/26), coyote (1/26), timbiriche (1/26), tres en

gallos (1/26).

GUATEMALA totito (13/13).

EL SALVADOR equis cero (12/12).

HONDURAS equis cero (10/10).

NICARAGUA equis cero (13/18), tictactó (6/18).

COSTA RICA gato (12/13), equis cero (2/13).

PANAMA equis cero (10/10).

CUBA ceritos (4/10), ti(c)ta(c)tó (4/10), el cero (1/10), tresillo (1/10).

DOMIN. REP. not common (4/10), ti(c)ta(c)tó (3/10), cero y cruz (2/10), ceritos (1/10).

PUERTO RICO cerito(s) (10/20), tictactó (4/20), cerito cruz (1/20), ceros y cruces (1/20),

cero y equis (1/20), cruces y ceritos (1/20), cruz y cero (1/20), equis y

cerito (1/20), tres en línea (1/20), tres en raya (1/20).

VENEZUELA la vieja (10/10).

COLOMBIA triqui (8/18), tictactó/tictactoc (4/18), tictac (2/18), crucecitos (1/18), equis

cero (1/18), tres en línea (1/18), trique (1/18), triquitrí (1/18).

ECUADOR tres en raya (12/16), tres en calle (3/16), tres en línea (1/16).

PERU michi (17/22), gato (3/22), tres en raya (3/22).

BOLIVIA tres en raya (9/12), tres cruces (3/12).

PARAGUAY tatetí (10/10).

25

URUGUAY tatetí (14/14).

ARGENTINA tatetí (20/20).

CHILE gato (13/13).

A12.2 Details

General: As with many games, the terms are used much more in speech than in writing and

therefore even educated people are often unsure of the correct spelling. How should the

following terms be spelled, as one word or several, with hyphens or without? Equis cero,

equiscero or equis-cero? Tatetí or ta-te-ti? Totito or to-ti-to? Tres en raya or tres-en-

raya? For consistency, the hyphenless spellings are presented in the above chart despite

the fact that many people indicated that they spell their word for this item with a hyphen,

and for brevity most of the terms are presented above without the definite article even

though in speech they often come with the article, i.e. el totito, los ceritos, etc.

Mexico: Gato was given by Mexicans from diverse regions of the country and is not regionally

weighted, but the following other terms were given by people from specific regions: el

coyote, Zacatecas; tres en gallos, Quintana Roo; timbiriche, an older woman from the

Distrito Federal. (Did she misunderstand? See tembereche in subsection A4.1, Mexico.)

Ecuador: Tres en raya was given by people from many different regions, but the three who gave

tres en calle were from Ambato and Baños.

Peru: Michi means ‘cat’ (gato) in Quechua.

Paraguay, Uruguay & Argentina: Most of those queried indicated they would spell the term with

hyphens, ta-te-ti or ta-te-tí, not tatetí.


Cerito(s) (D), cerito cruz (F), ceros y cruces (F), coyote (D), crucecitos (F), equis cero

(F), gato (D), gato y ratón (F), michi (F), tatetí (D), tictactó (F), tictactoc (F), timbiriche (D),

totito (F), tres cruces (F), tres en calle (F), tres en gallos (F), tres en línea (F), tres en raya (D),

tresillo (D), trique (D), triqui (F), triquitrí (F), vieja (D).

Tres en raya is defined under raya as “Juego de muchachos, que se juega con unas

piedrecillas o tantos colocados en un cuadro, dividido en otros cuatro, con las líneas tiradas de un

lado a otro por el centro, y añadidas las diagonales de un ángulo a otro. El fin del juego consiste

en colocar en cualquiera de las líneas los tres tantos propios, y el arte del juego, en impedir que

esto se logre, interpolando los tantos contrarios.” This definition describes a game that is similar

to but distinct from ‘ticktacktoe’. The game people in the United States refer to as “ticktacktoe”

is common in the Spanish-speaking world and, therefore, a sense 2 needs to be added to the

subentry for tres en raya. What is the best way to define ‘ticktacktoe’ in Spanish? The following

three definitions, proposed by the author, are possibilities:

a) Juego en que dos contrincantes se alternan poniendo cruces o círculos intentando cada

uno ser el primero en completar una hilera horizontal, vertical o diagonal en un tablero de

nueve casillas formado por la intersección de dos líneas verticales y dos horizontales;

b) Juego en que dos jugadores se alternan poniendo equis y ceros en las casillas de un

dibujo o tablero formado por dos líneas verticales que cruzan dos líneas horizontales;

cada jugador intenta crear una hilera de tres equis o tres ceros antes que el contrincante;

26

c) Juego de dos personas en que cada uno trata de hacer una hilera de tres equis o tres

ceros en un cuadro que tiene nueve casillas. (This last definition is a rough translation of

the definition for “ticktacktoe” found in the American Heritage Dictionary.)

The fact that tres en raya appears under tres with a cross-reference that reads “3. V. tres

en raya” raises another lexicographical issue. How should compound terms such as this one be

listed in the Dictionary, under tres, under raya, or should tres en raya be its own separate entry?

Where is the reader most likely to look first, and which solution will make him or her do the least

legwork?

B SCHOOL & MISCELLANEOUS

B1 CHEAT-SHEET

B1.1 Terms by Country (c. 25 terms plus variants)

SPAIN chuleta (20/20).

MEXICO acordeón (20/20).

GUATEMALA chivo (14/14).

EL SALVADOR copia (9/10), acordeón (2/10).

HONDURAS chepe (11/12), acordeón (1/12).

NICARAGUA copia (11/11).

COSTA RICA forro (11/11).

PANAMA batería (12/12).

CUBA chivo (12/14), acordeón (4/14).

DOMIN. REP. chivo (12/12).

PUERTO RICO drog(uit)a (12/18), bate (5/18), chivo (2/18).

