The introduction of the Spanish language in the Americas began in 1492. Columbus arrived and use of the Spanish language became part of the colonization process.
“Many people will try to assert that New Mexico’s Spanish is this archaic language close to Cervantes or Castilian,” Michael Trujillo, Assistant Professor of American Studies and Chicano/Hispano/Mexicano Studies at the University of New Mexico, said. “New Mexico Spanish got here at a particular point in time and continued to involve other languages. It’s an assertion of the people and their language.”
Stemming from historic Spanish vocabulary, the language began to develop and evolve from the moment Europeans hit American shores.
“As Cortez conquers the Aztec empire (in 1521) Spaniards run across animals and plants that they’ve never heard of or had previously seen, which caused new words to appear and become a new part of the Spanish language,” Daniel Villa, Spanish professor at New Mexico State University, said.
As the Spaniards expanded their area of authority and moved north, the language went with them.
“The first settlements to have a strong Spanish dialect were brought to (the area) from Spain in 1598 when (Don Juan de) Oñate and the conquistadors came,” Trujillo said. “It was the first time a large number of people were speaking the language primarily in New Mexico (and) was the first legitimate colonization of the area.”
Beginning in 1598, New Mexico’s Spanish was entirely isolated from the Spanish being spoken in Mexico, Trujillo said.
“The New Mexico dialect used certain words but retained elements considered to be archaic,” he said.
New Mexico’s dialect had elements of the Spanish that Mexicans and Spaniards were speaking, but continued to have distinctive elements. In 1680 the Pueblo Revolt against the Spanish colonial people pushed the culture and language down toward El Paso, Texas and Juarez, Mexico.
A ‘new’ Spanish
By 1692, Spanish colonial government was renewed with Don Diego de Vargas’ return to New Mexico, Trujillo said.
“At this point, there was a small minority of people that were born in Spain, but a lot of people were children of those born in Spain,” Villa said. “Those living in New Mexico (after the Pueblo Revolt) were a group of indigenous people that were speaking slightly different types of Spanish.”
This led to the development of a new variety of Spanish – one that differs from all other Spanish-speaking areas.
“Northern New Mexico Spanish is unique to itself. We have certain words and grammatical things not found in other parts of the Spanish speaking world,” Villa said. “It is its own kind of Spanish. It’s very unique and different – not just from other cities but from the rest of the Spanish speaking world.”
Northern New Mexico Spanish reflects the influence of English and other languages heard throughout the area.
“New Mexico Spanish is a living language. It does have elements of the colonial period (but) has influences from the different languages of the area,” Trujillo said.
There are also recognizable differences between northern and southern New Mexico vocabulary.
“Las Cruces Spanish is a little different from Northern New Mexico,” Villa said. “You can hear differences in Española Spanish as opposed to Las Cruces Spanish. What’s spoken here is Spanish. It is unique in that we have words and phrases that are found no place else (and) has English and Pueblo influences.”
Trujillo gave several examples showing this distinct use of vocabulary.
The Native American influence can be seen in words like cachinas (ceremonial dolls), teguas (buffalo-skin sandals), and cacique (pueblo chief).
Additional Spanish words that came about as people settled were chiquete (chewing gum), calabacitas (squash), colorado (red), osha (wild celery) and melado (honey-colored sweetener).
“Many people historically have eaten certain types of food that are different and unheard of in other Spanish-speaking areas,” Trujillo said. “Reales for money, pesos for money – one is speaking to the Spanish colonial past and one speaks to Mexico’s.”
Sounds different
The differences in pronunciation have led scholars and locals alike to defend the type of Spanish spoken here in northern New Mexico.
“There are myths that there are these places in the world that languages have survived unchanged. But it is just that – a myth,” Villa said. “What’s spoken in northern New Mexico is not some old Castilian form of Spanish. Castilian is a dialect spoken in central and northern Spain that is active today (and is distinguished by) a lisp in pronunciation. Española doesn’t have that.”
Present-day words that have mixed into the local dialect show this difference.
“When you hear modern day Castiliano, it’s nothing like anything that is spoken anywhere around the Americas. People that spoke that dialect couldn’t talk about updated technologies we have today,” Villa said.
Some words that have retained similarity to English are contesta (contest), dompe (dump), troque (truck), panqueque (pancake, waffle) and yela (jelly).
Changes in technology support the evolution of New Mexico’s Spanish and led to the addition of more English-influenced words.
“I have been, for example, at Auto Zone in Española and can hear members of the older generation ask for different car parts in Spanish. If they were talking in 16th century Spanish, they wouldn’t be able to do that,” Villa said. “It’s a language that’s had to evolve and adapt to accommodate the changes in technology and influences of the surrounding cultures.”
Scholars and linguists search for a clear, linear path back to Europe when researching languages, but Española’s form of Spanish doesn’t quite keep to this pattern.
“They (linguists and historians) would always look for the origins and find some sort of linear descent to Spain, but it isn’t clearly defined here,” Trujillo said. “New Mexico Spanish is somehow this isolated type of Spanish, leading people to believe it is this older form of the language.”
But Spanish and Mexican influences are still apparent.
“Today it sounds much more like what’s spoken in Mexico as opposed to Spain,” Trujillo said. “The original dialect differs from Spain’s Spanish (and) there is clearly evidence relating it back to Mexico. At the same time, Spanish is a language that is spoken by so many people and each region almost needs to have its unique characteristics.”
