(From Topics in Spanish lexical dialectology: kids stuff by Andre Moskowitz in Proceedings of the 41st Annual Conference of the

American Translators Association, Orlando, Florida, U.S.A., September 20-23, 2000. Thomas L. West III, comp. American Translators Association, 2000. 328-366. The original publication from the Proceedings included illustrations of many of the items which, unfortunately, do not appear in this file.)

TOPICS IN SPANISH LEXICAL DIALECTOLOGY: KIDS STUFF Andre Moskowitz

Keywords: Games, Pastimes, School, Spanish, Regionalisms, Terminology, Dialectology, Lexicography, Sociolinguistics. Abstract: This paper presents information on the regional Spanish-language names of games, pastimes, and playground devices, as well as school and other terminology related to children.

INTRODUCTION

There are many games, pastimes, playground devices and school-related phenomena that have different names in different regions of the Spanish-speaking world. For example, people in Bogot, Colombia call the game of hopscotch golosa whereas in Mexico City the same game is called avin. In cases where regional variation in terminology has been noted, this paper seeks to provide information on which terms are used where. This article, and the series of articles by the author on Spanish lexical dialectology that have previously appeared in Proceedings of the Annual Conference of the American Translators Association, 1995-19991, also seek to promote the view that all varieties of Spanish are merely varieties, no more and no less, and to dispel the notion, held by many, that the Spanish of Castilla is the primary and privileged form of the language and that all others are substandard, divergent variants. By presenting a series of pastels or chromatic scales of Spanish regionalisms, the author wishes to both explore and celebrate Hispanic diversity. The emphasis of this article is not on children-related phenomena that exist only in certain regions, but on ones that are common in many Spanish-speaking countries. The word item will be used to refer to the particular phenomenon that is addressed in each of the papers sixteen sections. 1

The material is catalogued under two general headings (Fun & Games and School & Miscellaneous), and the title of each section is the items common name(s) in United States English. A) Fun & Games: 1) balloon, 2) car(r)ousel or merry-go-round, 3) Ferris wheel, 4) hopscotch, 5) jacks, 6) kite, 7) marbles, 8) seesaw or teeter-totter, 9) slide, 10) slingshot, 11) swing, 12) ticktacktoe / tic(k)-tac(k)-toe. B) School & Miscellaneous: 1) cheat-sheet, 2) homework, 3) to play hooky, 4) school year. Illustrations2 of many of the items are provided, and each section is divided into three subsections: 1) 2) 3) 0.1 Terms by Country Details Real Academia Regional Review Terms by Country

These subsections consist of lexico-geographic tables in which the terms used in the Spanishspeaking regions of peninsular Spain and the nineteen Spanish-speaking countries of the Western Hemisphere are presented. Since the countries are arranged in a geographical order, they often highlight lexico-geographic blocs, or groups of countries that are in geographic proximity and also share the same lexical usage for a given item. The information on each item was obtained from between ten and sixty native speakers of Spanish from each country, by one or several of the following methods: 1) through observation in the countries themselves; 2) by showing informants the item, or a picture of the item, or by giving them a description of the item (sometimes using pantomime) and asking them to give the term most commonly used in their region for it; and, 3) by asking informants who are highly proficient in English to give the equivalents of English language terms that are used in their native regions. The number of people from each country that was queried on each item varied for two reasons. First, the author attempted to collect more data for items such as hopscotch and slingshot that have many different names within individual countries, and less data for items such as carousel and slide that show little regional variation within countries. Basically, if the first ten or fifteen informants gave identical answers, the author was less eager to press on than in cases where the initial responses were all over the chart. The second reason for the discrepancies in the amount of data collected is merely logistical. It was relatively easy for the author, who lives in the San Francisco Bay Area of the United States, to find and question forty or fifty individuals from some Spanish-speaking countries, such as Mexico, and more difficult to come up with even ten respondents from others, such as Paraguay.