VENEZUELA chuleta (18/18).

COLOMBIA chancuco (12/40), copia (7/40), copialina (6/40), machete (5/40), soplete (4/40),

chanchullo (3/40), pastel (3/40), boleta (1/40), comprimido (1/40), guía (1/40).

ECUADOR polla (20/20).

PERU plagio (13/25), comprimido (7/25), copia (5/25), plage (3/25), plagia (2/25), flajeo

(1/25), plageo (1/25).

BOLIVIA chanchullo (15/22), chanchulla (5/22), copie (3/22), becha-becha (1/22).

PARAGUAY copiatín (5/11), copiatini (5/11), copietine (1/11).

URUGUAY ferrocarril (9/15), trencito (9/15), machete (1/15).

ARGENTINA machete (25/25).

CHILE torpedo (16/16).

B1.2 Details

General: The item in question is a piece of paper or other object on which students write

information in order to cheat on exams. Most of the above terms represent what might be

called standardized regional slang terminology. Of course, many speakers use other more

coded or idiosyncratic terms (e.g. arma secreta).

27

Nicaragua: A copia is a standard cheat-sheet, but a number of Nicaraguans indicated that in

student slang a piedra is a photocopy or hand-written copy of the exam itself that is

surreptitiously obtained by students for the purpose of cheating. Others indicated that

piedra refers to any pista or clave (‘hint’ or ‘key’) that helps students with exams,

including ones that are provided by the teacher. To the extent Nicaraguans use both copia

and piedra to refer to ‘cheat-sheets,’ how do they distinguish between these two terms?

Puerto Rico: Who says bate, who says droga or droguita, and who says chivo? One respondent

indicated that bate and chivo are used in the western part of the island and drog(uit)a is

used in the eastern part, but the data collected is inconclusive.

Colombia: The following terms were given by people from specific regions: chancuco,

Cundinamarca, Nariño, Valle; copia, Cundinamarca, Huila, Santander; copialina,

Cundinamarca, Valle; soplete, Boyacá, Cundinamarca; chanchullo, the Costa (Atlantic

Coast region), Cundinamarca, Valle; machete, the Costa; pastel, Antioquia; boleta,

Antioquia; comprimido, Cundinamarca; guía, Santander. What, if any, are the regional

standards within Colombia?

Bolivia: The following terms were given by people from the following regions: chanchullo and

chanchulla, Cochabamba, La Paz; copie (masculine word), Santa Cruz; becha-becha,

Tarija.

Cheating (informal expressions): In Honduras, the verb chepear is used in informal language in

the sense of ‘to cheat’. What other slang verbs meaning ‘to cheat’ derive from nouns

meaning ‘cheat-sheet’?

B1.3 Real Academia Regional Review

Acordeón (B), bate (D), batería (D), becha-becha (F), boleta (D), comprimido (D), copia

(D), copialina (F), copiatín (F), copiatini (F), copie (F), copietine (F), chancuco (D), chanchulla

(F), chanchullo (D), chepe (F), chivo (D), chuleta (B), droga (D), droguita (F), ferrocarril (D),

flajeo (F), forro (D), guía (D), machete (B), pastel (D), piedra (D), plage (F), plageo (F), plagia

(F), plagio (D), polla (D), torpedo (D), tren (D), trencito (F).

Chuleta is defined as “4. fig. Entre estudiantes, papelito con fórmulas u otros apuntes que

se lleva oculto para usarlo disimuladamente en los exámenes” (underline added), whereas

acordeón is defined as “2. fam. Méj. Especie de chuleta, papelito con apuntes para uso, no

autorizado, de los estudiantes en exámenes escritos” (underlines added). Why is chuleta defined

as “figurative” usage while acordeón is characterized as “familiar” usage and as a “type of

chuleta”? The two are simply regional synonyms for the same phenomenon and this should be

clearly indicated in the definitions. If chuleta is to be the regional term for which a full definition

is given, why not define acordeón, and all other regional synonyms, as simply “chuleta4, papel u

otro objeto que se usa para hacer trampa en un examen”?

Are any of the terms presented in subsection B1.1 above commonly used to refer to any

piece of paper containing information that people use legally to recall facts they would not

otherwise remember, in the extended meaning in which “cheat-sheet” is used in U.S. English? If

so, the Dictionary will need to add a second sense to the definitions of these terms.

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B2 HOMEWORK

B2.1 Terms by Country (3 terms)

SPAIN deberes (25/34), tarea (12/34).

MEXICO tarea (25/25).

GUATEMALA deberes (9/13), tarea (6/13).

EL SALVADOR deberes (8/12), tarea (6/12).

HONDURAS tarea (10/10).

NICARAGUA tarea (10/10).

COSTA RICA tarea (10/14), asignación (6/14).

PANAMA tarea (14/14).

CUBA tarea (12/12).

DOMIN. REP. tarea (11/11).

PUERTO RICO asignación (14/15), tarea (2/15).

VENEZUELA tarea (14/14).

COLOMBIA tarea (20/20).

ECUADOR deberes (13/17), tarea (6/17).

PERU tarea (20/20), asignación (4/20).

BOLIVIA tarea (14/14).

PARAGUAY deberes (13/14), tarea (5/14).

URUGUAY deberes (16/17), tarea (2/17).

ARGENTINA deberes (21/23), tarea (10/23).

CHILE tarea (19/19).

B2.2 Details

General: Deberes and tareas can be considered simple synonyms insofar as both terms are

generally understood by educated speakers as being equivalent (the modifiers escolares,

para el hogar or para la casa can be added for clarification). Nevertheless, the data from

this study clearly indicate that in most Spanish-speaking countries one of the two terms is

more commonly used in the sense of ‘homework’. Deberes seems to be preferred in

Spain, Ecuador, Paraguay, Uruguay and Argentina while tarea is predominant in Mexico,

Honduras, Nicaragua, Costa Rica, Panama, Cuba, the Dominican Republic, Venezuela,

Colombia, Peru, Bolivia and Chile. In Guatemala and El Salvador, there appears to be a

fairly healthy competition between the two terms.

