Working in multicultural bilingual classrooms taught me to say “también se dice” instead of “correcting” children’s language and vocabulary. Thank you for continuing this dialogue!
Thank you for that. Growing up Central American in California as an immigrant it always felt so condescending when a Mexican teacher would correct the way I said things, as if it were wrong instead of just different.
@@mayrafpz6300colonial skkkhools continue to sever our ties to this Native continent of Abya Yala. White people are the illegal immigrants on Turtle Island and brown people from below the Rio Grande River are Natives. Yet white people refer to themselves as legal and Native to this land and the Natives as illegal aliens and illegal immigrants. "It is the greatest con in the world when the Natives have become the illegal immigrants and the illegal immigrants have become the natives
I think we have found the dude who would like to use a few select examples to justify and normalize a behavior that was perpetuated on the entire world. Which, is ok to a point except that no one actually did just that. Similar to China creating gun powder, but did the originate the killing of millions with it.
@@elizabethsanchez5712 the thing is for many of us our ancestors were colonized by our other ancestors. People tend to not mention those colonizers are still a part of us. It's very obvious their beliefs stayed with the people and were passed down generations. It doesn't make it ok. That's not an excuse. I can assure you before the colonizers arrived the people weren't discriminating each other mainly by the color of their skin. It was mainly a cultural thing. So no don't use that as a cop out.
As a linguist - I am so glad you guys touched on sociolinguistics, language variation, idiolects, and historical linguistics. One of my dreams is to have a show that travels around and touches on these exact ideas as they relate to English (diaspora), Spanish (diaspora), French (diaspora). etc. Well done!
Realmente me encantaría esa idea y te deseo la mejor de la’ suerte’ con eso. De hecho (aunque es una ilusión de mi parte), sería grandioso si pudiera viajar con u’te’ y ayudarlo, en lo que re’pecta a hacer una mejor hi’toria. O, algo así, e’toy tratando de articular aquí. ¡Buena suerte!
I love curly but that idea and exact phrasing has been around for years in the research field. Remember to credit bipoc scholars, not just the social media gurus who spread their message
In the Dominican Republic, "Pelo Chino" is the opposite of coils, it's straight hair, and I think the phrase did actually come from Dominicans who wanted the straight hair ("Pelo Bueno") that they saw on the Chinese/Dominican Chinese population there. However, I have 3c curls and was always told I had "Pelo Bueno" (because it was easier to straighten, but if I left it curly--then they called it a "greña"), but anything more coily than that was considered "Pelo Malo"--which was definitely rooted in anti-blackness too.
Yeah! On the other hand the meaning of “pelo Chino” in DR is pretty discriminatory as well since it stereotypes all Asian people into a single box by implying that they all have straight hair/“good hair”
A. T. Sis, Asian people get discriminated in Latin America too. Perhaps not mainly because of the hair, but for other reasons. Stereotyping is a form of discrimination whether it is positive or negative. Do you think thoughts just live in a bubble? Our thoughts dictate how we act. Have you not heard of implicit bias? Its very dangerous to try to measure and compare discrimination... just because someone doesn’t get fired over something doesn’t mean that discrimination isn’t happening.
Please stop calling my ancestors "slaves." They were ENSLAVED. Say African, if you mean African. If you are talking about those who were enslaved, then say enslaved. Indigenous folks were also enslaved but no one ever refers to them as "slaves." Ever. This is intentional. So in creating a video of this topic, it's ironic y'all wouldn't even consider that. Continuing to call human beings "slaves" perpetuates the dehumanization process and it is antiblack. NO ONE is born a slave. Someone ELSE had to enslave them. Put the onus back on the enslaver and human trafficker. So CANCEL THAT.
@@brynrenee2455 Nope. There aren't. A child can be born and enslaved. No one is born a slave. There has to be a system in place to enslave someone. It is not a natural state of being.
warrior life You took the comment the wrong way. Latinos are not latinos because of our race it’s an ethnicity and because of our culture and where we come from. There can be white, black, and native Latinos. Some may even look middle eastern or Asian because of immigration. Latinos don’t have to be genetically the same.
None of what you said made sense to be honest @warriorlife. I think you’re overthinking the statement. I simply meant how Latinos make someone feel less a part of the Latino community because they didn’t grow up in the traditional sense. But there’s a video someone so kindly pointed out. Have a good one y’all and no arguing. It’s so hard to explain your feelings while writing it down. 💙
warrior life it’s not even Spanglish though you are using English words and spelling them wrong. It has nothing to do with me or my ability to speak Spanish/ English. I was just trying to explain that you understood the comment wrong.. have a nice day though I didn’t mean to start an argument.
As a non-Latin person, honestly did not know that there were still indigenous peoples surviving into the present let alone the presence of non-white peoples in the region cause the media that comes out of the region always has so many white people
@@gemain609 they're not white, we are all mostly a mix of races "meztizaje" which we do not use in a racist way. The racism comes in when we assume people's social class by picking up indigenous features.
In reference to "trae el nopal en la frente" I've heard it being used to refer to individuals who want to distance or ignore their roots and try to pass as anglo or associate with an European white person. It's not just linked to not speaking the spanish language but also to those who dont "act or carry themselves in a stereotypical way".
There are Latinos who have a right to identify with Europe because their parents are from Europe or their ancestry is predominantly European. Your effort to deprive them of that right simply because of their nationality is racist. The same applies to those Latinos of Black or Asian or Native American ancestry.
General terms like POC and latinx sometimes lead to people on the privileged spectrum of those groups representing that group. I love pero like and they have a lot of great and necessary conversations on this channel but a lot of times without representation from people who experience the things they talk about. This would have been a great video to include indigenous and black/afro latinx and to hear from them how these words affect them and their experience.
I disagree, latinx is being bashed by us in the southern border because is really not needed in spanish. I understand why is a thing in english and in the context of the US but for us it makes no sense, we do not talk like in english were latinx can be read easily “latin ex” in spanish we can not pronounce it properly, “latin equis” is awkward and if your solution is “just say it in english” then thats hypocritical, thats what colonization and imposing US culture on latin americans is all about.
All the Latinos I have ever met have never used pelo chino as an insult, it’s always been desirable ... kinda weird to hear it came from a darker place
Yea I can assure that most don't know the origin. Presently it's just a way to describe hair without the negative connotation it's neutral. But I could see why it'd be a problem and why people should be aware of the origin.
@@jackystar5099 yeah but that's in the past. Just like people use queer to describe themselves but it was considered an insult in the past. Why are people obsessed with trying to gain victim points?
Danny Perez: Pelo chino is not always used as an insult. But it is when someone is has kinky or coarse hair it can be used as an insult. People do use it.
I had no idea pero chino was anti-indigenous. I have very curly hair and never knew being called china was bad- it was always a compliment. Very informative
I always knew but my hair is super curly which is weird because full blooded natives have long thick slick hair my mother is native so I knew a lot about anti-indigenous
Antonio Delgado I think it’s important that now that we know this information, we can use these words as we choose and give a different meaning of power to them as people who have curly hair. We have the power to redirect meaning like the video said. Curly hair is beautiful and I think more and more people are starting to embrace it.. I least I feel that way from my experiences
DTown Blastin Salvi that’s interesting! I identify as mestiza but I’ve always wondered where my hair texture comes from. My coils are not as tight as my mother’s who got them from her grandfather.. we are Mexican but I’ve always wondered if my mother’s side has African ancestry due to my grandpa’s hair, skin color and features.
Lmao we all have sort of words that are racial in a way in all hispanic countries, Chile is no exception my dude. But yes, all of the examples in the video are more common in mexico.
When I use "el nopal en la frente", it's to call someone out for pretending to be white or turn their back on their own culture. Since I'm salvi I use "pupusa" instead of "nopal" with salvi people.
Hey I’m Salvadoran I say the same shit lol #Salvygang but a Mexican told me a nopal en la frente when i hung out with a lot of Salvadorans tho. I think that just a Mexican thing instead of shaming you for acting white.
@@humanbeing1168 I get what you mean but most of the time when someone says "nopal en la frente" is more about when someone is not only "trying to act white" but they are deliberately denying their heritage. Going out of their way to be accepted as that of a culture they are not and even looking down on people who do embrace that culture. Also no one is going around and saying that to people randomly. There is usually a relationship that has been established and you know that the person is acting maliciously in their intent to deny their culture.
I feel like the reclaiming of certain words and phrases that are anti-Black and anti-Indigenous should be up to those who are Black Latinx and Indigenous Latinx. Even if a word or phrase is used without the intention of being racist towards Black and Indigenous folx, if it's orgins are rooted in anti-Blackness and anti-Indigenousness us White Latinx should not use them.
@@Angette22 I don't like using the word myself but for some it is empowering and it isn't going horrible. It's become a part of black culture and one that helps cope with the torment. In a sense desensitizing ourselves from the weight of the word as a way to deal with that trauma.
Jedijazz4 if it was a word of empowering then why do their feelings get hurt when white people say it 🤷🏽♂️ ?! Spanish rule was different than British rule, so we must do things according to how it would work for us. People in Latin America have no respect, so it’s best just to eradicate and educate people on why not to use it.
@Mr A Yeah i totally agree that we easily dishonor each other. Sometimes pointing out someone's features in a loving or neutral way can be a term of endearment- although tbh i dont think it is usually done in a kind/neutral way especially if your traits are seen as "negative" like "gordo" or "negra" especially if its a white latino. Just because British and Spanish rule were the same doesnt mean that the communities are the same/should make the same decisions though.
my mom would always use the word ‘rizado’ for curly hair/curls. Like “mira su cabello rizado, que bonito. (or) me encanta los rizos de esa chica” but even if don’t use the words ‘cabello chino’ this is still very informative and should be spread. Thank you for having these talks and making me aware of lots of things from my own culture i hadn’t never taken the time to look into. I think im going to be doing some origin research this weekend:)
In Mexico we call something Spanglish when you create new words that are basically English but you Spanish-fy them by making a verb that you conjugate in Spanish and so on.
Este tema puede ser incómodo y a la ves nos enseña a poder cambiar esas palabras que pueden ser muy derrogativas cuando hablamos de otras personas. Es difícil cambiar palabras con las cuales hemos crecido, más no significa que no podemos aprender a respetar nuestras diferentes culturas e idiomas. RESPETO, sólo eso. Saludos!
Finally people are addressing pelo bueno pelo malo and pelo chino because these days I correct my mother on this statement letting her know that all hair is beautiful
Well that is trying to force your mom into changing her mind because of your ideology. Straight hair can be beautiful and also not attractive at all for some. The same goes with curly hair. We don't all think the same way and we don't all have the same taste.
yacitube1 yea I get that but I’m referring to this video that saying stuff like that is wrong. I’m not saying she has to like the hair I’m just saying she shouldn’t say it’s bad.
yacitube1 this is about teaching my mom that some terminology is very offense and it shouldn’t be used. Regardless if we may not see it as bad it can offend someone else
I'm from Mexico and my mum calls me "moño malo" whenever my naturally straight hair has the minimum frizziness. You have no idea how many times I've told her and my grandma that saying it is both anti-indigenous and anti-black. But they see no problem on it because I have a lighter skin than them (I'm called "la guera"). I'll show them this video hoping they can understand.
@@yacitube1 thx for your comment...i see a trend amongst gringo latinos and they seem to look at latino culture thru a ideological lense wich inhibits them to understand and sometimes even be respectful of latino culture tradition and language
@@hiphipjorge5755 im not sure i understood your point, but i also don't think you got mine: colonization has not ended. mestizes love to claim to be "descended from" indigenous people as though we don't exist anymore, even though most of the Indigenous nations are still here. We would appreciate better representation and treatment in the international community/international justice system especially when it comes to protecting what little land we have left and our intangible heritage like our languages-forgetting that Spanish is relatively recent colonial imposition doesn't help with those goals.