Following each Spanish-language term, a numerical proportion is given indicating the number of informants out of the total who used a particular term or gave it as their response to a question. Thus, in the first table, balloon,
GUATEMALA

vejiga (14/18), globo (6/18).

is to be interpreted as, Of the eighteen Guatemalans who were observed referring to a balloon or were asked to give the term they used for this item, fourteen gave or used the term vejiga and six the term globo (several people said both terms were used). In many cases, the people interviewed indicated that more than one term was commonly used in their homeland and, therefore, the sum of the ratios frequently total more than one. An effort was made to seek informants from each country who were from different regions and were of different ages, genders, and socioeconomic classes, but how representative they are of their entire nation or region is a question that can only be determined by research that tests much larger numbers of people. However, the author is confident that further studies will show that the usage indicated is typical for the region in question in the case of most of the terms that were offered by at least eight out of ten participants. In order to consolidate the information, the data for groups of countries is sometimes presented in a single line with the use of categories such as Hispanic Central America (Panama, Costa Rica, Nicaragua, Honduras, El Salvador and Guatemala), Hispanic Antilles (Cuba, the Dominican Republic and Puerto Rico), Southern Cone (Paraguay, Uruguay, Argentina and Chile), and Rest of Spanish America (all Spanish-speaking Latin American countries that are not listed in the table with an individual country specification). When informants used or offered several very similar variants, words or letters appear in parentheses or separated by slashes. Thus, where trca(me)lo appears in subsection A4.1 (hopscotch), informants indicated that both trcamelo and trcalo are used. It should be noted that in more formal situations some educated Spanish speakers try to avoid using the terms that are most common in their own region__terms like vejiga, papalote and maules__because they perceive them as being regional, national, lower-class (popular or populachero) or anglicisms, and opt to use terms that they believe sound more international, proper, or pure Spanish (castizo), such as globo, cometa and canicas, respectively__terms which not coincidentally are the ones used in standard Peninsular Spanish. Although the preferences speakers exhibit may be the result of local linguistic customs, the choice of words can also serve as a badge with which they consciously display their sociocultural identity. 0.2 Details

In these subsections more detailed information is provided on the usage of particular regions, and on international and national standards, where applicable. All place-names that are both cities and provinces refer to provinces. Unfortunately, information on the respondents places of origin is not always complete. In some cases, for example, the persons country or general region of the country is known, but his or her specific province or town is not known.

0.3

Real Academia Regional Review

These subsections present an evaluation of the 1992 edition of the Diccionario de la Lengua Espaola (the Spanish Royal Academy Dictionary), henceforth referred to as the Spanish Royal Academy Dictionary or, simply, the Dictionary. Its coverage of the regional usages d escribed in this article is evaluated using the following grading scale: A Corresponding definition, correct regions. This grade is given when the Dictionary defines the term as used in the section of this article and correctly indicates the countries and/or regions in which the term is used in this sense. Corresponding definition, incorrect regions. This grade is given when the Dictionary defines the term as used in the section and specifies a region or regions but does not specify them correctly. Its definition either fails to include regions in which the usage occurs or includes regions where the usage does not occur. However, the grade of B is raised to an A if the Dictionarys definition is appropriate, Amr. (Amrica, that is, Spanish-speaking Latin America) is specified in the definition, and the term is used in ten or more (over 50%) of the nineteen Spanish-speaking Latin American countries. Corresponding definition, no regions specified. This grade is given when the Dictionary defines the term as used in the section but does not specify any countries or regions in which the term is used in this sense. In essence, it fails to identify the usage as regional. However, the grade of C is raised to an A if the term is used in at least ten of the twenty Spanish-speaking countries (at least 50% of them). No corresponding definition. This grade is given when the Dictionary does not include in its definition of the term a sense that corresponds to the section. Term not in dictionary. This grade is given when the Dictionary does not list the term at all.

D F

In the case of compound terms, all components were tested and the grade assigned corresponds to that of the component that has the most complete information. For example, equis cero (F) means that the term equis cero does not appear in the Dictionary under equis or under cero. When a term is used in some regions of a country but not others, the Dictionary is given the highest possible grade if it correctly lists the country. For example, it receives an A in the case of golosa (hopscotch)__which is defined as Col. infernculo__even though there are many regions of Colombia where golosa is not used in this sense. Some grades appear with a question mark because the author is not sure which of the above categories the corresponding definition falls under. The purpose of this evaluation is to expose gaps and inconsistencies in specific definitions in the hope that they will be modified in future editions of the Dictionary so that they accurately describe usage in the Spanish-speaking world from an international perspective. At the very least, the issues raised should be investigated by the Dictionarys researchers. The fact that so many regionalisms are included in the Dictionary leads one to believe that the Spanish Royal Academy generally favors including them, and this view is supported by Professor Manuel Alvar who states that:

La Academia pens siempre en allegar provincialismos a su repertorio, desde los das mismos de su constitucin. (Alvar 51). From the time of its inception, the Academy always intended to include regionalisms in its repertoire. (Authors translation.) However, while many regionalisms are probably not included in the Dictionary simply because the editors are unaware of their existence, others may have been deliberately omitted. Over half a century ago, Professor Julio Casares made the following comment that, even today, may reflect the Spanish Royal Academys attitude regarding lexicographical censorship. Hay que tener presente, y lo olvidaron con frecuencia los lexicgrafos americanos, que la Academia deja de incluir muchas voces no porque ignore su existencia ni porque dude de que son de uso corriente, sino porque las considera espurias, mal formadas, superfluas, perjudiciales, cacofnicas, etc. (Casares 302). One must bear in mind, and Latin-American lexicographers have often forgotten this, that the Academy does not include many words not because it is unaware of their existence, nor because it doubts their use is commonplace, but rather because it considers them to be spurious, ill-formed, superfluous, detrimental, cacophonous, etc. (Authors translation.) Do many members of the Spanish Royal Academy still believe in a two-caste system in which there are proper words that are worthy of being included in a serious dictionary, and inferior words that should not be afforded any official lexicographical recognition? One factor that influences whether or not a term is included in any Spanish-language dictionary, is whether or not the word is considered Spanish. An important question for Spanish lexicographers is, therefore, how should Spanish be defined, that is, what words count as Spanish? For example, if words such as michi (ticktacktoe), tuke (tag), charranca (hopscotch), and yax (jacks) can also be considered Quechua/Quichua, Guaran, Cataln, and English, respectively, does that mean they should not be considered Spanish? No doubt many members of the Spanish Royal Academy take this view and believe these words have no business being included in a Spanish-language dictionary. However, since all Spanish words ultimately derive from some foreign source, be it Indo-European, Basque, Greek, Latin, Iberian, French, etc., word origin alone is not what determines a terms Spanishness. Is it the case that members of the Royal Academy__and Spanish speakers in general__are less comfortable accepting as Spanish, words that are easily identified as coming from less traditional, and often more recent sources such as Quechua, Guaran, Cataln, and English? This seems to be especially true when, as many language purists would say, a perfectly good Spanish word already exists and there is no need to resort to the extranjerismo (foreign term). The problem is that while a term such as tres en raya (ticktacktoe) may be perfectly good for millions of Spanish speakers, it is not the one most Spanish speakers from Peru actually use in

this sense. In fact, Spanish speakers from most Latin American countries use a term other than tres en raya when referring to this game. (In many cases, the term used consists of elements of traditionally Spanish stock such as gato or equis cero.) Similarly, in the regions where tuke, charranca and yax are used in the sense of tag, hopscotch and jacks, respectively, they are the terms for these items. This author believes that any word that is used by millions of native speakers of the language is Spanish and should be defined in Spanish-language dictionaries. The practical, lexicographical question of what counts as a Spanish word is, of course, related to the linguistic issue of when an utterance counts as Spanish and when it qualifies as something else. As the Spanish languages international standard and national and regional varieties continue to evolve and compete in the 21st century and beyond, the issue of what is Spanish __and therefore what should be included in Spanish-language dictionaries__will be a key question lexicographers will have to address.

A A1 A1.1

FUN & GAMES BALLOON Terms by Country (5 terms) globo (20/20). globo (21/30), bomba (9/30). vejiga (14/18), globo (6/18). vejiga (12/16), globo (4/16), chira (2/16). vejiga (8/18), globo (7/18), chira (4/18), bomba (3/18). chimbomba (10/10). bomba (10/13), globo (4/13). globo (12/12). globo (15/15). vejiga (10/12), globo (3/12). bomba (14/16), vejiga (3/16). bomba (11/20), globo (8/20), vejiga (3/20). bomba (20/22), globo (5/22). vejiga (9/19), globo (7/19), bomba (6/19). globo (20/20). globo (14/16), vejiga (2/16). globo (at least 10/10 for each country).