Guatemala & El Salvador: Are the terms deberes and tareas used interchangeably in these two

countries, or would testing greater numbers of people show a definite preference for one

over the other?

Asignación: Many people from Costa Rica and Peru indicated that asignación is a written report,

term paper or other assignment that is longer than a tarea, which is a shorter homework

assignment, while a few said asignación and tarea were synonyms. In Puerto Rico,

however, asignación is a homework assignment in general. Is asignación commonly used

in either sense anywhere other than Costa Rica, Peru and Puerto Rico?

29


Asignación (D), deber (A or D?), tarea (D).

Deber is defined as “3. Ejercicio que, como complemento de lo aprendido en clase, se

encarga, para hacerlo fuera de ella, al alumno de los primeros grados de enseñanza. Ú. m. en pl.”

(underline added). The definition indicates that deber is homework done specifically by a

primary school student. To what extent, and where, is this true? The evidence from this study

indicates that, both deberes and tareas are used, in their respective regions, in the generic sense

of ‘homework,’ whether in primary, secondary, or higher education.

Given how common the use of tarea in the sense of ‘homework’ is in much of the

Spanish-speaking world (it appears to be the dominant term in twelve out of twenty countries),

what explanation can be given for the fact that the Dictionary has failed to include this sense in

its entry for tarea?

B3 TO PLAY HOOKY (also spelled hookey)

B3.1 Phrases by Country (c. 50 phrases plus variants)

SPAIN hacer novillos (20/50), pirar(se) (8/50), hacer pellas (7/50), hacer campana (4/50),

hacer pira (3/50), pelar(se) la clase (3/50), fumarse la clase (2/50), grillarse la

clase (2/50), hacer pirola (2/50), hacer rabona (2/50), latar a clase (2/50), colgar

clase (1/50), fanar clases (1/50), hacer calva (1/50), hacer fuchina (1/50), hacer la

liebre (1/50), hacer pila (1/50), irse de pellas (1/50), salarse la clase (1/50).

MEXICO irse de pinta (27/40), hacerse la pinta (8/40), echarse la pinta (4/40), salirse de

pinta (1/40), pintar venados (2/40), pintear(se) la clase (2/40), hacerse la balona

(1/40), hacerse la perra (1/40), perrearse (1/40).

GUATEMALA capear(se) (11/12), irse de capiuza (3/12).

EL SALVADOR no common expression (10/10).

HONDURAS no common expression (10/10).

NICARAGUA no common expression (10/10).

COSTA RICA no common expression (10/10).

PANAMA pavear(se) (11/11).

CUBA no common expression (6/11), comerse la guásima (2/11), hacer novillo(s) (2/11),

pelar la guásima (1/11).

DOMIN. REP. no common expression (7/10), brillar (3/10).

PUERTO RICO comer jobo (10/18), cortar clase (9/18), hacer brusca (3/18).

VENEZUELA jubilarse (9/17), no common expression (8/17).

COLOMBIA capar (14/22), (es)cachar (4/22), echarse/tirarse la leva (4/22), capear (2/22).

ECUADOR echarse la pera (10/22), hacerse la pava (9/22), hacerse la pera (4/22), perearse

(4/22), tirarse la pera (3/22), ranclarse (1/22).

PERU hacerse la vaca (26/40), tirarse la pera (16/40), tirarse la vaca (4/40), hacerse la

pera (3/40), echarse la pera (2/40), irse de vaca (1/40).

BOLIVIA chachar(se) (15/18), chuñear (3/18).

PARAGUAY hacer(se la) rabona (7/11), rabonear (7/11).

URUGUAY hacer(se la) rabona (15/18), hacerse la rata (5/18), ratearse (2/18).

30

ARGENTINA hacerse la rata (25/37), hacer(se la) rabona (13/37), hacerse la chupina (5/37),

ratearse (3/37).

CHILE hacer la cimarra (11/15), capear (6/15), hacer la chancha (3/15), hacerse el

chancho (1/15).

B3.2 Details

General: The above phrases are colloquial expressions meaning ‘not to go to school without

having a valid excuse such as an illness,’ that is, ‘to play hooky’.

Spain: The expression hacer novillos was given by Spaniards from diverse regions of the country

and is not regionally weighted. The following expressions, however, were given by

people from specific regions: pirar(se), Aragón, Asturias, León; hacer pellas/irse de

pellas, Castilla, León, País Vasco; hacer campana, Castilla, Cataluña, Valladolid; hacer

pira, País Vasco; pelar(se) la clase, Alicante, Valencia; fumarse la clase, Alicante,

Valladolid; grillarse la clase, León; hacer pirola, Zaragoza, Aragón; hacer rabona,

Andalucía; latar a clase, Galicia (respondents indicated this is a Gallego expression);

colgar clase and fanar clases, Galicia; hacer calva, Pamplona; hacer fuchina, Valencia;

hacer la liebre, Asturias; hacer pila and salarse la clase, Valencia.

Cuba: Are the expressions comerse la guásima and pelar la guásima used primarily in the

Oriente? Those who gave these expressions were from this region.

Dominican Republic: Brillar, when used in this sense, is apparently an ellipsis for brillar por la

ausencia, brillar por su ausencia, etc. How common is this usage?

Puerto Rico: Is comer jobo used in this sense more by the older generations and cortar clase (a

calque of “to cut class”) more by the younger generations? There is some evidence that

this is the case.

Colombia: Capar and/or capear were offered by Colombians from many different areas of the

interior, but cachar and escachar were offered by people from Tunja and Santander, and

echarse la leva or tirarse la leva by people from the Costa.