@@radrook2153 hello thank you for the question. The answer is yes. Since I am still in the process of learning my Indigenous heritage languages, I frequently think about how I would translate things into my other languages-whether I am speaking English, Spanish, or Mandarin. I am a linguist though, so there's that :-) To reiterate though, my point at its core is that even though many mestizes claim indigenous "racial" identity, they rarely put in the work to reconnect with their communities or assist in decolonization-most aren't even aware of the fact that colonization is ongoing in the present day
@@yesid17many of mestizos that doubt about putting thir indigenous herritage are from the USA, because anglosajon culture (whites, mexican born in the usa, blacks) tend to say them that they are unvalueable. mexico, guatemala, honduras el salvador, even in paraguay ( the only country that have Guaraní and spanish as the official languages) most of laitnamerica countriea still preserve their indigenous languages, they even teach it in school, so, in latin america there is an appreciation of "indio" as you daid.
Important topic, learned a lot. Being Puerto Rican and Chilean, I've seen lots of colorism and racism within ourselves but some of these words or phrases really didn't stand out, especially peel chino, I also thought it was weird and though Chinese when hearing it. Thanks Curly, Armando + Pero Like
La verdad "El nopal en la frente" lo uso para mí, para decir que soy mexicano. Porque me gusta, porque el nopal está en toda la cultura de México, así que yo lo uso para decir que algo es muy mexicano.
My mom is from El Salvador and my dad is from Cuba. I grew up in LA and I had to learn Mexican Spanish, Salvadoran Spanish, Caribbean Spanish, and Castilian Spanish. My mom wanted to make sure I could blend in anywhere. My white skin was a bad thing growing up because everyone thought I was white and talked mad shit about me in Spanish. These were my people talking about me because they thought I was white. My heart still hurts from these encounters. It goes so many ways when it comes to racism. It hurts every way.
Please post more content like this. Race is something we all need to be having an honest conversation about right now (beyond political talking points) to better understand why certain groups are in pain, reacting, and supporting.
My puertorican word for curly hair is pelo rizado. I have a lot of Mexican friends who love my pelo "chino". They only know it as a descriptor and I accept it as such. Rizado, colocho, chino, crespos, etc. all mean curly and I've never heard an insult in them. Not cancelled IMO. Also, Indio is a compliment in Puerto Rico because it honors our Taino heritage/ancestry. But I recognize that those from Central and South America hear an insult with Indio and I won't use it with them even if I mean it as a compliment and descriptor of beauty.
Which is super weird. It shows that whitewashing and colonialism played a huge impact on today’s society in Latin America. However I really appreciate my Indigenous ancestry. They survived through the thickest and thinnest
Not being able to roll my R’s while being Mexican makes me sometimes wanna cry because I feel so shameful not being able to when I’m so close to my culture like it’s so simple for them even kids can do it but not me it’s so frustrating
Janik B I can pronounce the letter R in Spanish but not roll my R’s there’s a difference and you should know that if your Latino or Hispanic. And for your argument that people are suffering from racism of course you’d have to assume my color but just because Black people face more racism doesn’t mean that others can’t like Latinos or Asians although it may not be as bad we still are discriminated by others btw my skin is brown so stop trying to put me down when I just spoke abt a issue that was relevant to the video go and have some time to reflect that a lot Latinos are mixed with different colors and identity’s as well as your words that sounded ignorant.
@@janikb3538 That fact that you are making fun of that is you being racist. I been told my life I am “too” white and not “brown” enough. Just because someone else is problem is not as big as another doesn’t make it invalid. Every problem is valid. Rolling R is big part of language which means that apart of their identity. I find this comment disrespectful Bc why are you allowed to undermine someone’s pain. I couldn’t speak Spanish well and my family will make fun of me. Literally mentions it in the video. That shit hurts over time but I realize that I am a mix. Racist is literally just discriminating people who are different terms of skin or culture.
I remember associating with Mexicans in Chicago at church and seeing them on TV and their constant pronunciation of each and every letter (s) grated on my nerves. I was used to the Caribbean way of speaking Spanish derived from Andalucia and the Canary Islands. .
Acknowledging ethnic difference is not the same as discriminating based on them. especially with words that have dicey origins but have come to be used and taken back by people they refer to don’t need to be cancelled. Just knowing the history of words and being aware of what does still uphold oppressive systems and privilege should be the goal not shrinking the Spanish spoken in the America’s.
In Colombia, my parent's generation will sometimes use the expression 'Mucho indio' or 'Mucho guache' to refer to someone when they're being rude or indecent. The thing is, 'indio' is the derogatory term for indigenous and 'guache' is a word that comes from the Chibcha language (the language spoken by the tribe that used to live in what is now Bogotá) which meant 'man'. So it is an expression that equates being from an indigenous culture with being an asshole basically and it just... no.
I wonder what happened historically for that phrase to take root. Things don’t just pop up out of a vacuum. In Spain, the gypsies are looked down upon, and it has a historical origin wherein they gain a bad reputation for themselves via thievery.
I’m an English speaker who’s learning Spanish and it’s really important to educate people on alterior meanings of words. A person who isn’t a native speaker could be blissfully ignorant to what they’re trying to say to someone and say something completely different to what they mean
And at least in Mexico, the majority of the people will not get offended if you use those expressions when speaking Spanish, they will appreciate your efforts
I really do believe that the transformation of the connotation of a word is important. Making sure that using a phrase or a word in a positive context sets it to dismantle stereotypes and discrimination and has the strength to empower. I have friends that are Mexican and they definitely use “tengo el nopal en la frente” as statement of pride to be mestizo and Mexican. I think that many of our words have been forged into the positive affirmation and sense of pride. I did not know the etymological history of the phrase “tener pelo chino,” our Mexican fam are the ones that I have really only heard use this term for curly hair. We can see how despite the negatively seeded connotation of the word, our culture has moved to use this word with adjectives of affirmation and a sense of pride to have curly hair for the curly fam. Even the slow movement of empowerment towards loving your own hair (and hopefully other phenotypes) shapes the way we use these words too. Like humanity, never static, as we push to mold and forge our roots and culture to be what we make of it; then will we see the power of embracing our differences instead of using them to disempower our fam and become a culture of acceptance and pride for all the distinctive features we have as Latinx. Thank you for opening a discussion to self reflect on the way we, ourselves look at us. And hopefully a change to embrace all of us and our differences.
“tengo el nopal en la frente” I never heard that expression, and I lived among Mexicans in Chicago for three years. I also live among Cubans for three years and among Dominicans for three years and never heard it. Neither have I heard any Puerto Rican use it. Neither have I heard it in Mexican films, nor in their Soap Operas.
MORE!! Please make more informative videos like this!! This video really helps me talk to my family and peers about race and culture, and how language can shape both of those. Great job pero like!
I’m half Ecuadorian and I did highschool in Ecuador and then came back to USA to Texas for college . I’m white/whitepassing latinx I had never been called guera in Ecuador I was called gringuita (nice way to say white/foreigner) or yankee ( which is a slur ) . My Mexican friends told me gringa(o) is rude and guera(o) is polite way to say white . This very enlightening also pelo chino i had never heard that in that context . I thought it was straight hair not kinky hair . Dude we have so much to unpack with colonialism and toxic racist beliefs . Ugh this something I argue with my mom she very much a gatekeeper on Spanish . she feels South American Spanish/Spain is the correct way to speak Spanish . I’m a big supporter of spanenglish and I love all the variations of Spanish out there . I’m trying to self teach myself kiwcha bc after doing my dna .I was pleasantly surprised that I’m 19% indigenous and little bit African to my tia’s dismay . Language is about communicating there is no wrong or right way to communicate languages are constantly evolving . Thank you for this video now I can be more conscious about this words and their origins .
Hi there, just to address something, the word gringo(a) can either have a good or bad connotation depending on where you are taking it from. For example, people from Mexico would use it as an offensive word toward Americans. But if it comes from people from Ecuador (where they called you ''gringuita" which is the diminutive for "gringo") it will be a word with a neutral or simply non offensive connotation. In Honduras just to mention another example, we use the word as a simple way to refer to Americans instead of "estadounidense" or "americano" (the last one being seen as an incorrect form to address Americans).
Just to let you know “pelo Chino” it’s not offensive, cause I see a lot of people getting offended because of word Chino that has the other meaning “Chinese”
Omg! This video was a much needed hug. Dr. Armando thank you so much, Curly thank you very much. I'm a first generation American born citizen. My dad was born in Puerto Rico and tiaino he came here when he was 9. My mom is Portuguese and Irish. I live in Rhode Island. so a very small and diverse state. I love being everything that I am but sometimes its hard because my Spanish is not good.
@@CrazyTwoSix it's being forced very hard by US media, anyways, native americans aren't even normal "latin-anything" they have no connection to latin Europe.
@@quebert5950 I know that. Native Amerindians have no connection to Europe or Spain. That’s why I cringe when I hear natives from “luh-tea-no” countries call themselves Latino/LatinX/Hispanic etc
I’m Mexican, and all I hear is everyone compliment PELO CHINO (curly). Never hear the opposite. The nopal en la frente does not bother me. It really doesn’t offend me. I’m aware of who I am, and I love it. I proudly carry the NOPAL EN LA FRENTE.
As a Puerto Rican you hit the nail on the head. Oftentimes we're corrected by other nationalities for the way we speak, which is close to a sub-creole Spanish. a lot of our pronunciations are of African influence. The more you know people...
We aren’t even the only Hispanics that don’t roll the Rs that being said it’s not even that we don’t pronounce Rs it’s more like An R at the beginning of a word will always be pronounced as R (not doing so, could change the meaning of a word or make it incomprehensible). The same goes for the double RR sound which is also pronounced as a strong R sound and not L. So when does the R change to L? When the R sound is in the middle of a word and before a consonant sound. Again we aren’t the only ones that do this, the thing is out accents and vernacular makes it more evident.
@@CharletteG correct, the point is that oftentimes were the example because of our strong culture and the major influence we’ve had in the media. In hindsight, so proud to be Boricua. 🫶🏽
I was curious if Pero Like would at some point be interested in learning [about] Indigenous languages of the Americas? I recently started learning Nahuatl and I think it illuminates a lot about Mexican culture and Mexican Spanish too! Of course Spanish and its variations are now a unifying force but I think it's also powerful to recognize that there are Indigenous languages with millions of speakers and are living cultures right now as well.
As a non Spanish speaker, this is very educatuonal for me. I have a daughter who shares multiple backgrounds ( my husband is Latin, I'm Eastern European). I met a lady from Mexico recently who shared that in spanish they would call my curly daughters hair as pelo chino. I was confused as thought it has some association with Chinese hair.( makes no sense, and does have negative connotations, to say the least) After watching the video, I see this word is something that is rooted deeply in racism and should not be describing anyone's hair. My daughter is a precious gift who has beautiful hair, period.
Gracias Curly for this wonderful learning opportunity. I was told once about the "mande usted" was a form of colonization of Spain over the indigenous community yet was told it was a form of showing respect. This are the works we need to bring more light to because these are the conversation that are not talked about in our Latin community and families. Lets keep digging in and from the heart!! Keep up the amazing work.
I've had people tell me that these words are "no big deal" because latinx have always had these words so they aren't taken as racist. That never sat well with me. THANK YOU for unpacking this a bit. (Also, I'm obsessed with the maze background.)
Obviously no hair should be called bad hair as no hair should be called good hair, just as no nose should be called a bad nose or good nose-or kips referred to as bad lips and good lips. Such evaluations if indeed pondered should be kept to oneself. For example, I did not appreciate people calling my straight hair pelo -muerto or Dead Hair.
It’s always interesting to look into the history of language. I am a black American woman and my husband is from Mexico, racially mixed. Our kids have curly hair, but my daughters have smooth, loose curls. My son has a tighter curly and coarser texture. Spanish isn’t my first language and I was highly confused when I first heard the term “chinos” in regards to the curls... I figured the word wasn’t tied to ‘Chinese’ in any way, but I never would’ve guessed it was short for cochino. But I guess the good thing is that I’ve never heard it used in a negative way.