SPAIN MEXICO GUATEMALA EL SALVADOR HONDURAS NICARAGUA COSTA RICA PANAMA CUBA DOMIN. REP. PUERTO RICO VENEZUELA COLOMBIA ECUADOR PERU BOLIVIA SOUTHERN CONE

A1.2

Details

General: Globo can be considered the international standard term in that it is recognized and understood by educated Spanish speakers throughout the Spanish-speaking world. In most tropical Spanish-speaking countries, however, another term__usually bomba or vejiga__is more commonly used in the generic sense. Bomba is also used in many places to refer to balloons filled with water.

Mexico: Globo appears to be used throughout Mexico, but bomba was offered by people from Jalisco, Michoacn, Nayarit, Puebla and Sinaloa. Where else is bomba commonly used? El Salvador & Honduras: Is chira commonly used in this sense in certain regions, and, if so, where? In Honduras, where is bomba commonly used? Venezuela: Vejiga was given by people from Zulia. Ecuador: Are there regional preferences among bomba, globo and vejiga? Bolivia: Vejiga was given by people from Santa Cruz. A1.3 Real Academia Regional Review Bomba (D), chimbomba (F), chira (D), globo (A), vejiga (D).

A2 A2.1

CAROUSEL (also spelled carrousel) or MERRY-GO-ROUND Terms by Country (5 terms plus variants) tiovivo (19/25), caballitos (10/25), carrusel (6/25). carrusel (19/30), caballitos (8/30), volantn (5/30). carrusel (14/18), (rueda de) caballitos (6/18). carrusel (7/12), (rueda de) caballitos (7/12). (rueda de) caballitos (8/12), carrusel (5/12). (rueda de) caballitos (7/11), carrusel (4/11). caballitos (9/15), carrusel (7/15). carrusel (8/12), caballitos (5/12). (feria de) caballitos (8/12), carrusel (5/12). caballitos (7/10), carrusel (4/10). caballitos (11/18), machina (6/18), carrusel (4/18). carrusel (12/14), caballitos (5/14). carrusel (14/15), caballitos (1/15). carrusel (13/13). carrusel (14/20), caballitos (6/20). carrusel (14/15), caballitos (1/15). calesita (10/11), carrusel (1/11). calesita (15/15). calesita (29/30), carrusel (5/30). carrusel (13/13), caballitos (3/13).

SPAIN MEXICO GUATEMALA EL SALVADOR HONDURAS NICARAGUA COSTA RICA PANAMA CUBA DOMIN. REP. PUERTO RICO VENEZUELA COLOMBIA ECUADOR PERU BOLIVIA PARAGUAY URUGUAY ARGENTINA CHILE

A2.2

Details

General: The item in question is the large, electrically-powered carousel or merry-go-round, not the small one children (and adults) push off on for it to go around. A number of people from countries other than Paraguay, Uruguay and Argentina indicated that caballitos or rueda de caballitos is the term that kids use whereas the other term (tiovivo or carrusel) is the more official term. The above chart simplifies the survey responses somewhat in that a number of variants of carrusel, such as carrousel, carrosel and

carusel, were offered both in speech and writing, as well as variation between diminutive and non-diminutive forms for caballos/caballitos and rueda de caballos/rueda de caballitos (the diminutive form is more common in both cases). Carrusel de caballitos, which can be considered a variant of carrusel or of caballitos, was also offered by a few respondents. Spain: Some people indicated that carrusel is the word used by adults and caballitos and tiovivo are the words used by children, but the majority stated that tiovivo was the word most commonly used by all. Mexico: Volantn was given by people from Jalisco, Nayarit and Zacatecas. Puerto Rico: Machinas, in the plural form, refer to amusement park rides in general, and often to non-permanent rides that are set up for a particular fiesta patronal (patron saint holiday) and then dismantled and relocated elsewhere. Several Puerto Ricans also indicated that in the singular form, la machina refers specifically to the carousel while others indicated that it can also refer to the Ferris wheel (see section A3). Paraguay, Uruguay & Argentina: Written and spoken variants of calesita such as calecita and calisita were also offered. Calesita comes from calesa which derives from French calche (calash, a type of carriage), but what explanation can be given for the use of calesita in this region? Several older Argentines indicated that carrusel refers to a larger, more sophisticated carousel with horses that move up and down, whereas calesita refers to a smaller carousel in which the horses merely revolve but do not move in a vertical plane (as well as to the manual merry-go-round found in playgrounds). The vast majority of Argentines, however, stated that calesita is the only term used for all motorized carousels. It is possible that, in Argentina, the above distinction between calesita and carrusel used to be made a generation ago but has since been lost with the term calesita taking over both functions. Do any Paraguayans or Uruguayans make a distinction between calesita and carrusel? The small, manual merry-go-round: This item was not researched extensively, but how common is it in the different regions of the Spanish-speaking world and what is it called? Quite a few people from different Spanish-speaking countries indicated it is not very common in public parks. Others, however, said the same terms presented in subsection A2.1 above for the (motorized) carousel are also applied to the manual merry-go-round, but rueda (Venezuela) and ruleta (Puerto Rico) were also offered in the latter sense. A2.3 Real Academia Regional Review