Ecuador: Echarse la pera, hacerse la pera, tirarse la pera and perearse were given by

Ecuadorans from many different areas of the Sierra (highland region); hacerse la pava,

by people from Guayaquil; ranclarse by a person from Cuenca.

Bolivia: Chachar was offered by people from various parts of the Altiplano; chuñear by people

from Santa Cruz.

Uruguay: A number of people indicated that the expressions hacerse la rata and ratearse have

entered into Uruguayan usage relatively recently and are due to Argentine influence.

Argentina: Hacerse la rata, hacer rabona or hacerse la rabona, and ratearse were offered by

Argentines from diverse regions of the country and are not regionally weighted, but

hacerse la chupina was only offered by people from Córdoba and Santa Fe.

People who play hooky: The following slang terms, which derive from the expressions presented

in subsection B3.1 above, are commonly used as nouns and adjectives to refer to people

who play hooky: chachón, Bolivia; perista, Highland Ecuador; rabonero, Paraguay (and

Argentina and Uruguay?); vaquero, Peru. What other terms that could be formed from

expressions for ‘to play hooky’__

such as capeador (Guatemala?, Chile?); jobero (Puerto

Rico?), novillero (Spain?), and pintero or pintón (Mexico?), etc.__

are commonly used in

this sense?

31


Brillar (D), cachar (D), capar (D), capear(se) (B), colgar clase (F), comer jobo(s) (A),

comerse la guásima (F), cortar clase (F), chachar (F), chuñear (F), echarse de pinta (F), echarse

la leva (F), echarse la pera (F), escachar (D), fanar clases (F), grillarse la clase (F), hacer

brusca (F), hacer calva (F), hacer campana (F), hacer fuchina (C or F?), hacer la cimarra (A?),

hacer la chancha (F), hacerse el chancho (F), hacerse la chupina (F), hacer la lata (F), hacer la

liebre (F), hacer novillos (C), hacerse la pava (F), hacer pellas (C), hacerse la pera (F), hacer

peyas (F), hacer pila (F), hacerse la pinta (F), hacer pira (F), hacer pirola (F), hacer(se la)

rabona (C), hacerse la rata (B), hacerse la vaca (F), irse de capiuza (F), irse de pellas (F), irse

de peyas (F), irse de pinta (F), irse de vaca (F), jubilarse (D), latar a clase (F), pavear(se) (F),

pelar clases (F), pelar la guásima (F), perearse (F), pintar venado(s) (F), pintear(se) (D), pirar

(C), rabonear (F), ranclarse (F), ratearse (D), salarse la clase (D), tirarse la leva (F), tirarse la

pera (F), tirarse la vaca (F).

The following terms and phrases are defined as follows: hacer novillos (under novillos),

“fr. fam. Dejar uno de asistir a alguna parte contra lo debido o acostumbrado, especialmente los

escolares”; pirar, “intr. vulg. Hacer novillos, faltar a clase”; capear, “5. Guat. Entre escolares y

estudiantes, faltar a sus clases sin motivo justificado, a espaldas de sus padres o tutores”; fuchina,

“(Del cat. fugir.) f. Ar. Huida, escapada”; hacer cimarra (under cimarra), “(der. regres. de

cimarrón.) fr. fam. Argent. (Cuyo) y Chile. hacer novillos”; ir de pira (under pira), “fr. en la

jerga estudiantil, no entrar en la clase”.

Why is the definition of capear worded differently from that of hacer novillos when they

are synonyms, that is, regional expressions for the same phenomenon? If hacer novillos is to be

the base term for which a full definition is given, why not just cross-reference all of the other

expressions to this one, as has been done with hacer cimarra. Is hacer la cimarra or hacer

cimarra used in the Argentine provinces of Mendoza, San Juan and San Luis?

B4 SCHOOL YEAR

B4.1 School Year by Country

Note: Data from respondents are not presented in this subsection because the school year is a

question of fact rather than individual usage. About ten people were queried from each country.

SPAIN September to June.

MEXICO August/September to June.

GUATEMALA January to October.

EL SALVADOR January to October.

HONDURAS February to November.

NICARAGUA February to November/December.

COSTA RICA February/March to December.

PANAMA March/April to December.

CUBA September to June.

DOMIN. REP. September to June.

PUERTO RICO August to May.

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VENEZUELA September to July.

COLOMBIA January/February to November/December.

ECUADOR October to July (Sierra); April/May to January/February (Costa).

PERU March/April to December.

BOLIVIA February to October/November.

PARAGUAY February/March to November.

URUGUAY March to November/December.

ARGENTINA March to November/December.

CHILE March to December.

B4.2 Details

General: The school year schedules presented above are for primary and secondary schools in the

countries’ public education systems. In many cases, a range of months has been indicated

because the school year often varies slightly from year to year and, occasionally, between

primary and secondary school. In essence, all Spanish-speaking countries, with the

exception of Ecuador, use one of two schedules. The school years of Spain, Mexico, the

Hispanic Antilles and Venezuela run from approximately September to June, give or take

a month, whereas those of Hispanic Central America and all of Hispanic South America

except Venezuela and Ecuador run from about February to November, again, give or take

a month. For countries that have four seasons, an important factor seems to be to have the

vacation period coincide with the warmer months, whereas in the cases of tropical

countries, some prefer to have their vacations coincide with the December through

January Christmas holiday season, and others seem to prefer to match up with the

academic years of Europe and North America and therefore have adopted a September-

to-June schedule.

