Comments on: What in the world is a “mapache?”

By: Marilyn

Marilyn — Wed, 19 Apr 2017 20:53:36 +0000

Roxana i’ve lived in Puerto Rico for the past 20 years and a ladybug is NOT called a Caculo. A caculo is a brown insect with an oval body, they are pretty ugly and pretty BIG.

By: Beth Ortuño

Beth Ortuño — Tue, 09 Mar 2010 21:39:59 +0000

My sister-in-law just told me yet another word they use in Tierra Caliente for “boy”: huerco. It never ends…

By: Beth Ortuño

Beth Ortuño — Fri, 05 Mar 2010 18:04:37 +0000

My sister-in-law tells me niño is “standard” Spanish, chamaco is Mexican, and huache is Purepecha (indigenous that area). They have so many words like this and the kids just find it very natural.

By: Beth Ortuño

Beth Ortuño — Fri, 05 Mar 2010 17:57:58 +0000

When you run across a word you don’t know, after looking it up maybe you could make up a little song or a little story that will allow you to repeat the “proper” word several times, and then repeat that song or story a few times over the next few weeks. By the time you feel you’ve learned and absorbed it, the child will have mastered it even better than you. Kids adapt so easily. Even in one language there are commonly different words for the same thing and kids simply learn them. Example: in the “Tierra Caliente” region of Mexico, boy= niño/ chamaco/ huache (and maybe even another word I haven’t learned yet). The kids are frequently the ones who explain these things to me…

By: Keen

Keen — Fri, 20 Feb 2009 05:07:47 +0000

Wow, I just found this blog and wanted to congratulate you all on such wonderful work! And then I found this post, all about an issue I wonder about every day. I am an interpreter and my life revolves around looking things up, so I tend to look things up for my kids (3-year-old twins), but that's definitely not always practical. Still figuring that one out. And I have the same issue with cerdo/chancho that you both pointed out above! In that case, I decided to use both words and explain that there are all kinds of different words for the same things in Spanish. I should know, it trips me up when I'm interpreting all the time! Felicidades, I'm seriously enjoying the blog and can't wait to read more! Keen’s last blog post..Brothers

By: Roxana

Roxana — Sat, 14 Feb 2009 00:16:39 +0000

I know exactly what you mean, Claudia. Thanks for sharing! I’m going through some of the same things with my daughter, who is 2 1/2 years old. I’m Peruvian and I also call a pig a “chancho” and since it comes naturally into my mouth, that’s what I’ve taught my daughter. In fact, my mother sings a song to her about three little “chanchitos” and I just don’t see her changing that to a more neutral word–although I totally understand where you’re coming from.
Another thing we’ve been going through–and which I plan on blogging about in the near future–is that my husband is from Puerto Rico, and as I said in an earlier comment, there are some words that I’ve taught my daughter, that in his Island are actually considered “bad” words.
Needles to say, it has been a pretty fun ride, so far!

By: Claudia

Claudia — Fri, 13 Feb 2009 22:42:43 +0000

I keep asking myself if I should teach my daughter the Spanish words that she will need to communicate with my family back in Chile, or those words that are more commonly used here in the States. For example, the Chilean words for ladybug are “catita” or “chinita”, but we have a bilingual toy that calls them “catarita”. The most common word for pig is “chancho” in Chile; but I decided to tell Amanda that pigs are called “cerdos”, which is a more proper or neutral word, I think. For this reason, a sentence or word that should be really easy to teach in Spanish turns out to become a problem sometimes. I find myself talking “funny” when using words that I know are correct, but just don’t seem natural to me because are not part of my native country’s slang.

By: SpanglishBaby: A new blog about raising bilingual kids | Cody's Cuentos

SpanglishBaby: A new blog about raising bilingual kids | Cody's Cuentos — Thu, 12 Feb 2009 22:00:19 +0000

[...] “What in the world is a ‘mapache‘?, Roxana, a former TV journalist, writes a humorous first-person account about how her [...]

By: Roxana

Roxana — Thu, 12 Feb 2009 07:41:43 +0000

Nana: qué bueno lo de Adriana!!! Me encantaría escucharla! Y, gracias por leernos…me alegra saber que te está ayudando!

By: Roxana

Roxana — Thu, 12 Feb 2009 07:38:56 +0000

Steph: those are tricky ones. Well, maybe not “dragonfly” which is libélula in Spanish – and I’m pretty sure most of us would agree on that. I say that because the other word “ladybug” is apparently translated in several different ways, depending on the country/region. Here’s how we say it where I’m from: “mariquita,” but in Puerto Rico, where my husband’s from, it’s called “caculo!” Who knows where they call it elsewhere! My daughter calls it “leyibag.” I will definitely be writing about all this soon because I find the topic fascinating!
Also, the word “bichitos” – which I applaud you for using because that’s exactly what they are – has a very negative, and I mean NEGATIVE, connotation in some countries!!! Just so you know…