I am Latino and just heard it and assumed it was referring to straight hair and comparing it to the Chinese hair texture. There are many words and phrases that Mexicans use that are not used in the rest of Latin America.
Thanks for the info, will definitely look for it. As a Puerto Rican in the USA, i not only struggle with my accent but also the discrimination of English speakers and vice versa... we all need to become a better version of ourselves and start by learning about us and other cultures
In Central America we say "pelo colocho" to describe curly hair. I was always so confused when people said "pelo chino" to describe curly hair. It was shocking and informative to learn the history behind this phrase.
It was considered as such when it was used to label native Filipinos during Spanish colonization, a low-case in the overall hierarchy of Spanish-era Philippines. In fact, when "Filipino" was first coined, it used to refer to Spanish settlers born in the colony to differentiate them from "peninsulares", colonists who immigrated from Spain.
theres a word that insults 600mio latinos because they cannot pronounce it correctly its a word invented by gringo lgbt activist who do not respect or understand latino languages and culture wich to me can be the only reason they invented this word....the word is latinX...because no one who understands latino languages would think that latinO or latinA is excluding anyone only ppl who do not understand latino languages would think its exclusionary ...example...if don omar say ''donde esta mi gente LATINA!!!'' (note its feminine now)nobody is gonna say hes only talking about females because us who understand spanish know that gente is feminine and thus its gente latina same with latino wich includes everyone....while latinx excludes 600mio ppl simply because a few gringo lgbt ppl do not understand the basics of our languages
I don't even get why Latinx was invented when Latin already exists. Latin is already gender neutral. You can choose Latina, Latino, Latin American and Latin. Why do they use Latinx when Latin already exists!
Actually latinx has been used by lgbt communities all throughout Latin America for a very long time, if you did some research you would know this. It’s used in Mexico, Argentina, DR, and many many more countries by lgbt communities to be inclusive.
@@mg9849 thank you. It takes 10 seconds to research and realize that no one is forcing "latinx" upon us. It was created by a marginalized group to take themselves out of the margins. If you don't want to use the word "latinx," fine, but other people using it hurts no one.
Nehmi No te olvides q el español también es un idioma colonizador. Como quiera, los dos son problemáticos. Aún asi, muchos lo defienden como q si sus antecedentes no les hubiesen forzados hablarlo.
I think you missed the point that Latinos are all mixed and these words point out who is more or less white. Pero Like did dna heritage and curly is 50% indigenous so...
@@matteaturenne4640 FYI indigenous people come in all shapes, colors and sizes. And being indigenous is kind of based of dna. Your dna is made up of your ancestors.
I would rather see actual latin americans speak on topics like this in this channel, all the people and conversations ive seen in here are done by americans with latin heritage but I dont see anyone born and raised in latin america or that isnt a US citizen at all.
I can always do better. Didn’t realize how I’ve contributed to negative language in the past, but being aware and wanting to know more is the first step. Words matter. I appreciate this video!
i am so tired of hearing people say Puelto Lico when i say that i am Puerto Rican. thank you for bringing this up in this video--and just a reminder: it is not okay to make fun of a person's nationality. why is that okay regarding Puerto Ricans?
This doesn’t match the video but I used to want to be more lighter and I was jealous that my brother was so much lighter than me, Im honestly glad I grew out of that😌😅 but we should talk about Novelas, and how we put the lighter Latinos up their, we even bring some people from spain💀 I’m not really mad about that but theirs always this dynamic that the Indio is at the bottom of the rank or always the poor one.
I watched Venezuelan Novellas and they included all types pf people. Also Puerto Rican Novelas did the same. Mexican Novellas tend to do what you are saying. The people in Argentinean films look white because they are mostly white. Mexican culture is not representative of all Latinos.
Obviously it is a big topic and one of the videos I have enjoyed because it has gone a bit deeper than some of the typical stuff, but it would have been interesting to talk about how U.S. Colonising culture has impacted Latinos use of spanish and learning spanish, thus creating to a certain degree the concept of Spanglish. There is definitely a lot to unpack with the politics of linguistics. I'm Anglo-Celtic Australian who speaks Spanish as a second language.
Something that I would like to say for you influencers in the US, is that I think it would be better to say ‘latines’ in English instead of ‘latinx’ since the x is like an anglicized way of using a Spanish word that is unpronounceable... therefore, I think it would be great to use latines in English as well as it is used in Spanish. Thanks!
I propose another term, "LatinAm". It serves the purpose that latinx does without being awkward or clunky. Like Latinx, it's an abbreviation of Latin American, and it's also gender neutral. The full term "Latin American" itself is gender neutral! It obviously couldn't be used in Spanish, but that's ok, because it's an English word, just like latinx is an English word.
Edwin, I agree with you, but if people want to use latinx, I think it would be better for them to say latines since it would be how people would say it in Spanish or Portuguese. Like, if people actually want to change something with the language, they should at least follow the standard pronunciation... that’s what my comment is about.
@@reverendblkgrape1 I don't like the word latinx for a few reasons but understand why it exists. I think it was coined as a gender neutral word. Tbh, in Spanish "Latino" is already the gender neutral word (and is already a gender neutral word in English) but I understand the rationale for wanting to have a word that doesn't end in o.
They are talking about the words THEY use to describe these aspect associated with Black and Indigenous. The issue is the people/culture who use these terms. There really is no need to get anyone else involved in this conversation. Black and Indigenous people have more important things to worry about at the moment. The point is if these words and/or phrases are part of your vernacular, then you need to take heed.
Yo Puerto Ricans a lot of the Spaniards that populated the carribean islands came from the Canary Islands. Before you assume where any pronunciation came from, listen to them talk.
Even the music is very similar to music from the Canary Islands. Just look up the show "tenderete", you can see some resemblance in the music. Even some of their guest have been Puerto Rican musicians...
@warrior life like the observation insight. I am Mx. You think u right about the mx accent. Indegenous blood has much asian in it. It is more Japanese samurai than black pronunciation. Over anunciate than under.
Very good video. It would be interesting to have people from other Spanish speaking countries discuss these same language issues. As someone who identifies as Afro Puerto Rican I connect with this issue. This also reminds me of when Toni Morrison speaks of this idea of white gaze.
@@CiudadanoDin Que importa de dónde viene, la sociedad actual fue construida con el esfuerzo y sacrificio de los esclavos a través de la historia humana, quiere decir que tenemos que dejar toda la tecnología que hemos construido? Claro que no, lo que importa es el significado que le demos hoy!
Thank you for touching on the fact that language is such an important part to culture and it’s okie to critically evaluate the use of certain words. The culture takes time to change with come resistance , but eventually it changes. As spanish speakers, we need to form a collective that allows for the change in the language to move past words with historical use to put people down and move towards celebrating differences. Would love to see a more extended version of this where we can learn words that are more appropriate to say instead of these problematic words. The idea of describing phenotype is necessary, but we must do it in a way to respect and honor the beautiful diversity in the Latin experience.
Please keep in mind that phrases that Mexicans might use are never heard in other Latin American countries and visa versa. We don't all speak the same Spanish.
It makes me really mad that people think that us puerto rican dont pronounce our Rs . It not true we do ,the thing is that some poeple actually dont pronounce them but is just some parts for example the people of the campo/countryside dont roll their rs properly other people usually its more of a hardcore puerto rican accent than some people use is when they change in some sentences and words the r to l and usually its in the final of the word or sentence. As a puertorican i am really offended when people talk about us like we dont hear the fact that they are saying we dont roll out rs properly.
lmao, as a puertorican I usually don't get offended by that, maybe cuz I actually can't roll my R's :) and it's weird cuz my whole family can. it usually be the hard double R (rr) like in carro, or the Rs in the beginning, but the softer rs like in árbol, I can pronounce. Lowkey feel offended by being called del campo cuz Aguadilla is kinda more suburban. and btw it's pastelillo 😂😂😂
I personally don’t like when people say “all Puerto Rican’s speak the same” like they know all PRs on the planet. I roll my r’s and don’t change r’s for l’s. When I speak of people I usually don’t use “all” to describe a whole country of people I say “some” not all of that specific country.
I encourage everyone to keep in mind that all of these terms have different meanings in different Latin American countries. Also, something they didn't say as a fact but as a "choice" (and that's because it is still a discussion in linguistics) is that we can either choose to not use a word because of its origin or continue to use with its new modern positive connotation of a specific dialect. Language can mold reality the same way reality can change language.
Btw, before anyone comes for me, I'm a latino from actual Latin America. I was born and live to the South of this continent. I'm mixed light skinned. Also, another point I forgot to make is that they're clearly very focused on US Latino, Mexican and Caribbean slang/dialect. So all in all, unless you're from Latin America please take all of this video with a grain of salt cause you'll potentially end up othering us. Have a good day.
language is something so complex that evolves depending on each individual situation so the concept of getting rid or censoring words from your vocabulary is not something beneficial it is trying DE TAPAR EL SOL CON UN DEDO, the origin of a word does not define the use based on context of a word
@@user-xm5rw8lw7x you exactly proved my point. I grew up in the northern closer to the middle part of Mexico and i never heard that term the meaning of words is strictly defined by context and intent, it can change a lil depending on the receptor (person who heard the words) based on geographical origin of said person and their cultural background as well as upbringing
Am not saying that a lot of words don't have a racist or derogatory origin but as i said, the meaning of a word is dependent on intent, context, the person who says it and the receptor
@@KUROhashi14 just because you haven't heard it before doesn't change the intent of the people who have used it. Notice how it's never used towards people with straight hair. Only people with afro textured hair. That makes it anti black
@@user-xm5rw8lw7x you are making my point. I haven't heard the term pelo malo with that intent and in that context you are wrong when you say the words make it anti-black you said it yourself the intent makes it not the actual words and it is also the way you associate with those words
it's like in english, im French and I didn't understand why English speaking ppl love to make differences between black ppl and white ones I was really, really confused, but I got used to refearing to myself as white as in france when someone is black we say it so why not aknowledging I'm a pall ass too😂 learning English i saw france is weird for naming only one part of the population bcs it is the same as saying "we're the base, the normal ppl and you're different" no? So yeah learning English was eye-opening and confusing over america's open mind yet racist culture.
@@laetitiannyoung6545 Sure, but it's more complicated than that. First European settlers were conquistadors, purists and zealots, and the ideas they brought with them still define America today. The ideological history of the continents part from there on. Colonialism and slavery, then the arrival of other immigrants - the impoverished Europeans, who were treated as second class citizens too. The race for resources between different groups eventually drove a wedge between said groups of people. European racism is based on xenophobia, the unknown is scary, a threat, and the hostility towards other culture's influences is based on fierce connection between people who belong in a bigger homogenous population, which also usually holds an established social system or state to their name. Bringing outside influences are seen as a breach in the sense of safety.
One thing that would have been helpful is to include another word or phrase we could use instead. As a non fluent speaker it’s nice to learn more proper Spanish so I’ll definitely be looking up replacements! :)
You could use pelo Rizado instead of Chino. All the other ones are... Kinda unnecessary from where I see it. Güero? Nopal en la frente? Why use those expressions?
Antonio Delgado yeah mainly it was the chino one since I work in the beauty industry and I used to do hair. I never knew another word for curly since no one corrected me or anything. Also I’ve never used terms like quero, but I find it interesting and sad that two people I know from my dad’s ranch were nicknamed “La Guera” and “La prieta” (not sure how that’s spelled) It’s just weird how they use these names instead of their actual name. I couldn’t even tell you their real names. :(
@warrior life my mom side is Afro Rican and they have no problem rolling their R's, I never understood y people used to have me say some words thinking I couldn't say it correctly, now my husband is a white Rican and he can't say his Rs which really surprised me.
@warrior life the truth is africans brought to PR infused spanish into their african dialect, that is why many dont roll their R's..its called "Bozal" spanish dialect
In Peru we say trinchudo if someone has really straight hair and it is implied that they have indigenous features or what we call "cholo." My mom was a hairdresser and she said perms were really in especially for people who didn't like their super straight "indigenous hair"
This is a great educational video. However, Dr. Guerrero made the mistake of saying Africans slaves came only to the Caribbean. That creates the incorrect assumption that there is no black/african culture in Mexico, Central and south America. Also, missed saying that the Indio culture is a positive in American and the Caribbean, where being Indian is closer to white and therefore better than being black/african.