Mexico: There used to be two different school years, a February/March-to-November/December

schedule, called Plan A, in the central and southern parts of the country, and a

September-to-June schedule, called Plan B, in northern states. (In Mexico los estados del

Norte generally refer to the border states of Baja California del Norte, Sonora,

Chihuahua, Coahila, Nuevo León and Tamaulipas, plus Sinaloa and Durango.) In about

1970, the two systems were unified with the September-to-June schedule being imposed

throughout the country. There have recently been some initiatives to have the Distrito

Federal go back to a Plan A schedule because of high levels of pollution due to thermal

inversion that occur during the winter months.

Ecuador: The school year in the Sierra (highland region) is October to July whereas in the Costa

(coastal region) it is from April or May until January or February. Public schools in the

Oriente (amazon region) follow the Sierra school schedule and in the Galapagos Islands

the Costa’s schedule is followed. Ecuador is currently the only Spanish-speaking country

in which half the country uses one school year and the other half uses another. The reason

for this is weather. In the Costa, the invierno (rainy season) runs from approximately

January through April during which time massive flooding tends to wash out roads and

make transportation difficult in rural areas. Costeños, therefore, schedule their school

year around this period. In the Sierra, however, there is less precipitation between June

and September and, for this reason, serranos prefer to have their vacation during this

33

sunnier period. Is the fact that the Sierra’s September-to-June schedule coincides with the

U.S. school year also a determining factor?

Private Schools: In Colombia, Hispanic Central America, and perhaps some Hispanic South

American countries where public schools run from about February to November, there

are private schools__

generally bilingual schools that cater to the upper classes__

that follow

a September-to-June school year so that people who attend them can easily match up with

the United States’ and Europe’s academic calendar. In Colombia, Calendario A refers to

the school schedule that runs from January/February to November/December, that is

followed by the vast majority of schools, while Calendario B refers to the September-to-

June schedule followed by some private schools.

APPENDIX: ADDITIONAL TOPICS

The following is a small selection of additional topics in the field of Spanish lexical dialectology

that relate to children. In many cases, only a few informants from each specified country or

region have been observed or questioned regarding these issues, and the findings are therefore

tentative at best. No doubt many of the usages presented are used in many more regions than

those listed; the information provided is based on the data the author was able to collect.

Although some information is provided on how the terminology varies by region, the topics are

primarily presented to call attention to their existence as possible dialectological issues and to

encourage others to research them further. Spelling issues such as c vs. s are also raised. All

references to definitions are to those of the 1992 edition of the Diccionario de la Lengua

Española (the Spanish Royal Academy Dictionary).

amusement park. Is it parque de atracciones in Spain and parque de diversiones in most of

Spanish America? In Panama, coney island, pronounced as if written coni aylan, is also

used in this sense (from Coney Island, the amusement park in Brooklyn, New York).

bogeyman. The terms given below are rough equivalents insofar as they are all imaginary

figures used to scare children, but the image that each conjures varies considerably. How

should each of these terms be defined in the Dictionary? In other words, what images do

they refer to in their respective countries or regions? El bulto (Santa Cruz, Bolivia); el

cadejo (Costa Rica, Guatemala); la cegua/la segua (Costa Rica, Nicaragua); la

ciguanaba/la siguanaba (Guatemala); el cipitío/el sipitío (El Salvador); el coco (Bolivia?,

Colombia, Costa Rica, Cuba, Guatemala, Mexico, Panama?, Spain, Venezuela); el cuco

(Argentina, Chile, Cuba, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, Mexico?, Panama, Peru, Puerto

Rico, Uruguay); el cucu (Bolivia); la cucula (Bolivia); el cuculi (Bolivia); el cucú-lelé

(Paraguay); el cucuy/el cocuy (Mexico); el curupí (Paraguay); el chamuco (Mexico); el

chucho (Manizales, Colombia); el hombre de la bolsa and el viejo de la bolsa (Argentina,

Paraguay, Uruguay); el hombre del saco (Spain); el hui (Mexico); el loco (Mexico,

Venezuela); la llorona (Costa Rica, Guatemala, Mexico, Nicaragua, Venezuela); la

madremonte (Colombia); la mano pachona (Mexico); la mariangula (Ecuador); la

mocuana (Nicaragua); el mono (Nicaragua); el monstruo de los mangones (Colombia); el

mumo (Valencia, Spain); el nagual (Jalisco, Mexico); el ogro (Aragón, Spain); el

pombero (Paraguay); la sayona (Venezuela); la solapa (Entre Ríos, Argentina); la

tulivieja (Panama); el yasú-yateré or yasy-yateré (Paraguay, with a nasal tilde on the

34

second y of yasy, Guaraní term). Paparrasolla is defined as “Ente imaginario con que se

amedrenta a los niños a fin de que se callen cuando lloran.” Where is this term commonly

used in this sense?

dodge ball. The American Heritage Dictionary defines “dodge ball” as “A game in which

players outside a circle try to eliminate players on the inside by hitting them with an

inflated ball.” Is this game (or varieties of it) played in Spanish-speaking countries and, if

so, what are its names?

gum (chewing gum, bubble gum). Are goma de mascar and chicle universal synonyms for

chewing gum, or are there regional preferences? Are there special regional names for

‘bubble gum’ (including brand names that have become generic terms)? What about the

‘bubbles’ one can create when chewing bubble gum? Who says bomba and who says

globo? Does anyone say burbuja?

hide and seek. What, if any, are the regional preferences between jugar a las escondidas and

jugar al escondite, and what other names for this game exist?

kid (colloquial and popular words for ‘child’). The following is a selection of regional terms

used for ‘children’. Much more research needs to be done to determine what age groups

each term generally refers to, and what sociolinguistic associations each term has in each

region: bicho (El Salvador, Honduras); botija (Uruguay); cabro (Chile); carajillo (Costa

Rica); carajito (Colombia, Dominican Republic, Venezuela); carricito (Venezuela);

cipote/sipote (El Salvador, Honduras, Nicaragua); crío (Spain); chamaco (Costa Rica,