Learning young
Middle and high schools offered Spanish courses as a way to bridge the gap between native Spanish speakers and English-speaking newcomers.
Having taught Spanish for several years, Sylvia Salazar can notice unique aspects of the area’s sound.
“Here in New Mexico, we speak with a somewhat archaic vocabulary,” Salazar said. “We have little odd tricks in the language and pronunciation. To say ‘went’ people will say jui when fui is actually the correct way. Another thing is that the ‘d’ will get dropped, as in comprao when it should be comprado and the ‘b’ and ‘v’ sounds are pronounced almost identically. It can be hard to determine the spelling sometimes, because words can sound so close, as in casa or cosa, sitio or sentado.”
Salazar taught Spanish at Espanola Valley High School for 36 years and continued to keep up with the language long after retiring.
“As part of the curriculum, a foreign language was required,” Salazar said. “The high school offered Latin, French, Spanish and German later on.”
Changes in society in the past century have changed the way families viewed learning a second language.
“With academics, there was a penetration into schools in the World War II era and going to school and learning English became an expectation,” Trujillo said. “Spanish became a language that was secondarily spoken (and) in the early 1970s schools told parents that you should only speak English with children.”
But with later developments in education, as well as an increase in foreign relations, this idea proved to be wrong.
“There comes a moment in history when people realize what a benefit it is to speak both languages,” Trujillo said. “It gives a higher level of knowledge to those able to comprehend and converse in multiple languages.”
A 1974 study by Alfredo Jiminez Nunez, a University of Chicago student from Spain, was published to share the culture and traditional teachings of New Mexico.
The study found that by the 1960s many living in the Española Valley had already become English dominant. Parents were fully bilingual while grandparents primarily spoke Spanish.
“Already, at that moment, you see many young people turning more toward English,” Trujillo said. “I know of schools in the Española Valley today that continue teaching the Spanish language and have many students that are immigrants from Mexico.”
Of her three children, Salazar says they speak Spanish well enough but don’t know it 100 percent.
“My grandkids are different though,” Salazar said. “Some took Spanish language classes in school and caught onto the grammar portion of it. They had a knack for it. It’s very easy to speak English when you’ve grown up in the English language. Even my grandmother, who didn’t speak very much English, gave commands in English.”
This may also be why younger generations aren’t as willing to embrace speaking Spanish.
“I think now it’s too difficult to get them to learn (Spanish) fluently,” Salazar said. “I think they’re afraid or don’t want to be embarrassed or ostracized for it. Speaking two languages, it’s like being two people, especially if you can speak, read and write (in Spanish).”
At the university level, the creation of programs has helped to preserve the local form of Spanish that New Mexicans speak.
“Colleges have created programs recognizing people coming in with this special kind of Spanish,” Villa said. “It’s important to maintain and not lose the Northern New Mexico Spanish. That’s the key thing to be aware of.”
Several of the colleges also offer degree programs emphasizing the Spanish language.
“I am very happy that they have dual languages in many schools now,” Salazar said. “Language deals with humans as opposed to textbook or computer-based learning.”
Going online
With today’s increased reliance on computers, knowledge of the Spanish language is as important as ever when using online translators.
“I’m not sure how they’re programed, but they don’t always pick up the right tense or meaning of the word,” Salazar said. “For example, pen can be either pluma to write or gallinero to hold things. You don’t want to say you’re putting things in the pluma to stay put. You have to be careful to go back and check. That’s one thing I’ve made sure to teach.”
After retiring, Salazar and two other Spanish teachers worked at a Spanish Elder Hostel program in El Rito, where classes were offered four times a year.
“There is a lot of interest (in learning Spanish) in many adults,” Salazar said. “Some people have been to Peru, Columbia, all over South America to learn Spanish. Even Father Oscar, who’s from India, has gotten an interest in learning Spanish. He’ll have some of the verses translated and can understand them. They’re world travelers, those who want to learn the Spanish language, so it draws them here when classes are offered.”
Those learning Spanish from Salazar in El Rito fell into this category.
“Participants in El Rito were retirees from all over ,” Salazar said. “I had 13 to 15 students in my level two class. Sally taught level one and Rosario taught about level one and a half. The director of the program had us drive to teach at the El Rito campus. I’ve had students from California, New York, Wisconsin, Colorado and Arizona.”
The interest in traveling has also helped to bring Spanish back to the younger generations.
“A lot of kids are interested in learning many different languages ,” Salazar said. “They’re young and brave (which) helps to travel and want to learn new languages. A lot of kids are traveling and going to places where the primary language that’s being spoken is Spanish. If you go to Mexico or Spain now, there’ll be very few words that you won’t understand. The majority of Latin America is going to be Spanish speaking.”
At the University of New Mexico the Sabine Ulibarri Spanish as a Heritage Language Program, currently headed by Damian Vergara Wilson, was created for this purpose of preservation.
“Spanish is this special gem that is around in the area,” Villa said. “It’s something that can greatly benefit the upcoming generations (and) provide more opportunity.”
Salazar also believes the continuation of the language is important in schools.
“I do think (the language is starting to disappear) ,” Salazar said. “Like anything else, it comes and goes. Kids at the time don’t see that it’s necessary to learn going through their early years (but) the younger generation is now marrying into Spanish speaking families (and) realizing it’s so beneficial in the workforce.”