I'm not a linguist but I live and was raised in a predominantly Puerto Rican area and after traveling to Portugal, I figured that Puerto Rican's not pronouncing their Rs actually came from Portuguese settlers, rather than African ancestors, because they have the same "language rules" if that makes sense. For example in Portugal, if an R is at the beginning of a word it is typically pronounced with an "H" sound or a Spanish "J", so the word "Rico" may be pronounced "Jico" but if the R is in the middle of the word the R is rolled like in English or Spanish, so the word "Puerto" would remain "Puerto". Meanwhile, if there is a double RR in the middle of a word, it's pronounced with the "H"/"J" sound again, so "Arroz" may sound like "Ajoz". This is the same as Puerto Ricans from some regions (not all)
Then how do you example all afro latino populations having the same issue? Did it come from the Portuguese? How about the colonial text that showed African slaves dropping their S and turning their Rs into Ls? Those exist lol
@@carlosm.3426 I'm not disagreeing with what he said overall, I'm just talking about that particular instance mentioned, not Rs being pronounced at Ls. As a Dominican Afro Latina myself, it makes sense, as my parents & others in many parts of DR often swap out some of their Rs. One of the most anti-black things to happen in DR was when Haitians were massacred for pronouncing "perejil" with an L. If you go to Andalusia or the Canaries in Spain they don't pronounce their S either & some of them also turn Rs in Ls, so the ppl they learned Spanish from could also influence. Again, I'm not a linguist or historian, I'm just theorizing that these dialects are a mix from the people who ended up there, so I didn't directly see the correlation to anti-blackness only. Similar to the food, PR has mofongo which comes from African fufu & their traditional bacalaitos, may come from the Portuguese who went there, Portuguese people have the same thing everywhere. It's also very possible that Andalusia, the Canaries, & Portugal language also has more African influence than Madrid or northern parts due to its proximity & the Moors. I'd have to look into it more, these are just theories from my experience, I never said they were fact.
¡Qué buen video! Me encantaría ver esto desde el vocabulario de otros países. Es importante entender de dónde vienen nuestras palabras para decidir si continuamos usándolas o no.
Can anyone explain how Spain polices Spanish speaking people in the US? I’m just curious by what they meant. From what I know, as a Spanish, the RAE (Real Academia Española) does recognize the diversity of the Spanish language, and every Spanish speaking country has its own Academy for the Spanish language (including the US). I’m aware also of all the racism and sexism inside the Spanish language and within the Spanish society. I just wanted to understand what they meant by saying that Spain kind of imposes the way to speak a correct Spanish when in Spain we do have also really different dialects of the language depending on the region you are. Thanks for your help!!
This video also has me thinking about how I've been told that by not being able to speak Spanish, I'm betraying my people. I've never understood that because English AND Spanish were forced onto my people by invaders. So if I'm betraying my people with English, you're betraying them with Spanish, too. The only language we're both speaking is colonizer.
@@amadamiaaa It is a weird point, to larp on people regarding the spanish and english language debate but what they mean when they say those things is more of a general culture and viewpoints about life and mentality, regardless of english and spanish, you probably seem more American in your way of behaving and expressing. To us in the south is easy to tell when someone is from outside or the US, is not something to use against people or discriminate them at all but is also pretty obvious as well and hard to miss for natives.
@@ericktellez7632 that's an interesting point! I'm speaking about Mexican Americans, though, that are from the exact same place as I am but either speak both English and Spanish or almost exclusively Spanish.
I am a black 🇧🇷 Brazilian, my girlfriend and and two kids are Puerto Rican. I barley know spanish and I tend to hear these insults sometimes. I really do wish that all of this hatred could go away. Literally all spanish women think about men is no good but for sex, and black women no good for sex. It hurts. Objectifying blacker people as objects it’s sick
I know We say negro/negra for Black in Spanish. But it just seems so offensive to say. Lots of people on the mainland think you are calling Black people the N-Word. I wish there could be a way we can change that word to something else.
Well, no because negro literally means black. You can call black people Negro (black) or Afro (literally: from Africa). Actually, if you do your research you'll realize that the N-word is a mispronunciation of the word black in latin, language from which spanish descends. Considering that I, as a hispanic native person, can say English-speaking people are the ones being awful to my language and that you should change the N-word for something else or stop trying to make me feel wrong for speaking my language correctly. Saying we should change Negro to something else is extremely xenophobic.
@@kkinosvt What in the world are you talking about. I am from PR & My first language is Spanish & We we're not allowed to speak English in the home. The video is about words We say that may seem anti-black. I had a experience where I was talking to My cousin in front of people & the Blacks & Whites said I was calling the Man the N-Word.
It’s all about the meaning we give to these words. Unfortunately there’s a lot of words that aren’t technically disses, but the contexts that we use them in are very negative. Some examples are what you mentioned (using the word “negro” as a bad thing), the term “chino” as a negative Way to refer to all Asian people, and it comes to mind how in Dominican Republic calling someone “Haitian” is a terrible thing even thought that is just a nationality. I think instead of changing the words we start reclaiming the words and focusing on the real meanings.
Gina Doll Negro in Spain means black. You don’t own the spanish language. Negro in Spain never meant the N word in English. They had a different word for that
@@janikb3538 WTH are you even talking about. No one said anything about owning Spanish. My People We're Tainos & spoke the Taino language before Spain came over. I know that does not mean the N-Word. I don't know what kind of reading you are doing cause if you did read the post you would have saw that I said negro means Black.
Thank you Pero like for bringing awareness about topics like this. A lot of people follow you and like your content and I believe you are doing a great service to our community by educating us about topics like this. I never knew the term "pelo chino" meant pelo de cochino. All this time I was saying- I have pigs hair🥺. Now, my question will be how can I describe my wavy hair?
Damn, just had a revelation on why my great grandmother always called me "china". She never liked me and I never realized why, but my grandma always told me that she didn't teach me Spanish so I wouldn't understand what gg was saying haha.
“Tener nopal en la frente” isn’t always used in a negative way. I use it as an expression of pride in myself or others that are very much Mexican in their love of the culture, not in a negative way, because I don’t see “Indios”as ignorant, I see the indigenous peoples of Mexico as the REAL Mexicans, and I have since high school. I’ve defended people from being bullied for being indigenous, and I’ve attacked others for making fun of Mexicans or others as being “Indios ignorantes”.
Working in multicultural bilingual classrooms taught me to say “también se dice” instead of “correcting” children’s language and vocabulary. Thank you for continuing this dialogue!
Aww I love this! ❤️🥰✨🦋💓
I like that.
Thank you for that. Growing up Central American in California as an immigrant it always felt so condescending when a Mexican teacher would correct the way I said things, as if it were wrong instead of just different.
@@mayrafpz6300colonial skkkhools continue to sever our ties to this Native continent of Abya Yala.
White people are the illegal immigrants on Turtle Island and brown people from below the Rio Grande River are Natives. Yet white people refer to themselves as legal and Native to this land and the Natives as illegal aliens and illegal immigrants. "It is the greatest con in the world when the Natives have become the illegal immigrants and the illegal immigrants have become the natives
It is so ironic that we complain about being discriminated against in America, and we OURSELVES are racist in our OWN countries. Very ironic!
The root of taught racism is destiny country agnostic.
I don’t know if it is ironic exactly...it seems more so to be a symptom/result of being colonized.
I think we have found the dude who would like to use a few select examples to justify and normalize a behavior that was perpetuated on the entire world. Which, is ok to a point except that no one actually did just that.
Similar to China creating gun powder, but did the originate the killing of millions with it.
EARS TO HEAR is this verse I dropped look for this comment by ONEKBABY it’s at the bottom of the page
@@elizabethsanchez5712 the thing is for many of us our ancestors were colonized by our other ancestors. People tend to not mention those colonizers are still a part of us. It's very obvious their beliefs stayed with the people and were passed down generations. It doesn't make it ok. That's not an excuse. I can assure you before the colonizers arrived the people weren't discriminating each other mainly by the color of their skin. It was mainly a cultural thing. So no don't use that as a cop out.
As a linguist - I am so glad you guys touched on sociolinguistics, language variation, idiolects, and historical linguistics.
One of my dreams is to have a show that travels around and touches on these exact ideas as they relate to English (diaspora), Spanish (diaspora), French (diaspora). etc.
Well done!
This is a beautiful dream!
@Dan Caro my boy Tariq explains how all Latino culture comes from blacks. ua-cam.com/video/leY49e8loyw/v-deo.html
Realmente me encantaría esa idea y te deseo la mejor de la’ suerte’ con eso.
De hecho (aunque es una ilusión de mi parte), sería grandioso si pudiera viajar con u’te’ y ayudarlo, en lo que re’pecta a hacer una mejor hi’toria. O, algo así, e’toy tratando de articular aquí.
¡Buena suerte!
Be sure to tell them it's Abya Yala not "amerikkka"
"Whiteness is a global currency." - Curly, 2020.
This was so important.
What are these spots by Curly's nails. He needs to go to the doctor.
@@onceuponanexploration6048 his tattoos?
@@xoboba oh didn't know.
I love curly but that idea and exact phrasing has been around for years in the research field. Remember to credit bipoc scholars, not just the social media gurus who spread their message
In the Dominican Republic, "Pelo Chino" is the opposite of coils, it's straight hair, and I think the phrase did actually come from Dominicans who wanted the straight hair ("Pelo Bueno") that they saw on the Chinese/Dominican Chinese population there. However, I have 3c curls and was always told I had "Pelo Bueno" (because it was easier to straighten, but if I left it curly--then they called it a "greña"), but anything more coily than that was considered "Pelo Malo"--which was definitely rooted in anti-blackness too.
Yeah! On the other hand the meaning of “pelo Chino” in DR is pretty discriminatory as well since it stereotypes all Asian people into a single box by implying that they all have straight hair/“good hair”
@@LaMenteOpen yes, exactly. and people use it so casually there as a "compliment"
In Puerto Rico too
A. T. Sis, Asian people get discriminated in Latin America too. Perhaps not mainly because of the hair, but for other reasons. Stereotyping is a form of discrimination whether it is positive or negative. Do you think thoughts just live in a bubble? Our thoughts dictate how we act. Have you not heard of implicit bias? Its very dangerous to try to measure and compare discrimination... just because someone doesn’t get fired over something doesn’t mean that discrimination isn’t happening.
I have 3c tight thick curls and I’m also Dominican but I get told I have” pelo malo “
Please stop calling my ancestors "slaves." They were ENSLAVED. Say African, if you mean African. If you are talking about those who were enslaved, then say enslaved. Indigenous folks were also enslaved but no one ever refers to them as "slaves." Ever. This is intentional. So in creating a video of this topic, it's ironic y'all wouldn't even consider that. Continuing to call human beings "slaves" perpetuates the dehumanization process and it is antiblack. NO ONE is born a slave. Someone ELSE had to enslave them. Put the onus back on the enslaver and human trafficker. So CANCEL THAT.
Tell it!
Alright, Make it plain!
Amen!! Preach!!
I respect what you’re saying, however there actually are/were people who were born slaves.
@@brynrenee2455 Nope. There aren't. A child can be born and enslaved. No one is born a slave. There has to be a system in place to enslave someone. It is not a natural state of being.
Y’all should discuss how sometimes it be your own people making you feel like you’re not Latino/a/x enough.
Yes!!!!!
YESS
warrior life You took the comment the wrong way. Latinos are not latinos because of our race it’s an ethnicity and because of our culture and where we come from. There can be white, black, and native Latinos. Some may even look middle eastern or Asian because of immigration. Latinos don’t have to be genetically the same.