Caballitos (A?), calesita (B?), carrusel (A?), rueda de caballitos (F), machina (D), tiovivo (C?), volantn (D). Caballitos, calesita and carrusel are all cross-referenced to tiovivo which is defined as Recreo de feria que consiste en varios asientos colocados en un crculo giratorio. Does this definition adequately describe the mechanical and/or manual merry-go-round? Compare it to the American Heritage Dictionarys definition of merry-go-round: 1. A revolving circular platform fitted with seats, often in the form of animals, ridden for amusement. 2. A piece of playground equipment consisting of a small circular platform that revolves when pushed or pedaled. The Spanish Royal Academy Dictionarys definition seems to fall short of the mark. It should accurately describe and clearly distinguish the two types of merry-go-round.

A3 A3.1

FERRIS WHEEL Terms by Country (c. 10 terms plus variants) noria (17/17). rueda de la fortuna (13/13). rueda (de) Chicago (at least 10/10 for each country). estrella (7/10), rueda (de Chicago) (3/10). estrella (10/10). estrella (10/10). estrella (11/13), machina (3/13). rueda (5/11), (viaje a la) luna (4/11), rueda de la fortuna (3/11). rueda (de) Chicago (11/11). rueda moscovita (10/10). rueda (de) Chicago (10/11), rueda de la fortuna (1/11). rueda (de) Chicago (8/12), rueda giratoria (3/12), rueda de la fortuna (1/12). rueda (de) Chicago (10/10). rueda gigante (11/11). vuelta al mundo (17/22), rueda de la fortuna (3/22), rueda gigante (3/22). rueda (8/10), rueda de Chicago (3/10).

SPAIN MEXICO REST OF HISPANIC CENTRAL AMERICA PANAMA CUBA DOMIN. REP. PUERTO RICO VENEZUELA COLOMBIA ECUADOR PERU BOLIVIA PARAGUAY URUGUAY ARGENTINA CHILE

A3.2

Details

General: In most countries, the term used has rueda as its base and a modifier such as de Chicago or de la fortuna, etc. added; the exceptions are Argentina, the Hispanic Antilles, Panama and Spain where non-rueda terms predominate. For the sake of brevity, the terms are presented in the above chart without an article, even though the definite article is usually included (la noria, la rueda moscovita, la vuelta al mundo, etc.). Puerto Rico. Is machina commonly used in this sense? See subsection A2.2, Puerto Rico. Uruguay: Is the term rueda gigante a calque of the British English term big wheel (Ferris wheel in United States English), or did the Uruguayans coin their term independently? Variants of rueda de Chicago: A number of variants are used such as rueda Chicago, rueda Chicagua, rueda Chicao and chicao, especially in Hispanic Central America. The term rueda de Chicago was coined because the first Ferris wheel, invented by the American engineer George Washington Gale Ferris, was set up in Chicago during the worlds fair of 1893 (Soukhanov 673). A3.3 Real Academia Regional Review

Estrella (D), luna (D), machina (D), noria (D), rueda (D), rueda Chicago (F), rueda de Chicago (F), rueda de la fortuna (D), rueda gigante (F), rueda giratoria (F), rueda moscovita (F), vuelta al mundo (F).