Cuba?, Honduras, Mexico, Venezuela); chamo (Venezuela, teenager); chango (Northwest

Argentina and the Bolivian Altiplano); chaval (Spain); chavalo (Mexico, Nicaragua);

chavo (Guatemala, Mexico); chibolo (Peru); chilpayate (Mexico); chino (Colombia);

chirís (Guatemala); chigüín (Nicaragua); chorreado (El Salvador, pejorative, = ‘niño

sucio’); enano (Spain); escuincle (Mexico, pejorative); guagua (Bolivia, Chile, Ecuador,

Peru, baby/child); guaina? (Chile?); guaje (Asturias, Spain, Asturiano term); guámbito

(Tolima and Huila, Colombia); guambra (Highland Ecuador, adolescent); güerco/huerco

(Monterrey, Mexico); güila (Costa Rica); güiro (Guatemala); güirro? (Honduras?); gurí

(Uruguay and northeast Argentina, popular plural = gurises, feminine form, ‘girl’ =

gurisa); imilla (Bolivian Altiplano = girl; see llocalla below); ishto (Guatemala,

pejorative); llocalla (Bolivian Altiplano = boy; see imilla above. Are imilla and llocalla

of Aymara or of Quechua origin?); mitaí/mitaĩ (Paraguay = boy, Guaraní term); mita

cuñaí (Paraguay = girl, Guaraní term); morro (Sonora, Mexico); nano (Alicante, Spain);

neno (Asturias, Spain); patojo (Guatemala and Loja, Ecuador); pela(d)o (Colombia,

Panama, lowland Bolivia); peladingo (lowland Bolivia); pendejo (Argentina, Uruguay,

pejorative); peneca? (Chile?); peque? (Spain?); pequeñajo (Spain, pejorative?); pibe

(Argentina); pistusia? (Chile?); plebe (Sinaloa, Mexico); purrete (Argentina); rapaciño

(Galicia, Spain, Gallego term); rapaz (León, Spain); tiguerito (Dominican Republic,

pejorative, streetwise child or one who misbehaves); sardino (Colombia); vejigo (Cuba,

pejorative); xiquet (Alicante, Spain, Catalán term); zagal (Spain, rural areas?). How

universal is the use of chico in the sense of ‘child’?

piñata. In Ecuador, piñatas are generally called ollas encantadas. What other local terms are

there for this in other regions?

quiz. What is the term used in each country for a short test? Many Spanish speakers from many

different regions answered prueba and others stated that there is no specific word for it

other than examen (the word for “test” or “exam”) plus a modifier such as pequeño,

35

corto, relámpago, etc. Others, however, offered specific words for ‘quiz’. Prueba was

offered by people from many different countries, but the following more regionally

weighted terms were also offered: aporte (Guayaquil, Ecuador; in the Sierra quizzes are

called pruebas); concurso (Islas Canarias); control (Chile, Tacna, Peru, Spain,

Uruguay?); cuestionario (Argentina?, Mexico, Uruguay?); cüis/quiz (Colombia, Costa

Rica, Nicaragua, Panama, Puerto Rico, Venezuela); escrito (Uruguay); paso (Peru);

previa (Colombia); pruebín (Dominican Republic; a prueba is longer, more like a ‘test’);

repaso (Bolivia, a prueba is longer); test (Argentina?, Cuba?, Mexico?, Spain, Uruguay?,

Venezuela). Which countries generally use a two-term gradation scheme differentiating

their tests into shorter tests and longer tests, and which use a three-way scheme consisting

of short, medium and long tests (perhaps like “quiz” “test” and “exam” in U.S. English)?

report card. Are there regional preferences between, for example, boletín and libreta? What

other base terms are used? What about when modifiers are added such as de notas, de

calificaciones or academico/a? Do all Spanish-speaking countries have a specific term

for ‘report card’ that is commonly used? Many Spanish speakers queried in this study

indicated that ‘report cards’ are called simply las notas.

roller blades. Is there any special name for them other than patines or patines de ruedas? Sense

1 of the Dictionary’s definition of patín is: “Aparato de patinar que consiste en una

plancha que se adapta a la suela del calzado y lleva una especie de cuchilla o dos pares de

ruedas, según sirva para ir sobre el hielo o sobre un pavimento duro, liso y muy llano. En

el segundo caso se llama patín de ruedas.” The above definition needs to be modified

and expanded so that it covers not only the old roller skates that were attached to one’s

shoes, but also the more modern versions that come in the form of boots with attached

wheels. The definition also describes ice skates that attached to one’s shoes which is even

more antiquated than attachable roller skates; the latter were common in the United States

until about the late sixties/early seventies, but attachable ice skates? They probably went

out of style with pipes and bow ties, if not earlier. In the different regions of the Spanish-

speaking world, how common is the type of roller skate described in this definition in

comparison to the more modern form of roller skates and to roller blades?

scold. How do Spanish speakers say “My mom scolded me”? Yes, mi mamá/mami/madre me

regañó is certainly a possibility and a form that is universally understood by educated

speakers, but regañar is not the most commonly used verb in many regions. Here are

some local ways of saying it that were offered by people from the regions indicated: me

pasmó (León, Spain); me peleó (Dominican Republic); me riñó (Bolivia, Spain); me

repeló (Ecuador); me resondró (Peru); me retó (Argentina, Bolivia [lowland Bolivia?],

Chile, Ecuador, Paraguay, Uruguay); me rezongó (Uruguay); me trapeó (Costa Rica,

rural). In addition to these verbs, several regional expressions were offered for this

including: me cantó las cuarenta (Spain, and elsewhere?); me echó/dio un boche

(Dominican Republic); me echó/pegó una bronca (Spain); me echó un puro (Spain); me

echó una vaina/una descarga/un raspapolvo (Cuba); me leyó la cartilla (Spain). In what

regions of the Spanish-speaking world are these and other expressions commonly used?