None of what you said made sense to be honest @warriorlife. I think you’re overthinking the statement. I simply meant how Latinos make someone feel less a part of the Latino community because they didn’t grow up in the traditional sense. But there’s a video someone so kindly pointed out. Have a good one y’all and no arguing. It’s so hard to explain your feelings while writing it down. 💙
warrior life it’s not even Spanglish though you are using English words and spelling them wrong. It has nothing to do with me or my ability to speak Spanish/ English. I was just trying to explain that you understood the comment wrong.. have a nice day though I didn’t mean to start an argument.
Pero Like you should really address the unbearable whiteness of Telenovelas instead.
As a non-Latin person, honestly did not know that there were still indigenous peoples surviving into the present let alone the presence of non-white peoples in the region cause the media that comes out of the region always has so many white people
Yesss!!!!! They should.
@@gemain609 they're not white, we are all mostly a mix of races "meztizaje" which we do not use in a racist way. The racism comes in when we assume people's social class by picking up indigenous features.
@@Luxenya I guess then what I always see is those who have lighter, more European meztizaje features. Lots of blue and green eyes and the like
For real
In reference to "trae el nopal en la frente" I've heard it being used to refer to individuals who want to distance or ignore their roots and try to pass as anglo or associate with an European white person. It's not just linked to not speaking the spanish language but also to those who dont "act or carry themselves in a stereotypical way".
Exactly!!!!!
@A. T.
Yeah, we used that saying towards people who is physically what a stereotype mexican looks like but he or she is too “white washed”
There are Latinos who have a right to identify with Europe because their parents are from Europe or their ancestry is predominantly European. Your effort to deprive them of that right simply because of their nationality is racist. The same applies to those Latinos of Black or Asian or Native American ancestry.
it is usually a negative stereotype youre not allowed to want better for yourslef or you arent putting forth the image others want to see
General terms like POC and latinx sometimes lead to people on the privileged spectrum of those groups representing that group. I love pero like and they have a lot of great and necessary conversations on this channel but a lot of times without representation from people who experience the things they talk about. This would have been a great video to include indigenous and black/afro latinx and to hear from them how these words affect them and their experience.
Latinx isn’t even a thing. It’s colonizer bullshit anglicizing our language.
Yes exactly ! These light skinned Latinos are out of bounds.
I disagree, latinx is being bashed by us in the southern border because is really not needed in spanish. I understand why is a thing in english and in the context of the US but for us it makes no sense, we do not talk like in english were latinx can be read easily “latin ex” in spanish we can not pronounce it properly, “latin equis” is awkward and if your solution is “just say it in english” then thats hypocritical, thats what colonization and imposing US culture on latin americans is all about.
because this is owned by buzzfeed it is not a real latino channel it is about a narrative
@@PhoenixRoseYT tell em
All the Latinos I have ever met have never used pelo chino as an insult, it’s always been desirable ... kinda weird to hear it came from a darker place
Yea I can assure that most don't know the origin. Presently it's just a way to describe hair without the negative connotation it's neutral. But I could see why it'd be a problem and why people should be aware of the origin.
@@jackystar5099 yeah but that's in the past. Just like people use queer to describe themselves but it was considered an insult in the past. Why are people obsessed with trying to gain victim points?
Danny Perez: Pelo chino is not always used as an insult. But it is when someone is has kinky or coarse hair it can be used as an insult. People do use it.
In my family everybody have curly hair an we always use the "tiene el pelo chino" we didn't know the origin...
Pelo chino, I use this to refer to someone how has stick straight hair. Never thought this was an insult.
I had no idea pero chino was anti-indigenous. I have very curly hair and never knew being called china was bad- it was always a compliment. Very informative
Same! I've always been so proud of my hair but never thought of looking for the origin of the word. My eyes are OPEN!
I always knew but my hair is super curly which is weird because full blooded natives have long thick slick hair my mother is native so I knew a lot about anti-indigenous
Antonio Delgado I think it’s important that now that we know this information, we can use these words as we choose and give a different meaning of power to them as people who have curly hair. We have the power to redirect meaning like the video said. Curly hair is beautiful and I think more and more people are starting to embrace it.. I least I feel that way from my experiences
DTown Blastin Salvi that’s interesting! I identify as mestiza but I’ve always wondered where my hair texture comes from. My coils are not as tight as my mother’s who got them from her grandfather.. we are Mexican but I’ve always wondered if my mother’s side has African ancestry due to my grandpa’s hair, skin color and features.
A lot of this is terms of endearment. I'm not changing my culture to satisfy nonsense.
Instead of "Spanish Words", the title must say "Mexican Spanish Words". As a Chilean, I don't recon any of the expressions mentioned in this video.
Lmao we all have sort of words that are racial in a way in all hispanic countries, Chile is no exception my dude. But yes, all of the examples in the video are more common in mexico.
That is the problem. The video assumes one universal Latino linguistic cultural heritage when that is definitely not the case.
So true. As a person of South American descent I didn’t recognize any of those expressions since they are Mexican.
When I use "el nopal en la frente", it's to call someone out for pretending to be white or turn their back on their own culture. Since I'm salvi I use "pupusa" instead of "nopal" with salvi people.
Pupusa en la frente sounds sooo funny!
Hey I’m Salvadoran I say the same shit lol #Salvygang but a Mexican told me a nopal en la frente when i hung out with a lot of Salvadorans tho. I think that just a Mexican thing instead of shaming you for acting white.
@@humanbeing1168 I get what you mean but most of the time when someone says "nopal en la frente" is more about when someone is not only "trying to act white" but they are deliberately denying their heritage. Going out of their way to be accepted as that of a culture they are not and even looking down on people who do embrace that culture. Also no one is going around and saying that to people randomly. There is usually a relationship that has been established and you know that the person is acting maliciously in their intent to deny their culture.
En PR decimos; "ese tiene la mancha plátano o esa mancha e' plátano no hay quien te la quite brodel"
@@CarlosRDumont 🍌 ✊✊, me gusto ese dicho 🤗 CUBAN ❤ HERE
I feel like the reclaiming of certain words and phrases that are anti-Black and anti-Indigenous should be up to those who are Black Latinx and Indigenous Latinx. Even if a word or phrase is used without the intention of being racist towards Black and Indigenous folx, if it's orgins are rooted in anti-Blackness and anti-Indigenousness us White Latinx should not use them.
No that just like blacks Americans with the N word and you can see how “well” that’s going. let’s just eradicate it for all of us once and for all !!
@@Angette22 I don't like using the word myself but for some it is empowering and it isn't going horrible. It's become a part of black culture and one that helps cope with the torment. In a sense desensitizing ourselves from the weight of the word as a way to deal with that trauma.
Jedijazz4 if it was a word of empowering then why do their feelings get hurt when white people say it 🤷🏽♂️ ?! Spanish rule was different than British rule, so we must do things according to how it would work for us. People in Latin America have no respect, so it’s best just to eradicate and educate people on why not to use it.
You don’t look white lmao
@Mr A Yeah i totally agree that we easily dishonor each other. Sometimes pointing out someone's features in a loving or neutral way can be a term of endearment- although tbh i dont think it is usually done in a kind/neutral way especially if your traits are seen as "negative" like "gordo" or "negra" especially if its a white latino.
Just because British and Spanish rule were the same doesnt mean that the communities are the same/should make the same decisions though.
my mom would always use the word ‘rizado’ for curly hair/curls. Like “mira su cabello rizado, que bonito. (or) me encanta los rizos de esa chica” but even if don’t use the words ‘cabello chino’ this is still very informative and should be spread. Thank you for having these talks and making me aware of lots of things from my own culture i hadn’t never taken the time to look into. I think im going to be doing some origin research this weekend:)
"Spanglish is our spanish in the US". I like that. I speak spanglish everyday. Oíste
In Mexico we call something Spanglish when you create new words that are basically English but you Spanish-fy them by making a verb that you conjugate in Spanish and so on.
I love this. Let me speak my Puerto Rican Spanish with no shame.❤
I second this. ¡Wepa! 🇵🇷❤️🇵🇷
Este tema puede ser incómodo y a la ves nos enseña a poder cambiar esas palabras que pueden ser muy derrogativas cuando hablamos de otras personas. Es difícil cambiar palabras con las cuales hemos crecido, más no significa que no podemos aprender a respetar nuestras diferentes culturas e idiomas. RESPETO, sólo eso. Saludos!
Mi pelo lacio es tambien desccrito como pelo muerto.
Finally people are addressing pelo bueno pelo malo and pelo chino because these days I correct my mother on this statement letting her know that all hair is beautiful
Well that is trying to force your mom into changing her mind because of your ideology. Straight hair can be beautiful and also not attractive at all for some. The same goes with curly hair. We don't all think the same way and we don't all have the same taste.
yacitube1 yea I get that but I’m referring to this video that saying stuff like that is wrong. I’m not saying she has to like the hair I’m just saying she shouldn’t say it’s bad.
yacitube1 this is about teaching my mom that some terminology is very offense and it shouldn’t be used. Regardless if we may not see it as bad it can offend someone else
I'm from Mexico and my mum calls me "moño malo" whenever my naturally straight hair has the minimum frizziness. You have no idea how many times I've told her and my grandma that saying it is both anti-indigenous and anti-black. But they see no problem on it because I have a lighter skin than them (I'm called "la guera"). I'll show them this video hoping they can understand.
@@yacitube1 thx for your comment...i see a trend amongst gringo latinos and they seem to look at latino culture thru a ideological lense wich inhibits them to understand and sometimes even be respectful of latino culture tradition and language
thank you for acknowledging that spanish is also a colonizer language!! so many mestizes love to forget that
@@hiphipjorge5755 im not sure i understood your point, but i also don't think you got mine: colonization has not ended. mestizes love to claim to be "descended from" indigenous people as though we don't exist anymore, even though most of the Indigenous nations are still here. We would appreciate better representation and treatment in the international community/international justice system especially when it comes to protecting what little land we have left and our intangible heritage like our languages-forgetting that Spanish is relatively recent colonial imposition doesn't help with those goals.
How exactly do many mestizos tend to forget that? When you hear English or speak it, are you constantly aware that it is a colonizing language?
@@radrook2153 hello thank you for the question. The answer is yes. Since I am still in the process of learning my Indigenous heritage languages, I frequently think about how I would translate things into my other languages-whether I am speaking English, Spanish, or Mandarin. I am a linguist though, so there's that :-)
To reiterate though, my point at its core is that even though many mestizes claim indigenous "racial" identity, they rarely put in the work to reconnect with their communities or assist in decolonization-most aren't even aware of the fact that colonization is ongoing in the present day
@@yesid17many of mestizos that doubt about putting thir indigenous herritage are from the USA, because anglosajon culture (whites, mexican born in the usa, blacks) tend to say them that they are unvalueable. mexico, guatemala, honduras el salvador, even in paraguay ( the only country that have Guaraní and spanish as the official languages) most of laitnamerica countriea still preserve their indigenous languages, they even teach it in school, so, in latin america there is an appreciation of "indio" as you daid.
The fact there are debates in the comments shows that this is a conversation we still need to engage in
FACTS!
Important topic, learned a lot. Being Puerto Rican and Chilean, I've seen lots of colorism and racism within ourselves but some of these words or phrases really didn't stand out, especially peel chino, I also thought it was weird and though Chinese when hearing it. Thanks Curly, Armando + Pero Like
La verdad "El nopal en la frente" lo uso para mí, para decir que soy mexicano. Porque me gusta, porque el nopal está en toda la cultura de México, así que yo lo uso para decir que algo es muy mexicano.
Same... have used it my whole life
Igual yo.
Así es maestro
My mom is from El Salvador and my dad is from Cuba. I grew up in LA and I had to learn Mexican Spanish, Salvadoran Spanish, Caribbean Spanish, and Castilian Spanish. My mom wanted to make sure I could blend in anywhere. My white skin was a bad thing growing up because everyone thought I was white and talked mad shit about me in Spanish. These were my people talking about me because they thought I was white. My heart still hurts from these encounters. It goes so many ways when it comes to racism. It hurts every way.
