Do you Speak Nahuatl? I bet you do!

[Xipe Totec]

Many words in use around the world, which we believe to be Spanish, are actually Nahuatl words, first adopted by the Spanish and then disseminated throughout the world. Nahuatl is the language of the Mexica, the indigenous people of central Mexico (commonly called Aztec).

Examples:

Tomato - Tomatl
Avocado - Ahuacatl
Coyote - Coyotl
Chili - Chilli
Tamales - Tamalli
Peyote - Peyotl
Mole - Molli
Mesquite - Misquitl

[Ecumenist]

1. Do you actually speak Nahuatl?

I've always been interested in languages, especially the lesser known ones. I am black, mostly BUT I have family who live in Mexico and have lived there since before the civil war. I sure would like to get any information about your knowledge.

[Xipe Totec]

3. Sad to say, no.

I know phrases and words in Nahuatl, but I didn't realize that I did, until I began speaking to friends who are native Spaniards and who were totally stumped by some of the words I used. I became curious and began to study the Nahuatl language and history. I have the Analytical Dictionary of Nahuatl, written by Frances Karttunen, which I use for my research. I hope someday to learn the language and become proficient in it. It is second only to Spanish as the most commonly spoken language in Mexico.

[Ecumenist]

5. I would like to learn it as well.

My husband is Czech and Bohemian and often, being here in California, there are many times when we run into Mexican indians, Mixtec, Oaxocan indians etc. I often tell him that Mexican, which I have always been taught was a distinct language, as different from what most people call spanish, (Catalan), as English is from Danish. We can understand alot of Danish but there are many words that are completely indecipherable. I used to speak Hungarian fluently and still understand and read it pretty well. Not unusual except, I am an African American of mixed heritage,(none of it Hungarian as far as I know) and am in the process of trying to learn Czech. I speak spanish and to a lesser degree Italian, and French.

[Xipe Totec]

6. Your words do you proud

Thank you for sharing. I admire people, such as yourself, who are comfortable enough with who they are, to learn about other cultures without fear of diluting their own.

Adelante!

[alarcojon]

2. You probably also speak Quechua

Here are some English words derived from Quechua: coca, condor, guano, gaucho, jerky, lagniappe, lima , llama, pampa, puma, quinine, quinoa, and vicuña.

[Xipe Totec]

4. Fragment from one of my favorite poems...

... translated to English:

Laurels? Do not foolishly demand them
Ascents begins with falls
for overreaching spans and large burdens.
Thus, from the crest of yonder sheer cliff,
The condor of the Andes jumps,
and for a moment plummets.

- To a Prophet by,
Salvador Diaz Mirón - Mexican poet

Nice to see that there's a Quechua influence in there!
Thanks for the lesson; I love languages.

[SlavesandBulldozers]

7. I know a little Quechua

"tzeetz" means the f word.

:)