Speaking “Mexican”

[Melissa’s Reflections on Mexican Culture, Part 3]

There are twenty-one Spanish speaking countries in the world, and each has its variations on the Spanish language. Not to mention, there are often regional differences in common phrases, slang, and vocabulary within any given country. Here are a just a few peculiarities of Mexican Spanish that I have encountered - and this is far from an exhaustive list!

• Señora / Señorita: At face value, the meaning and use of these two words seems straightforward. Señora is a married woman and señorita is a single woman, of course!

  Not so fast… In Mexican culture, women will likely get offended if you call them señora because it is understood as calling them old. Now, this is not the case across Latin America. For example, a Colombian friend said señora is commonly used in Colombia, but he quickly learned not to say it here in Mexico.

• Usted: You may know that “usted” is the formal “you” in Spanish. There are contexts when it is obviously proper to use usted, such as when addressing professors, an elderly person, or police officers and other public officials. There are times, though, when I’m not sure if I should use the formal form: what if someone isn’t elderly but is 15 to 20 years older than me? What if I am speaking with someone I have never met before, or addressing them over email and don’t know their age? I tend to go with usted and let them tell me otherwise, but this still confuses me sometimes.

• Asking “what?”: I often get tripped up when asking someone to repeat what they just said. My go-to is qué, the literal equivalent of “what.” But saying “qué” can come across as too direct in Mexican culture. If I understand correctly, it sounds like a person saying “WHAAAT” in a really shocked or rude tone in English. Mande is is the accepted word to use. Even though my brain knows this fact, I still haven’t gotten used to saying mande. It just isn’t on the tip of my tongue when I need it. Sorry friends, I promise I’m not intending to be rude! ¡Mis disculpas, amigos mexicanos!

  Again, this isn’t necessarily the case across Latin America. A Cuban friend told me that mande is not common in Cuba and that qué is her default as well.

• Mandatos: The mandato is a verb conjugation that is a command. As a native English speaker, it feels uncomfortable to use this conjugation because it is so direct. In the U.S., we tend to use questions in place of commands: “Could you pass the butter?” It would sound weird to say: “Give me the butter!” But it is perfectly normal in Mexico: Dame/deme la mantequilla.

  I am sure there are some Mexican-isms that I missed… what would you add to the list?