Wow. That *casta system* illustration struck a nerve. They broke that ish all the way down.
Yes you can definitely get a better look at that in the PBS documentary When Worlds Collide!!
Please post more content like this. Race is something we all need to be having an honest conversation about right now (beyond political talking points) to better understand why certain groups are in pain, reacting, and supporting.
My puertorican word for curly hair is pelo rizado. I have a lot of Mexican friends who love my pelo "chino". They only know it as a descriptor and I accept it as such. Rizado, colocho, chino, crespos, etc. all mean curly and I've never heard an insult in them. Not cancelled IMO. Also, Indio is a compliment in Puerto Rico because it honors our Taino heritage/ancestry. But I recognize that those from Central and South America hear an insult with Indio and I won't use it with them even if I mean it as a compliment and descriptor of beauty.
True. Puerto Ricans and other Caribbean people honor the Native American heritage, while certain other Latin American cultures reject it.
Which is super weird. It shows that whitewashing and colonialism played a huge impact on today’s society in Latin America. However I really appreciate my Indigenous ancestry. They survived through the thickest and thinnest
Thank you Curly. I’m learning Spanish as a second language and I’m very careful about problematic English words and phrases. This is enlightening
THATS SO 🆒 , & ITS GREAT BEING BILINGUAL ! QUE BUENO POR TI CHICA 🤗 , I AM 💯 BILINGUAL
Well everything they just said is incorrect.
lolo.beauty 27 what part?
@@ellebarker9035 alot man alot i barely know the language and god damn
Yes! Keep having these conversations!
Not being able to roll my R’s while being Mexican makes me sometimes wanna cry because I feel so shameful not being able to when I’m so close to my culture like it’s so simple for them even kids can do it but not me it’s so frustrating
There are people suffering from racism and all you can think of is crying cause you can’t pronounce a letter?? Wow so oppressed 🙄🙄😂
Janik B I can pronounce the letter R in Spanish but not roll my R’s there’s a difference and you should know that if your Latino or Hispanic. And for your argument that people are suffering from racism of course you’d have to assume my color but just because Black people face more racism doesn’t mean that others can’t like Latinos or Asians although it may not be as bad we still are discriminated by others btw my skin is brown so stop trying to put me down when I just spoke abt a issue that was relevant to the video go and have some time to reflect that a lot Latinos are mixed with different colors and identity’s as well as your words that sounded ignorant.
I totally understand your pain. Feel embarrassed to talk to mi gente in spanish because I feel like I'll be made fun of (which I have)
@@janikb3538 That fact that you are making fun of that is you being racist. I been told my life I am “too” white and not “brown” enough. Just because someone else is problem is not as big as another doesn’t make it invalid. Every problem is valid. Rolling R is big part of language which means that apart of their identity. I find this comment disrespectful Bc why are you allowed to undermine someone’s pain. I couldn’t speak Spanish well and my family will make fun of me. Literally mentions it in the video. That shit hurts over time but I realize that I am a mix. Racist is literally just discriminating people who are different terms of skin or culture.
I remember associating with Mexicans in Chicago at church and seeing them on TV and their constant pronunciation of each and every letter (s) grated on my nerves. I was used to the Caribbean way of speaking Spanish derived from Andalucia and the Canary Islands. .
Acknowledging ethnic difference is not the same as discriminating based on them. especially with words that have dicey origins but have come to be used and taken back by people they refer to don’t need to be cancelled. Just knowing the history of words and being aware of what does still uphold oppressive systems and privilege should be the goal not shrinking the Spanish spoken in the America’s.
In Colombia, my parent's generation will sometimes use the expression 'Mucho indio' or 'Mucho guache' to refer to someone when they're being rude or indecent. The thing is, 'indio' is the derogatory term for indigenous and 'guache' is a word that comes from the Chibcha language (the language spoken by the tribe that used to live in what is now Bogotá) which meant 'man'. So it is an expression that equates being from an indigenous culture with being an asshole basically and it just... no.
I wonder what happened historically for that phrase to take root. Things don’t just pop up out of a vacuum. In Spain, the gypsies are looked down upon, and it has a historical origin wherein they gain a bad reputation for themselves via thievery.
I’m an English speaker who’s learning Spanish and it’s really important to educate people on alterior meanings of words. A person who isn’t a native speaker could be blissfully ignorant to what they’re trying to say to someone and say something completely different to what they mean
I completely agree!
Puerto Ricans refer to straight hair as pelo Indio or pelo bueno or pelo muerto. The last one is usually intended as an insult.
And at least in Mexico, the majority of the people will not get offended if you use those expressions when speaking Spanish, they will appreciate your efforts
I really do believe that the transformation of the connotation of a word is important. Making sure that using a phrase or a word in a positive context sets it to dismantle stereotypes and discrimination and has the strength to empower. I have friends that are Mexican and they definitely use “tengo el nopal en la frente” as statement of pride to be mestizo and Mexican. I think that many of our words have been forged into the positive affirmation and sense of pride. I did not know the etymological history of the phrase “tener pelo chino,” our Mexican fam are the ones that I have really only heard use this term for curly hair. We can see how despite the negatively seeded connotation of the word, our culture has moved to use this word with adjectives of affirmation and a sense of pride to have curly hair for the curly fam. Even the slow movement of empowerment towards loving your own hair (and hopefully other phenotypes) shapes the way we use these words too. Like humanity, never static, as we push to mold and forge our roots and culture to be what we make of it; then will we see the power of embracing our differences instead of using them to disempower our fam and become a culture of acceptance and pride for all the distinctive features we have as Latinx. Thank you for opening a discussion to self reflect on the way we, ourselves look at us. And hopefully a change to embrace all of us and our differences.
“tengo el nopal en la frente”
I never heard that expression, and I lived among Mexicans in Chicago for three years. I also live among Cubans for three years and among Dominicans for three years and never heard it. Neither have I heard any Puerto Rican use it. Neither have I heard it in Mexican films, nor in their Soap Operas.
MORE!! Please make more informative videos like this!! This video really helps me talk to my family and peers about race and culture, and how language can shape both of those. Great job pero like!
I’m half Ecuadorian and I did highschool in Ecuador and then came back to USA to Texas for college . I’m white/whitepassing latinx I had never been called guera in Ecuador I was called gringuita (nice way to say white/foreigner) or yankee ( which is a slur ) . My Mexican friends told me gringa(o) is rude and guera(o) is polite way to say white . This very enlightening also pelo chino i had never heard that in that context . I thought it was straight hair not kinky hair . Dude we have so much to unpack with colonialism and toxic racist beliefs . Ugh this something I argue with my mom she very much a gatekeeper on Spanish . she feels South American Spanish/Spain is the correct way to speak Spanish . I’m a big supporter of spanenglish and I love all the variations of Spanish out there . I’m trying to self teach myself kiwcha bc after doing my dna .I was pleasantly surprised that I’m 19% indigenous and little bit African to my tia’s dismay . Language is about communicating there is no wrong or right way to communicate languages are constantly evolving . Thank you for this video now I can be more conscious about this words and their origins .
Latino does not mean
cant be white
Hi there, just to address something, the word gringo(a) can either have a good or bad connotation depending on where you are taking it from. For example, people from Mexico would use it as an offensive word toward Americans. But if it comes from people from Ecuador (where they called you ''gringuita" which is the diminutive for "gringo") it will be a word with a neutral or simply non offensive connotation. In Honduras just to mention another example, we use the word as a simple way to refer to Americans instead of "estadounidense" or "americano" (the last one being seen as an incorrect form to address Americans).
Wow thank you guys for this!! Example of true allyship!✊🏾✊🏼✊🏽💯♥️
And thank you so much for teaching me this!
Just to let you know “pelo Chino” it’s not offensive, cause I see a lot of people getting offended because of word Chino that has the other meaning “Chinese”
I 2ND THAT & I AM LATINA✊, YOU LIVE & LEARN 🙂
He said it derived from the word cochino which means pig
i dont use these words to begin with! No need to! People have these things called "names" LOL
I didn’t know about the pelo chino thing. I’m over 85% percent indigenous and most of us have long straight hair so I was never aware.
Omg! This video was a much needed hug. Dr. Armando thank you so much, Curly thank you very much. I'm a first generation American born citizen. My dad was born in Puerto Rico and tiaino he came here when he was 9.
My mom is Portuguese and Irish. I live in Rhode Island. so a very small and diverse state. I love being everything that I am but sometimes its hard because my Spanish is not good.
REALLY appreciated this video - great work Pero Like!
I would love to see this discussion extended , more importantly with Latinx gen who are predominantly indigenous and black/of African descent .
Why would any self respecting indigenous Native Amerindian person would want to be label “latinX” .
@@CrazyTwoSix it's being forced very hard by US media, anyways, native americans aren't even normal "latin-anything" they have no connection to latin Europe.
@@quebert5950
I know that. Native Amerindians have no connection to Europe or Spain. That’s why I cringe when I hear natives from “luh-tea-no” countries call themselves Latino/LatinX/Hispanic etc
Always good to see Curly 🖤
he is GOOD GOOD people! Very sincere !
I’m Mexican, and all I hear is everyone compliment PELO CHINO (curly). Never hear the opposite. The nopal en la frente does not bother me. It really doesn’t offend me. I’m aware of who I am, and I love it. I proudly carry the NOPAL EN LA FRENTE.
exactly , everytime I go to mexico, the people compliment my hair
As a Puerto Rican you hit the nail on the head. Oftentimes we're corrected by other nationalities for the way we speak, which is close to a sub-creole Spanish. a lot of our pronunciations are of African influence. The more you know people...
We aren’t even the only Hispanics that don’t roll the Rs that being said it’s not even that we don’t pronounce Rs it’s more like An R at the beginning of a word will always be pronounced as R (not doing so, could change the meaning of a word or make it incomprehensible). The same goes for the double RR sound which is also pronounced as a strong R sound and not L.
So when does the R change to L? When the R sound is in the middle of a word and before a consonant sound. Again we aren’t the only ones that do this, the thing is out accents and vernacular makes it more evident.
@@CharletteG correct, the point is that oftentimes were the example because of our strong culture and the major influence we’ve had in the media. In hindsight, so proud to be Boricua. 🫶🏽
I was curious if Pero Like would at some point be interested in learning [about] Indigenous languages of the Americas? I recently started learning Nahuatl and I think it illuminates a lot about Mexican culture and Mexican Spanish too!
Of course Spanish and its variations are now a unifying force but I think it's also powerful to recognize that there are Indigenous languages with millions of speakers and are living cultures right now as well.
As a non Spanish speaker, this is very educatuonal for me. I have a daughter who shares multiple backgrounds ( my husband is Latin, I'm Eastern European). I met a lady from Mexico recently who shared that in spanish they would call my curly daughters hair as pelo chino. I was confused as thought it has some association with Chinese hair.( makes no sense, and does have negative connotations, to say the least) After watching the video, I see this word is something that is rooted deeply in racism and should not be describing anyone's hair. My daughter is a precious gift who has beautiful hair, period.
Gracias Curly for this wonderful learning opportunity. I was told once about the "mande usted" was a form of colonization of Spain over the indigenous community yet was told it was a form of showing respect. This are the works we need to bring more light to because these are the conversation that are not talked about in our Latin community and families. Lets keep digging in and from the heart!! Keep up the amazing work.
I've had people tell me that these words are "no big deal" because latinx have always had these words so they aren't taken as racist. That never sat well with me. THANK YOU for unpacking this a bit. (Also, I'm obsessed with the maze background.)
Pelo chino origin has nothing to do with pigs in regards to being used as a term used in Mexico with mexicans. They have that wrong.
Obviously no hair should be called bad hair as no hair should be called good hair, just as no nose should be called a bad nose or good nose-or kips referred to as bad lips and good lips. Such evaluations if indeed pondered should be kept to oneself. For example, I did not appreciate people calling my straight hair pelo -muerto or Dead Hair.
It’s always interesting to look into the history of language. I am a black American woman and my husband is from Mexico, racially mixed. Our kids have curly hair, but my daughters have smooth, loose curls. My son has a tighter curly and coarser texture.
