An insult?

Question

Ok, after asking the question why should my 5 year old be taught Mexican if she is of slavic decent, I was corrected (which was totally cool) and told numerous times it is Spanish. But my friend from Spain can't understand a Mexican as well as my friend who speaks Italian. I know the Spaniards invaded Mexico and the Mexicans took on a lot of the Spanish culture. Tortilla isn't Spanish nor Italian. I called the Mexican language Mexican because it is their language. Is it an insult to call it Mexican?

Answer 1

It is not an insult as much as it is a display of ignorance. There is no such thing as 'Mexican (language);' the language spoken in Mexico is Castilian more commonly referred to as: "Spanish."

To say that Mexicans speak Mexican is like saying that Americans speak Americanese. There is no such language. Americans speak English and Mexicans speak Spanish.


As a point of fact, in Spain there are three or four major dialects spoken other than Castilian (Spanish). This may be why your Spaniard friend has trouble understanding Spanish speaking Mexicans. In any case, Spaniards tend to enunciate their Spanish differently (as do other nationalities that share this beautiful language); it takes a little time to atone your hearing to the different regionalisms.

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Answer 2

No, it's not an insult to say Mexican language, but it's not correct. As someone pointed out you speak English in Australia and Canada and not Austrialian and Canadian. Some words may be different, but it can still be understood. English, Australians, Americans, South Africans, Canadians, etc. call some things with different names, but in the end we understand each other. I have strong doubts about your Spanish friend not understanding someone from Mexico. I'm Mexican-American and live in Italy, and work in a hotel so I deal with a lot of Spanish speaking clients (a lot from Spain) and not once have I been told my "mexican" influenced spanish was difficult to understand.

Answer 3

No, it is not a insult. I don't know why your Spanish friend have problems understanding the Mexican Spanish. There are some slang that in every country in Latino America have. For example, to fraternal twins in Mexico we call them "cuates", Venezuelans call them "morochos", the Cubans "jimaguas". But the entire language is the same. We got words from our Indians, Aztecs, Mayans, Incas etc. My niece husband is Spanish and live in Spain and they visit Mexico last year and he never had a single problem understanding his own language there. I think that he's arrogant and how in the hell he said that he understand better the Italian rather that he people who speak his own language. Tell him that's why we call them "gachupines" in Mexico to that kind of people like him, who comes a visit Mexico or have a contact with Spanish speaking people and have a complex of a Spanish Conquistador.

Answer 4

The dialect is Mexican and you're right that the language is Spanish. Call the language spanish but refer to Mexicans as Mexicans, after all thay are from Mexico.

Answer 5

No, of course it's not an insult. However, the language is Spanish, just as the language of those native to both the US and the UK (and Australia, etc.) is English. And I doubt that your friend from Spain really has all that much difficulty understanding Mexicans.

Answer 6

I live in Texas, and most everyone around here that I know calls it "TEXICAN" or "Tex-Mex".
I have been told that it is at the core Spanish, but with a Mexican dialect and with a vocabulary all it's own. I have also been told that what is spoken around here in Texas and in the northern border areas of Mexico are different from southern Mexico. (Hence, the "Texican")

I have a friend in California that speaks fluent Spanish. When she comes here, she can't understand what anyone is saying and they can't understand her.

So, I took the liberty to call my friend, who is 3rd gen. latina here, and I asked her what languages she spoke. She answered, "English and Mexican." She does not consider herself at all a Spanish speaking person.

Answer 7

Your spanish friend's claim that he couldn't understand a mexican is highly dubious. Of course there are differences between the spanish spoken in Spain and Mexico but they are but one language. I think that comment is quite exaggerated.

I speak Argentine spanish and I can understand with very little difficulties spanish as it is spoken in other parts of Latin America and Spain.The main difference lies in slight accent and pronunciation as well as vocabulary. But to say that other spanish dialects are unitelligible is not correct.

Also, the term Mexican is not an insult, as Argentine is not an insult. People who corrects you might not like the fact that there are various spanish dialects spoken around the world or they might be referring to Standard Spanish as approved by The Academia Real in Spain. This might be the language they're teaching and not the spanish dialect of Mexico. If so, then it is right to refer to it as "spanish" and not "mexican".

Answer 8

NO, I used to live thare and have been around mexicans for the mojarity of my life an even a lot of them prefer to call their language mexican. A lot call is spanish too. So no it isnt. Mexican is different than spainish from spain. There are a lot of words that they use in mexico for respect that are considered insults in spain. For example chulo and chula in mexico is used quite often to say someone is really beautiful while in spain it is an insult because chulo means pimp and chula is prostitute. the sae with the word mande. when you ask someone a question in mexico and they ddnt here you or you call someones name, they will reply "mande" which to them is the POLITE way of saying "que" (what). And in Spain it is very rude to reply like this. In spain they aslo dont use the words verb forms of usted and ustedes which in mexico is the polite way to talk and if you use tu when talking to an elder or someone you dont know, you are RUDE. The list goes on and on and on of wods that are used in one place but not the other. In mexico they use the word mero, in spain they do not. In Spin they use the word coger, but dont dare use that in mexico. haha.

Answer 9

Its all spanish but each area has their own dialects and slang... I guess your Spain friend has trouble understanding for the same reason people from France cannot understand Canada's French - slang

Answer 10

I don't think it's an insult.
i think it is their own version of Spanish, is it an insult when Microsoft specified in it's Regional and Language Options in the Control Panel of Windows :
English (Australia)
English (Belize)
English (Canada)
English (Caribbean)
English (Ireland)
English (Jamaica)
English (Philippines)
English (South Africa)
English (Trinidad)
English (United Kingdom)
English (United States)
English (Zimbabwe)

If you listen to a conversation in any of these Englishes you won't understand it very well if youn are used to only one type.