Writer. Translator. Chicano. He/él. Pan. Rep: Full Circle Literary & Inclusion Management. Co-publisher CHISPA. VP of @texas_letters | Same SM handle everywhere
Sep 23, 2018 • 31 tweets • 6 min read
I've received many variations on this question: "Shouldn't 'chocolate' be 'xocolate'? What happened to that 'X'?"
The short answer is NO. There was never an "x."
Don't feel bad. I was once fooled, too.
Here we go.
MEXICAN X, PART III: DUDE, WHERE’S THE XOCOLATE? 1/?
Let's head to the 1500s. "Chocolate" enters European languages (via Spanish) as a word describing a drink made from the cacao bean.
In Nahuatl, that bean was called "cacahuatl." Mexican [Americans] may sit up at this point and say, "Uh, wait a minute. Isn't that 'peanut'?" 2/
Sep 15, 2018 • 22 tweets • 6 min read
I often read this question: "Why is Mexico spelled 'México' in Spanish, especially if in Nahuatl Mēxihco was pronounced [me: SHIʔ ko]? What's up with that 'x'?"
The answers given are usually partially right or totally wrong.
Guess what? I'm going to explain it to you. 1/???
For starters, Spanish (& other Romance languages) evolved not from Classical Latin (the erudite, literary language) but from the more streamlined and working-class Vulgar Latin ("vulgar" as in of the "vulgus" or common folk ... not "nasty"). In Iberia, Medieval Spanish arose. 2/
Sep 14, 2018 • 9 tweets • 2 min read
Whenever possible, I try to avoid referring to the Nahuas (whether Mexica-Tenochca, Tlaxcalteca, Texcoca, etc.) as "Aztecs." There's good reason for this. They themselves abandoned the name after leaving Aztlan, their legends say. 1/5
Here's how the Codex Chimalpahin narrates the episode: "Auh ca niman oncān ōquincuēpilli in īntōcā in Aztēcah. Ōquimiliuh, 'In āxcān aocmo amotōcā: ye anmexihtin.' Oncān nō ōquinacazpotōniqueh inic ōcuiqueh in īntōcā Mexihtin. Inic āxcān ye mihtoa Mēxihcah." 2/5
Feb 1, 2018 • 28 tweets • 11 min read
1/ A thread on #ownvoices and #representation as well as allyship, guests, holding babies, writing the other, and assorted issues dealing with POC characters/stories being written by white folks. Nothing super new, just bringing nuanced notions together, reflecting on my views.
2/ America desperately needs a LOT more #ownvoices books. That should be our priority. I've even advocated for a sort of #affirmativeAction in publishing. Agents and editors should be ACTIVELY seeking out POC talent, recruiting, nurturing, publishing.