Spanish isn’t my first language and I was highly confused when I first heard the term “chinos” in regards to the curls... I figured the word wasn’t tied to ‘Chinese’ in any way, but I never would’ve guessed it was short for cochino. But I guess the good thing is that I’ve never heard it used in a negative way.
I am Latino and just heard it and assumed it was referring to straight hair and comparing it to the Chinese hair texture. There are many words and phrases that Mexicans use that are not used in the rest of Latin America.
“GUERO” en Mexico 🇲🇽 also means blonde... my family has ALWAYS called my sister GUERITA
Guero, it also means white, it is slang talk. Its not a derogatory word.
*güero
“Guerita color de llanta, quiero ser tu rim cromado”
There’s a book called the creative tongue that talks about the same thing. We need to talk to each other with positive words and phrases.
Thanks for the info, will definitely look for it. As a Puerto Rican in the USA, i not only struggle with my accent but also the discrimination of English speakers and vice versa... we all need to become a better version of ourselves and start by learning about us and other cultures
Afro Americans call straight hair the wet-dog look,
Pelo chino in my opinion has never been something that was used as a insult it’s not even used like that anymore.
In Central America we say "pelo colocho" to describe curly hair. I was always so confused when people said "pelo chino" to describe curly hair. It was shocking and informative to learn the history behind this phrase.
Yes for us or atleast me in 🇸🇻 Chino means Hairless no hair on the body Apart from Hair on head and pubes
Also Anti Oriental And Anti Jewish terms are used in Spanish too
I have never heard Indio be used in a derogatory way but it was informative to know how some people use it. I honestly didn't know.
It was considered as such when it was used to label native Filipinos during Spanish colonization, a low-case in the overall hierarchy of Spanish-era Philippines. In fact, when "Filipino" was first coined, it used to refer to Spanish settlers born in the colony to differentiate them from "peninsulares", colonists who immigrated from Spain.
@@jlhabitan50
Dude its not a filipino thing at all, that happened literally in all spanish colonies.
theres a word that insults 600mio latinos because they cannot pronounce it correctly its a word invented by gringo lgbt activist who do not respect or understand latino languages and culture wich to me can be the only reason they invented this word....the word is latinX...because no one who understands latino languages would think that latinO or latinA is excluding anyone only ppl who do not understand latino languages would think its exclusionary ...example...if don omar say ''donde esta mi gente LATINA!!!'' (note its feminine now)nobody is gonna say hes only talking about females because us who understand spanish know that gente is feminine and thus its gente latina same with latino wich includes everyone....while latinx excludes 600mio ppl simply because a few gringo lgbt ppl do not understand the basics of our languages
Hell yeah my dude, it's the white saviour complex. Our language is gendered deal with it, trying to change it is imposing their rules on language
I don't even get why Latinx was invented when Latin already exists. Latin is already gender neutral. You can choose Latina, Latino, Latin American and Latin. Why do they use Latinx when Latin already exists!
@@abandonedfragmentofhope5415 i feel like its to virtue signal
Actually latinx has been used by lgbt communities all throughout Latin America for a very long time, if you did some research you would know this. It’s used in Mexico, Argentina, DR, and many many more countries by lgbt communities to be inclusive.
@@mg9849 thank you. It takes 10 seconds to research and realize that no one is forcing "latinx" upon us. It was created by a marginalized group to take themselves out of the margins. If you don't want to use the word "latinx," fine, but other people using it hurts no one.
No matter how bored I get, I will never use the word "Latinx".
Tampoco yo
Puras mamadas IMO
Solo es una palabra para incluir a todos
@@gabytenor1226 lo veo como angloparlantes tratando a colonizar nuestro idioma.
Nehmi No te olvides q el español también es un idioma colonizador. Como quiera, los dos son problemáticos. Aún asi, muchos lo defienden como q si sus antecedentes no les hubiesen forzados hablarlo.
I think you should be paying Black and Indigenous people to come speak on these topics.
I think you missed the point that Latinos are all mixed and these words point out who is more or less white. Pero Like did dna heritage and curly is 50% indigenous so...
Kelsey S indigenous identity is not based on DNA. Besides, curly is very white passing.
@@matteaturenne4640 FYI indigenous people come in all shapes, colors and sizes. And being indigenous is kind of based of dna. Your dna is made up of your ancestors.
I would rather see actual latin americans speak on topics like this in this channel, all the people and conversations ive seen in here are done by americans with latin heritage but I dont see anyone born and raised in latin america or that isnt a US citizen at all.
I can always do better. Didn’t realize how I’ve contributed to negative language in the past, but being aware and wanting to know more is the first step. Words matter. I appreciate this video!
SO TRUE. We have a bunch of words that are demeaning to indigenous and black people.
i am so tired of hearing people say Puelto Lico when i say that i am Puerto Rican.
thank you for bringing this up in this video--and just a reminder: it is not okay to make fun of a person's nationality. why is that okay regarding Puerto Ricans?
I have never heard any Puerto Rican pronounce Rico as Lico. BTW Replacing the letter R with the letter L is a Canary Island trait that we inherited.
"whiteness is a global currency" 👏🏽👏🏽👏🏽
Bro what
This doesn’t match the video but I used to want to be more lighter and I was jealous that my brother was so much lighter than me, Im honestly glad I grew out of that😌😅 but we should talk about Novelas, and how we put the lighter Latinos up their, we even bring some people from spain💀 I’m not really mad about that but theirs always this dynamic that the Indio is at the bottom of the rank or always the poor one.
I watched Venezuelan Novellas and they included all types pf people. Also Puerto Rican Novelas did the same. Mexican Novellas tend to do what you are saying. The people in Argentinean films look white because they are mostly white. Mexican culture is not representative of all Latinos.
this is VERY informative and helpful
Obviously it is a big topic and one of the videos I have enjoyed because it has gone a bit deeper than some of the typical stuff, but it would have been interesting to talk about how U.S. Colonising culture has impacted Latinos use of spanish and learning spanish, thus creating to a certain degree the concept of Spanglish. There is definitely a lot to unpack with the politics of linguistics. I'm Anglo-Celtic Australian who speaks Spanish as a second language.
Something that I would like to say for you influencers in the US, is that I think it would be better to say ‘latines’ in English instead of ‘latinx’ since the x is like an anglicized way of using a Spanish word that is unpronounceable... therefore, I think it would be great to use latines in English as well as it is used in Spanish.
Thanks!
José Lopez I think this whole Latinx that has come out recently is ridiculous and is pushed by millennials and this hip BS. Pure garbage.
I propose another term, "LatinAm". It serves the purpose that latinx does without being awkward or clunky. Like Latinx, it's an abbreviation of Latin American, and it's also gender neutral. The full term "Latin American" itself is gender neutral! It obviously couldn't be used in Spanish, but that's ok, because it's an English word, just like latinx is an English word.
Edwin, I agree with you, but if people want to use latinx, I think it would be better for them to say latines since it would be how people would say it in Spanish or Portuguese.
Like, if people actually want to change something with the language, they should at least follow the standard pronunciation... that’s what my comment is about.
@@reverendblkgrape1 I don't like the word latinx for a few reasons but understand why it exists. I think it was coined as a gender neutral word. Tbh, in Spanish "Latino" is already the gender neutral word (and is already a gender neutral word in English) but I understand the rationale for wanting to have a word that doesn't end in o.
@@perthdude21 I will stick with Latino. I will never say Latinx in any conversation. Whats next Asianx, the whole thing is ridiculous.
YASSSS PREACH!! I am so glad you guys are talking about this
y'all couldnt pay a Black or Indigenous person to be in this video and speak on this? 🤔
true true 🤭
They are talking about the words THEY use to describe these aspect associated with Black and Indigenous. The issue is the people/culture who use these terms. There really is no need to get anyone else involved in this conversation. Black and Indigenous people have more important things to worry about at the moment. The point is if these words and/or phrases are part of your vernacular, then you need to take heed.
Maybe even a "round table" with Afro Latinos. I'm still glad they did the video, since Spanish isn't my first language.
I would love some indigenous people on this channel. They are doing good with the afro latinx community but do nothing for the indigenous smh
i dont think they were the main focus other than to bring of slaves..smh
All these conversations were sooo needed!!! Very good video guys! 🕺🏻💕
Yo Puerto Ricans a lot of the Spaniards that populated the carribean islands came from the Canary Islands. Before you assume where any pronunciation came from, listen to them talk.
Not only islands, have you heard any one in colombian northern coast... It's basically the samee
N venezuela tambien....prob lots of pockets
Even the music is very similar to music from the Canary Islands. Just look up the show "tenderete", you can see some resemblance in the music. Even some of their guest have been Puerto Rican musicians...
@warrior life like the observation insight. I am Mx. You think u right about the mx accent. Indegenous blood has much asian in it. It is more Japanese samurai than black pronunciation. Over anunciate than under.
Lots of Andalusians too on that first wave from Spain
Very good video. It would be interesting to have people from other Spanish speaking countries discuss these same language issues. As someone who identifies as Afro Puerto Rican I connect with this issue. This also reminds me of when Toni Morrison speaks of this idea of white gaze.
Hol up, in mexico pelo chino is not racist, is just a way to say that someone has curly hair.
Que no escuchaste de dónde viene?
@@CiudadanoDin Que importa de dónde viene, la sociedad actual fue construida con el esfuerzo y sacrificio de los esclavos a través de la historia humana, quiere decir que tenemos que dejar toda la tecnología que hemos construido? Claro que no, lo que importa es el significado que le demos hoy!
@@gabrielpalma1687 exacto mi estimado, no se en el resto de latinoamerica, pero aqui lo usamos como cuplido, nunca con el fin de agredir a nadie
@@CiudadanoDin aunque la palabra haya sido usada en un inicio como racista, podemos cambiar el significado de la palabra, todo depende de como se use
But heres the question why cant we just keep our words and reclaim their meaning. Black people reclaimed the n-word so whats the problem
Thank you for touching on the fact that language is such an important part to culture and it’s okie to critically evaluate the use of certain words. The culture takes time to change with come resistance , but eventually it changes. As spanish speakers, we need to form a collective that allows for the change in the language to move past words with historical use to put people down and move towards celebrating differences. Would love to see a more extended version of this where we can learn words that are more appropriate to say instead of these problematic words. The idea of describing phenotype is necessary, but we must do it in a way to respect and honor the beautiful diversity in the Latin experience.
Please keep in mind that phrases that Mexicans might use are never heard in other Latin American countries and visa versa. We don't all speak the same Spanish.
It makes me really mad that people think that us puerto rican dont pronounce our Rs . It not true we do ,the thing is that some poeple actually dont pronounce them but is just some parts for example the people of the campo/countryside dont roll their rs properly other people usually its more of a hardcore puerto rican accent than some people use is when they change in some sentences and words the r to l and usually its in the final of the word or sentence.
As a puertorican i am really offended when people talk about us like we dont hear the fact that they are saying we dont roll out rs properly.
lmao, as a puertorican I usually don't get offended by that, maybe cuz I actually can't roll my R's :) and it's weird cuz my whole family can. it usually be the hard double R (rr) like in carro, or the Rs in the beginning, but the softer rs like in árbol, I can pronounce. Lowkey feel offended by being called del campo cuz Aguadilla is kinda more suburban. and btw it's pastelillo 😂😂😂
I personally don’t like when people say “all Puerto Rican’s speak the same” like they know all PRs on the planet. I roll my r’s and don’t change r’s for l’s. When I speak of people I usually don’t use “all” to describe a whole country of people I say “some” not all of that specific country.
I encourage everyone to keep in mind that all of these terms have different meanings in different Latin American countries. Also, something they didn't say as a fact but as a "choice" (and that's because it is still a discussion in linguistics) is that we can either choose to not use a word because of its origin or continue to use with its new modern positive connotation of a specific dialect. Language can mold reality the same way reality can change language.
Btw, before anyone comes for me, I'm a latino from actual Latin America. I was born and live to the South of this continent. I'm mixed light skinned.
