| One of the differences to be aware of between the | | | | (a drink made from cornmeal), chicle (chewing gum), |
| Spanish spoken in Spain and that of Latin America is | | | | cajeta (caramelized milk), mecate (rope), comal (a |
| that the latter has taken in quite a few words from | | | | flat pan), jacal (shack), naco (a crude or uncultured |
| the American Indian languages. | | | | person), and papalote (kite). |
| Some of those words -- tomate, for example | | | | Of course there are some words that have entered |
| (English tomato) -- have become part of the universal | | | | our own language from Spanish, that were also |
| Spanish lexicon, but many remain localized to | | | | originally Indian words. These include (giving their |
| particular Spanish-speaking countries in the Americas. | | | | English spelling here) iguana, cocoa, hurricane, |
| In particular, a large number of words in Mexican | | | | barbecue, hammock, tobacco, papaya, canoe and |
| Spanish come from the Nahuatl language that still | | | | potato. |
| persists, to some degree, in the northern part of | | | | If you are learning Spanish, the presence of American |
| that country. You may therefore hear some of these | | | | Indian words will add a new and interesting wrinkle to |
| words being used in Mexico and nowhere else. | | | | your efforts. Be on the lookout for these American |
| A few of the ones you are more likely to encounter | | | | "adoptees" as you learn to discern the differences |
| include chapulin (grasshopper), cenzontle | | | | between European Spanish and the tongue as |
| (mockingbird), amate (a type of fig), camote (sweet | | | | spoken in the Western Hemisphere. |
| potato), ejotes (green beans), zacate (grass), atole | | | | |