scooter. Sense 2 of patín is “patinete” which, in turn, is defined as, “Juguete que consiste en una

plancha sobre ruedas y provista de un manillar para conducirlo, sobre el que se deslizan

los niños poniendo un pie sobre él e impulsándose con el otro contra el suelo.” Although

some have suggested patinete is the predominant term for this item in Spain and patineta

in Spanish America, the breakdown does not appear to be quite that simple. The

36

following other terms for this item were also offered: carriola (Cuba); escúter (from

“scooter,” Costa Rica, Chile); monopatín (Argentina, Bolivia, Chile, Uruguay); el patín

del diablo (Mexico, Puerto Rico). Given that monopatín refers to ‘skateboard,’ can it also

refer to ‘scooter’? Scooters may not currently be very common in many parts of the

world, but in the United States in the late 1990s they made an incredible comeback and,

therefore, may become popular elsewhere as well.

tag. There are many different regional names given to the children’s game in which one player

chases after the others until he or she is able to touch one of them who, in turn, then

becomes the pursuer. The following terms have been offered by people from the

following regions (this is probably only the tip of the iceberg): al agarra(d)o / a los

agarra(d)o(s) (Cuba); ampay (Peru); a coger (Puerto Rico); cántaro (Honduras); a

cogernos (Salamanca, Spain); las cogidas (Cuba?, Ecuador); la cogidilla (Islas Canarias);

corre-corre que te pillo (Málaga, Spain); corre que te pillo (Chile); la chapada (Junín,

Peru); la chepa (Peru); chucha (Manizales, Colombia); la ere (Venezuela; Does it come

from eres, present tense of ser?); eres tú and tú eres (Puerto Rico); la gambeta

(Santander, Colombia); el loco (Dominican Republic); la lleva (Mérida, Venezuela and

Colombia, Panama); la mancha (Argentina and Uruguay); a la mano negra and pasar la

mano (La Paz, Bolivia); el mare (Valencia, Spain); la mica (El Salvador); la minga

(Dominican Republic); pásala (Panama); la pega (Guayaquil, Ecuador, Panama, Peru);

pega-pega (Peru); pegada (Piura, Peru); pégale y córrele (Mexico); el pegue (Nicaragua);

la pelonera (Panama); pescao (Puerto Rico); pesca-pesca (Bolivia and Yucatán,

Mexico); a la peste (Tarragona, Spain); la pica (León, Spain); al pillao (Bilbao, Spain);

pillapilla (Madrid and Valencia, Spain); a pillar(se) and al pillar (Spain, Chile); la pinta

(Chile); la popa (Rosario, Argentina); la queda (Asturias, Spain); quedó (Costa Rica); las

quemadas (Cuenca, Ecuador); a que no me coges (Puerto Rico); la roña (Mexico); la

tiene (Panama); te la llevas (Andalucía, Spain); tenta (Guatemala); a las tocadas

(Ambato, Ecuador); tócale y pásala (Mexico); a las topadas (Quito, Ecuador); al topao

(Dominican Republic); tuca-é / tukã’e (Paraguay, Guaraní terms); la tuja (Santa Cruz,

Bolivia); la tula (Bolivia and Aragón, León, Madrid and Valencia, Spain); tú la llevas

(Alicante, Spain); tú la pagas (Zaragoza, Spain); tú la traes and a la trae (Baja California

del Norte, Jalisco and Michoacán, Mexico); el vale (Guayaquil, Ecuador); volandá

(Nicaragua). How should each of the above games be defined, that is, how is each played

and in what specific regions? Should a single broad definition be used to cover many of

the above or do many more specific definitions need to be devised? The following

phrases were offered from the following regions as what is said at the moment when one

child touches the other or to refer to the condition of being “it” in the game of tag:

“ampay me salvo” (Peru); “quedó” (Costa Rica); “tiene la mica” (El Salvador); “tú la

traes” (i.e. “traes la roña,” Mexico).

to take an exam (what the student does). Do the verbs people use to express this concept in

everyday language vary by region? The answer to this question is a resounding “yes”.

Certainly, there are formal ways of stating this that are internationally accepted such as

examinarse, presentarse al examen and rendir examen, but when people let their hair

down a bit, the following more regionally weighted expressions are used (in many

countries more than one verb is commonly used in informal language): coger (el) examen

(Dominican Republic, Panama); dar (el) examen (Argentina, Bolivia, Chile, Ecuador,

Paraguay, Peru, Uruguay, i.e. all of Spanish-speaking South America from Ecuador on

37

south); hacer (el) examen (most of Central America, Mexico, Spain); presentar (el)

examen (Colombia, Panama?, Venezuela); tener (el) examen (Spain); tomar (el) examen

(Cuba?, Dominican Republic, Guatemala, Mexico, Panama, Paraguay?, Uruguay?).

Interestingly enough, some from Paraguay and Uruguay indicated that both dar and

tomar were used in this sense. See “to give an exam” below.

to give an exam (what the teacher does). Given the fact that the way of expressing the concept

of ‘taking exams’ exhibits regional variation, it is not surprising that ‘giving exams’ does

likewise. While the non-regionally weighted phrases examinarles a los alumnos,

aplicarles el examen or impartirles el examen are used in formal usage, everyday

expressions show a more regional distribution: dar (el) examen (most of Central

America, Colombia, Hispanic Antilles, Mexico, Paraguay, Spain, Uruguay, Venezuela);

hacer (el) examen (Spain); poner (el) examen (Mexico, Spain); tomar (el) examen

(Argentina, Bolivia, Chile, Ecuador, Paraguay, Peru, Uruguay, i.e. all of Spanish-

speaking South America from Ecuador on south). Again, people from Paraguay and

Uruguay indicated that both dar and tomar were used in this sense.

