language Archives - understand-culture

Hands in the Fire

Meter las manos al fuego por alguien. “To put one’s hands in the fire for someone.” The phrase means to vouch for a person. A Mexican news site used it in a headline about a politician who would vouch for a colleague.

Dime con quién andas y te diré quién eres. “Tell me who you go around with, and I will tell you who you are.” The newspaper El Imparcial explains that the saying suggests that “las personas pueden ser juzgadas por quienes frecuentan” (people can be judged by the company they keep).

Notice That

Fíjate que…, or with usted, fíjese que…, means “notice that…” In 2023, the UNAM linguist Josaphat Enrique Guillén Escamilla published a study of mira and fíjate in the educated speech of Mexico City, in the Anuario de Letras. When the markers open a reply, he wrote, they can announce “una justificación, pero también una respuesta despreferida” (a justification, but also an unwelcome answer).

One example from his corpus begins: “Fíjate que oportunidades he tenido” (Notice that I have had chances). The speaker goes on: “únicamente que por cuestiones de trabajo no… lo he podido hacer” (only that, for work reasons, I have not been able to do it).

Don and Doña

Don and doña are placed before a first name. The dictionary of the Royal Spanish Academy defines don as a “tratamiento de respeto que se antepone a los nombres de pila” (a form of respect placed before first names).

In the television comedy El Chavo del 8, two of the adult neighbors are Don Ramón and Doña Florinda.

Courtesy and Upbringing

In a study of politeness published in Verbum et Lingua, a journal of the University of Guadalajara, Mexican speakers were asked what courtesy is. One answered: “La cortesía y la educación. De hecho, en algún punto hasta pueden considerarse sinónimos” (Courtesy and upbringing. In fact, at some point they can even be considered synonyms).

Another said that courtesy was “no precisamente para caer bien, sino por el hecho de tener educación” (not exactly to be liked, but because one has been brought up well).

Avoiding Disagreement in Puebla

In 2017, the linguist Niktelol Palacios of El Colegio de México published a study of softened speech in Puebla in the journal Anuario de Letras. Lingüística y Filología. It drew on the PRESEEA corpus of Puebla, among speakers with little formal education.

The study names one aim of the softening devices that these speakers use: “se trata de evitar al máximo el desacuerdo” (the point is to avoid disagreement as far as possible).

Thank You Yes or Thank You No

In Mexico, a plain gracias in answer to an offer can mean yes or no. In a guide published by Mexico News Daily in November 2024, Sarah DeVries describes her way around this. She asks: ¿Gracias “sí” o gracias “no”? The answer, she writes, is “almost always ‘Gracias, no.'”

The same guide lists other polite ways to decline. A lo mejor, “probably.” Déjame ver or déjame checar, “let me see” or “let me check.” Estamos en contacto, “we’ll be in touch.”

Abbreviated Titles

The style manual of Mexico’s National Electoral Institute (INE) sets a rule for titles: “Los tratamientos se escriben abreviados, con inicial mayúscula, cuando acompañan al nombre” (Titles are written abbreviated, with a capital initial, when they accompany the name). Its examples are “Dr. Gustavo González Ortiz,” “Mtra. María Rosa Madrigal Hernández” and “Ing. Rodolfo Contreras Martínez.” Its examples of titles written out in full are in lowercase, as in “licenciado Armando Contreras.”

Words for Friends

Carnal is a close friend who is loved like a brother. Cuate comes from the Nahuatl coatl, which meant both “serpent” and “twin.” A woman who had twins used to say that she had cuates. Today the word means a friend. Compa and valedor are other everyday words for a friend.

Licenciado

On December 1, 1946, Miguel Alemán Valdés became president of Mexico. He was a civilian and a law graduate of UNAM. According to México Desconocido, official protocol used his academic degree “como título de su investidura” (as the title of his office).

Many politicians then began to use licenciado as a title of prestige. Mi licenciado became “sinónimo de poder” (a synonym for power) in politics, the law and the bureaucracy. From there the use spread to the rest of society.