Also, another point I forgot to make is that they're clearly very focused on US Latino, Mexican and Caribbean slang/dialect. So all in all, unless you're from Latin America please take all of this video with a grain of salt cause you'll potentially end up othering us.
Have a good day.
language is something so complex that evolves depending on each individual situation so the concept of getting rid or censoring words from your vocabulary is not something beneficial it is trying DE TAPAR EL SOL CON UN DEDO, the origin of a word does not define the use based on context of a word
You can't tell me "pelo malo" isn't racist. Some words/phrases are just racist lol accept it
@@user-xm5rw8lw7x you exactly proved my point. I grew up in the northern closer to the middle part of Mexico and i never heard that term the meaning of words is strictly defined by context and intent, it can change a lil depending on the receptor (person who heard the words) based on geographical origin of said person and their cultural background as well as upbringing
Am not saying that a lot of words don't have a racist or derogatory origin but as i said, the meaning of a word is dependent on intent, context, the person who says it and the receptor
@@KUROhashi14 just because you haven't heard it before doesn't change the intent of the people who have used it. Notice how it's never used towards people with straight hair. Only people with afro textured hair. That makes it anti black
@@user-xm5rw8lw7x you are making my point. I haven't heard the term pelo malo with that intent and in that context you are wrong when you say the words make it anti-black you said it yourself the intent makes it not the actual words and it is also the way you associate with those words
I experience so many different speaking Spanish people that I met. It been blessing that explore this Latino community.
it's like in english, im French and I didn't understand why English speaking ppl love to make differences between black ppl and white ones I was really, really confused, but I got used to refearing to myself as white as in france when someone is black we say it so why not aknowledging I'm a pall ass too😂 learning English i saw france is weird for naming only one part of the population bcs it is the same as saying "we're the base, the normal ppl and you're different" no? So yeah learning English was eye-opening and confusing over america's open mind yet racist culture.
We are also very racist in France ! Let’s not forget that Americans are European descents ...
@@laetitiannyoung6545 Sure, but it's more complicated than that. First European settlers were conquistadors, purists and zealots, and the ideas they brought with them still define America today. The ideological history of the continents part from there on. Colonialism and slavery, then the arrival of other immigrants - the impoverished Europeans, who were treated as second class citizens too. The race for resources between different groups eventually drove a wedge between said groups of people. European racism is based on xenophobia, the unknown is scary, a threat, and the hostility towards other culture's influences is based on fierce connection between people who belong in a bigger homogenous population, which also usually holds an established social system or state to their name. Bringing outside influences are seen as a breach in the sense of safety.
One thing that would have been helpful is to include another word or phrase we could use instead. As a non fluent speaker it’s nice to learn more proper Spanish so I’ll definitely be looking up replacements! :)
You could use pelo Rizado instead of Chino. All the other ones are... Kinda unnecessary from where I see it. Güero? Nopal en la frente? Why use those expressions?
Luna, I was thinking about the same thing. How can I describe my wavy hair now? Ondulado, rizo?
Antonio Delgado yeah mainly it was the chino one since I work in the beauty industry and I used to do hair. I never knew another word for curly since no one corrected me or anything. Also I’ve never used terms like quero, but I find it interesting and sad that two people I know from my dad’s ranch were nicknamed “La Guera” and “La prieta” (not sure how that’s spelled) It’s just weird how they use these names instead of their actual name. I couldn’t even tell you their real names. :(
Sorry that is rude af I'm Boricua and my abuela says her Rs both ways she's in her 80s. ❤🇵🇷
@warrior life my mom side is Afro Rican and they have no problem rolling their R's, I never understood y people used to have me say some words thinking I couldn't say it correctly, now my husband is a white Rican and he can't say his Rs which really surprised me.
@warrior life the truth is africans brought to PR infused spanish into their african dialect, that is why many dont roll their R's..its called "Bozal" spanish dialect
In Peru we say trinchudo if someone has really straight hair and it is implied that they have indigenous features or what we call "cholo." My mom was a hairdresser and she said perms were really in especially for people who didn't like their super straight "indigenous hair"
This is a great educational video. However, Dr. Guerrero made the mistake of saying Africans slaves came only to the Caribbean. That creates the incorrect assumption that there is no black/african culture in Mexico, Central and south America. Also, missed saying that the Indio culture is a positive in American and the Caribbean, where being Indian is closer to white and therefore better than being black/african.
I'm not a linguist but I live and was raised in a predominantly Puerto Rican area and after traveling to Portugal, I figured that Puerto Rican's not pronouncing their Rs actually came from Portuguese settlers, rather than African ancestors, because they have the same "language rules" if that makes sense.
For example in Portugal, if an R is at the beginning of a word it is typically pronounced with an "H" sound or a Spanish "J", so the word "Rico" may be pronounced "Jico" but if the R is in the middle of the word the R is rolled like in English or Spanish, so the word "Puerto" would remain "Puerto". Meanwhile, if there is a double RR in the middle of a word, it's pronounced with the "H"/"J" sound again, so "Arroz" may sound like "Ajoz". This is the same as Puerto Ricans from some regions (not all)
Then how do you example all afro latino populations having the same issue? Did it come from the Portuguese? How about the colonial text that showed African slaves dropping their S and turning their Rs into Ls? Those exist lol
@@carlosm.3426 I'm not disagreeing with what he said overall, I'm just talking about that particular instance mentioned, not Rs being pronounced at Ls. As a Dominican Afro Latina myself, it makes sense, as my parents & others in many parts of DR often swap out some of their Rs. One of the most anti-black things to happen in DR was when Haitians were massacred for pronouncing "perejil" with an L. If you go to Andalusia or the Canaries in Spain they don't pronounce their S either & some of them also turn Rs in Ls, so the ppl they learned Spanish from could also influence. Again, I'm not a linguist or historian, I'm just theorizing that these dialects are a mix from the people who ended up there, so I didn't directly see the correlation to anti-blackness only. Similar to the food, PR has mofongo which comes from African fufu & their traditional bacalaitos, may come from the Portuguese who went there, Portuguese people have the same thing everywhere. It's also very possible that Andalusia, the Canaries, & Portugal language also has more African influence than Madrid or northern parts due to its proximity & the Moors. I'd have to look into it more, these are just theories from my experience, I never said they were fact.
¡Qué buen video! Me encantaría ver esto desde el vocabulario de otros países. Es importante entender de dónde vienen nuestras palabras para decidir si continuamos usándolas o no.
No saben de lo que hablan.
Can anyone explain how Spain polices Spanish speaking people in the US? I’m just curious by what they meant. From what I know, as a Spanish, the RAE (Real Academia Española) does recognize the diversity of the Spanish language, and every Spanish speaking country has its own Academy for the Spanish language (including the US). I’m aware also of all the racism and sexism inside the Spanish language and within the Spanish society. I just wanted to understand what they meant by saying that Spain kind of imposes the way to speak a correct Spanish when in Spain we do have also really different dialects of the language depending on the region you are.
Thanks for your help!!
This video also has me thinking about how I've been told that by not being able to speak Spanish, I'm betraying my people. I've never understood that because English AND Spanish were forced onto my people by invaders.
So if I'm betraying my people with English, you're betraying them with Spanish, too. The only language we're both speaking is colonizer.
Oof. "The only language we're both speaking is colonizer" slapped me in my soul.
@A. T. English has large percentage of words borrowed from French.
@A. T. you're pointing at two genocides and saying that one is somehow...better? Weird hill to die on, dude.
@@amadamiaaa
It is a weird point, to larp on people regarding the spanish and english language debate but what they mean when they say those things is more of a general culture and viewpoints about life and mentality, regardless of english and spanish, you probably seem more American in your way of behaving and expressing. To us in the south is easy to tell when someone is from outside or the US, is not something to use against people or discriminate them at all but is also pretty obvious as well and hard to miss for natives.
@@ericktellez7632 that's an interesting point! I'm speaking about Mexican Americans, though, that are from the exact same place as I am but either speak both English and Spanish or almost exclusively Spanish.
Thank you for improving my cuss word vocabulary. I learned a lot today ❤❤❤
As a half Mexican I see the Nopal on the head come more From that side💀😅
Bomb video! Curly’s content is always on point.
This is ..... yeah .....nooo definitely not feeling.... this is some American-Spanish shut ... can’t relate .
Yeah, Latinos in the US tend to be a little bit more whiny than Latinos in LATAM shit is so bad here we don't even have time to worry about this BS
@@gabrielpalma1687 los latinos gringos buscan cosas para ofenderse es ridiculo
@@ojberrettaberretta5314 Es una consecuencia de vivir en el primer mundo
Pelo bueno pelo malo means hair that least give you problems to deal with
My cat named Guero rn: 👁👄👁💧
I WAS JUST SAYING THIS😭😭😭
Kimberly jajajajaja
I am a black 🇧🇷 Brazilian, my girlfriend and and two kids are Puerto Rican. I barley know spanish and I tend to hear these insults sometimes. I really do wish that all of this hatred could go away. Literally all spanish women think about men is no good but for sex, and black women no good for sex. It hurts. Objectifying blacker people as objects it’s sick
I know We say negro/negra for Black in Spanish. But it just seems so offensive to say. Lots of people on the mainland think you are calling Black people the N-Word. I wish there could be a way we can change that word to something else.
Well, no because negro literally means black. You can call black people Negro (black) or Afro (literally: from Africa). Actually, if you do your research you'll realize that the N-word is a mispronunciation of the word black in latin, language from which spanish descends. Considering that I, as a hispanic native person, can say English-speaking people are the ones being awful to my language and that you should change the N-word for something else or stop trying to make me feel wrong for speaking my language correctly.
Saying we should change Negro to something else is extremely xenophobic.
@@kkinosvt What in the world are you talking about. I am from PR & My first language is Spanish & We we're not allowed to speak English in the home. The video is about words We say that may seem anti-black. I had a experience where I was talking to My cousin in front of people & the Blacks & Whites said I was calling the Man the N-Word.
It’s all about the meaning we give to these words. Unfortunately there’s a lot of words that aren’t technically disses, but the contexts that we use them in are very negative. Some examples are what you mentioned (using the word “negro” as a bad thing), the term “chino” as a negative Way to refer to all Asian people, and it comes to mind how in Dominican Republic calling someone “Haitian” is a terrible thing even thought that is just a nationality. I think instead of changing the words we start reclaiming the words and focusing on the real meanings.
Gina Doll Negro in Spain means black. You don’t own the spanish language. Negro in Spain never meant the N word in English. They had a different word for that
@@janikb3538 WTH are you even talking about. No one said anything about owning Spanish. My People We're Tainos & spoke the Taino language before Spain came over. I know that does not mean the N-Word. I don't know what kind of reading you are doing cause if you did read the post you would have saw that I said negro means Black.
Thank you Pero like for bringing awareness about topics like this. A lot of people follow you and like your content and I believe you are doing a great service to our community by educating us about topics like this. I never knew the term "pelo chino" meant pelo de cochino. All this time I was saying- I have pigs hair🥺. Now, my question will be how can I describe my wavy hair?
Damn, just had a revelation on why my great grandmother always called me "china". She never liked me and I never realized why, but my grandma always told me that she didn't teach me Spanish so I wouldn't understand what gg was saying haha.
Ayo use this as a dislike button
I get "nopal en la frente," "moreno," "prieto," "quemado."
QUEMADO 🔥 🔥 ,I'VE NEVER HEARD THAT , 🌵 ON THE FRENTE , YES .
Oh damn
@@vampyluna7692 By my own mother too nonetheless.
“Tener nopal en la frente” isn’t always used in a negative way. I use it as an expression of pride in myself or others that are very much Mexican in their love of the culture, not in a negative way, because I don’t see “Indios”as ignorant, I see the indigenous peoples of Mexico as the REAL Mexicans, and I have since high school. I’ve defended people from being bullied for being indigenous, and I’ve attacked others for making fun of Mexicans or others as being “Indios ignorantes”.