to flunk an exam (to ‘fail’ an exam in colloquial language). What verbs are equivalent to

“flunk”? In the more formal register, verbs such as suspender, perder and desaprobar or

reprobar are more or less universal, but less formal expressions are more regionally

weighted: aplazar (Argentina, Bolivia, El Salvador, Honduras, Paraguay, Venezuela, and

elsewhere?); bochar (Argentina, Uruguay); cargar (Spain); catear and dar un cate

(Spain); colgar (Cuba, Nicaragua, Puerto Rico, Spain); corcharse (Colombia); echarse

(Guatemala); escachar (Islas Canarias); follar (Valencia, Spain); fracasar (Panama, for

example, in the expression fracasé el examen); guindar (Puerto Rico); jalar (Peru);

palmar (Valencia, Spain); pencar (Cataluña, País Vasco, Spain); planchar (en)

(Guatemala); ponchar (Cuba?, Guatemala); quedarse (Costa Rica, Honduras); quemarse

(Dominican Republic); rajar (Chile, Colombia); raspar (Venezuela); sonar (en) (Costa

Rica, Paraguay?); tirarse (Bolivia, Colombia, Ecuador); tronar (Guatemala, Mexico,

Nicaragua).

It should be noted that aplazar and quedarse, although not as formal as suspender

or desaprobar, are also not as slangy as rajar, raspar or tronar, etc. Also, in some of

these expressions, the verb can be transitive or intransitive, i.e. me jalaron vs. jalé (el

examen, en matemáticas), me rajaron vs. me rajé (en el examen), me tronaron vs. troné

el examen, etc. In general, however, the transitive forms, such as me colgaron, me

rasparon, me poncharon, etc., appear to be more common than the corresponding

intransitive forms, perhaps because people naturally find it more palatable to attribute

their failures to actions taken by others rather than to their own shortcomings.

There are also many expressions that are even slangier and/or more vulgar than

those listed above such as me cagaron, me culearon, me encajaron un huevo (i.e. ‘un

cero’), me hacharon, me hicieron mierda, me huevaron, me mamaron, me lo metieron,

me pasaron con la aplanadora, me reventaron. However, most in this last group are

much more general in meaning in that they can refer to any situation in which one person

is, or claims to be unfairly treated by another and, as is the case with the English verb

“screw (over),” many of these expressions have sexual implications.

For ‘to just barely pass,’ ‘to pass by the skin of one’s neck,’ etc., a Mexican gave

the expression pasar de panzazo and an Argentine gave pasar a gatas and pasar de

refilón. Are these expressions universal, regional or idiosyncratic?

38

NOTES

1. For information on items in other semantic fields whose names in Spanish vary by region, see

the following works by Andre Moskowitz:

“Topics in Spanish lexical dialectology: food and drink.” Proceedings of the 40th Annual

Conference of the American Translators Association, St. Louis, Missouri, U.S.A.,

November 3-6, 1999. Ed. Ann G. Macfarlane. American Translators Association, 1999.

275-308.

“Topics in Spanish lexical dialectology: the home.” Proceedings of the 39th Annual Conference

of the American Translators Association, Hilton Head Island, South Carolina, U.S.A.,

November 4-8, 1998. Ed. Ann G. Macfarlane. American Translators Association, 1998.

221-253.

“Fruit and vegetable terminology in the Spanish-speaking world: regional variation.”

Proceedings of the 38th Annual Conference of the American Translators Association, San

Francisco, California, U.S.A., November 5-9, 1997. Ed. Muriel M. Jérôme-O’Keeffe.

American Translators Association, 1997. 233-261.

“Clothing terminology in the Spanish-speaking world: regional variation.” Proceedings of the

37th Annual Conference of the American Translators Association, Colorado Springs,

Colorado, U.S.A., October 30-November 3, 1996. Ed. Muriel M. Jérôme-O’Keeffe.

American Translators Association, 1996. 287-308.

“Car terminology in the Spanish-speaking world.” Proceedings of the 36th Annual Conference of

the American Translators Association, Nashville, Tennessee, U.S.A., November 8-12,

1995. Ed. Peter W. Krawutschke. American Translators Association, 1995. 331-340.

“Contribución al estudio del español ecuatoriano.” Unpublished M.A. thesis. Department of

Romance Languages and Literatures, University of Florida. Gainesville, Florida. 1995.

“A box of office supplies: dialectological fun” The Georgetown Journal of Languages &

Linguistics. Vol 1.3. Ed. Richard J. O’Brien, S.J. 1990. 315-344.

2. The author would like to thank Dasha Hlavenka for kindly providing the illustrations that

appear in this article, and Lucrecia Hug, Débora Simcovich and Josh Wallman for editing earlier

drafts and making a number of valuable suggestions. In addition, he would like to express his

appreciation to Susan Black, Albert Bork, Sharlee Merner Bradley, Lolita Aniyar de Castro,

Mark and Silvia Cox, Rudolf Heller, Clary Loisel, Sonia Stroessner, and Tom West for going out

of their way to put me in contact with informants/respondents for this study. Last but not least,

he would like to thank all of the people who generously gave of their time to answer questions on

usage.

REFERENCES

Alvar, Manuel. 1991. Estudios de Geografía Lingüística. Madrid: Paraninfo.

Cordero, Luis. 1989. Diccionario Quichua. Quito: Corporación Editora Nacional.

39

Real Academia Española. 1992. Diccionario de la Lengua Española. 21st Edition. Madrid:

Espasa-Calpe, S.A.

Seco, Manuel. 1987. Estudios de Lexicografía Española. Madrid: Paraninfo.

Soukhanov, Anne H., ed. 1996. The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language.

Boston: Houghton Mifflin Company.

2000_ata annual conf proceedings_kids stuff (games, etc.)_moskowitz

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