Amit Schandillia asked:
I am planning to visit northern Mexico later this year and am learning the Mexican dialect of Spanish for that reason. Can someone tell me what are the main differences between the Spanish of northern Mexico (e.g., Monterrey) and the Spanish spoken in the rest of Mexico?
I am planning to visit northern Mexico later this year and am learning the Mexican dialect of Spanish for that reason. Can someone tell me what are the main differences between the Spanish of northern Mexico (e.g., Monterrey) and the Spanish spoken in the rest of Mexico?
Also, I have come across the following words for “boy” in Spanish:
Muchaho
Chamaco
Chavo
Chico
Nino
What I want to know is, which of the above words is the most commonly used in Monterrey or northern Mexico?
Jasmine
well in america for boy theres
guy
man
sr
dude
baasterd
three legged woman
butch
and more………….
Comment by Ricardo1994 — May 7, 2009 @ 5:23 am
In Mexico they use alot chamaco, chavo and chico
Comment by ???????y ???f?c??? — May 9, 2009 @ 3:24 pm
Try watching Telemundo or Univision. Both are Spanish soap opera channels…
Comment by MB — May 12, 2009 @ 7:50 am
To speak like a “regio” you have to be in monterrey. It’s like me. If i want to speak like a Yankee.. i should got to NY. Ive been learning english from my southern folks from Arkansas.
Main differences:
We speak better, we are better, we are smarter than the rest of the “chilangos”. No just kiddin.. different accent, some word are used different.
You are looking for slang sort of things… in my opinion.. when you are just starting to learn a language… that’s the last part you should be looking at. Anyways, ill sent you a good source of mexican-slang.
Iam a Regio… Drop me a msg any time if you want to practice.
reickyone at yahoo dot com
Greetings.
Comment by Reicky — May 13, 2009 @ 7:55 pm
i speak spanish. my parents are mexican. personally, i know there are differences in the dialects, but i wouldnt worry much about it if i were you. the differences aren’t anything *major* or something really to worry about. you will be just fine learning the basics.
the words you listed aren’t only used in the north however. my parents are from the southern states of mexico and i’ve heard every one of those from both my parents and grandparents.
i find that:
Muchaho seems sort of formal basically just meaning “young man”
Chamaco is informal and basically means like “young kid” in a way it sort of refers to an immature young boy.
Chavo- this one might be used more in the northern part. it just means boy/young man but its sort of informal
Chico- i notice it being used mostly to refer to a young teen (male) i think it can be used formally or informally. but i find it to be more informal.
Nino- just means boy
anyway like i said, you shouldnt worry too much about it. just as long as you know what is universally considered formal and informal then think you’ll just be fine. (like make sure you know how to properly address people using the “tu” and “su” and all that)
when my parents talk to someone who is from another part of mexico, or even from another spanish-speaking country they seem to get a kick out of the differences. for example my mom would hold up a food/fruit and say oh we call this (insert name here) what do you guys call it? and they’ll say a different name.
sometimes its funny because the name the other person said might be like an “inappropriate” slang from where my mother is from. so its kinda cool. i’m just telling you this because although there are differences they do most of the time know what they’re talking about even if they dont call it the same name or w/e. but dont worry about it, you’ll survive.
good luck, have fun on your trip. makes me want to go visit :’/
Comment by Hello — May 17, 2009 @ 5:25 am
Well, it’s not just northern Mexico… the country as a whole has many ways to say a lot of things because of the different languages spoken (and the slang) all over it.
In this case, you can hear ‘huerco’ in the north (Monterrey, Chihuahua), ‘escuincle’ or ‘chavo’ in the middle (Mexico City), ‘buki’ to the west (Sinaloa) and ‘boxito’ -(x) sounding like (sh)- in the southeast (Merida, Cancun). All of those referring to a boy.
For starters, I think it’s better to be neutral (’chico’ or ‘muchacho’ are good not-very-formal options) than to say something funny or inappropiate. When you blend well in the place you are going to, or have heard enough slang from the natives, you might know what to say and in what cases.
Comment by tianshi417 — May 18, 2009 @ 8:47 pm