What explanation can be given for the fact that the Dictionary provides no definition for this item under any of the terms encountered in this study, including noria, the term used in Spain? How should the term be defined in the Dictionary? A rough Spanish translation of the American Heritage Dictionarys definition of Ferris wheel is: En los parques de diversiones, rueda grande, montada sobre un eje horizontal, cuyos asientos colgantes permanecen horizontales mientras gira la rueda.

A4 A4.1
SPAIN

HOPSCOTCH Terms by Country (c. 60 terms plus variants) avin (3/60), carabaola (1/60), cascallo (5/60), castro (2/60), cielo (1/60), chancla (1/60), chapa (1/60), charranca (3/60), china (1/60), descanso (1/60), imbo cachimbo (1/60), juego de la cruz (1/60), lunes (2/60), mariola (1/60), mueca (1/60), pata coja/paticoja (4/60), piedra (1/60), piso (1/60), pite (1/60), rayuela (6/60), rola/role (1/60), semana (2/60), sambori (3/60), tejo (6/60), toco (1/60), tranco (1/60), truco (1/60), truque (7/60), truquem (1/60), turco (1/60), unela (1/60), zancarrilla (1/60). avin/avioncito (16/50), bebeleche (12/50), bembeleche (1/50), bimbalete (1/50), chcara (1/50), gigante (2/50), mamaleche (3/50), mambaleche (1/50), mueco (1/50), peleche (6/50), pelenche (1/50), peregrina/pelegrina (4/50), la tabla (1/50), tembereche (1/50). avin/avioncito (14/14). peregrina (10/18), pelegrina (5/18), avin (5/18). rayuela (13/13). rayuela (11/11). rayuela (14/14). rayuela (12/14), hopscotch (3/14). pon (8/20), arroz con pollo (3/20), tacha (3/20), tejo (3/20), pata coja/cojita (2/20), machicha (1/20), mueco (1/20), peregrina (1/20), ponso (1/20). trca(me)lo (12/25), trcano (4/25), mueco (4/25), pelegrina/peregrina (2/25), pateco (1/25), tablita (1/25). peregrina (13/18), pelegrina (5/18). avin/avioncito (12/23), semana (10/23), (un-dos-tres) pis (7/23), descanso (2/23). golosa (14/28), rayuela (8/28), peregrina (4/28), semana (1/28), tngara (1/28). rayuela (19/20), semanita (1/20). mundo (19/25), rayuela (5/25), plij-plaj (1/25), zarzuela (1/25). rayuela (6/17), tuncua (6/17), coscoja (3/17), coscojo (2/17), escalera (2/17), mundo (1/17). descanso (11/13), rayuela (4/13). rayuela (16/16). rayuela (20/24), tejo (3/24), luche (1/24). luche (14/14).

MEXICO

GUATEMALA EL SALVADOR HONDURAS NICARAGUA COSTA RICA PANAMA CUBA DOMIN. REP. PUERTO RICO VENEZUELA COLOMBIA ECUADOR PERU BOLIVIA PARAGUAY URUGUAY ARGENTINA CHILE

10

A4.2

Details

General: The terms presented above refer to any of various different games that are similar to hopscotch. The drawing made on the ground often varies in shape and the way in which the boxes are labeled, whether with numbers or words (such as the days of the week), but the games basic mechanisms and objectives remain the same. The above terms are also abbreviated forms since in actual usage, the article is often included__i.e. el luche, la rayuela, el sambori, etc.__and verbs and the preposition a can be considered part of the name, i.e. jugar a la peregrina, saltar a la pata coja, etc. Many educated speakers throughout the Spanish-speaking world, even those who do not know the local name for the game in their own region, are familiar with the term rayuela. This is probably due in part to the popularity of the novel by the same name by Julio Cortzar, the famous Argentine writer, and to the fact that rayuela is used in this sense in parts of at least twelve Spanish-speaking countries. Spain: The following terms were given by people from specific regions: avin, Madrid; carabaola and cascallo/cascayo, Asturias; castro and chancla, Alicante; charranca, Barcelona; china, Pamplona; descanso, Aragn; imbo cachimbo, Madrid; lunes, Len; mariola, Galicia; pata coja/paticoja, Granada, Salamanca; piedra, Castilla; piso, Tarragona; pite, Salamanca; rayuela, Galicia, Len, Pas Vasco, Salamanca, Zaragoza; semana, Santiago; sambori, Valencia; tejo, Alicante, Andaluca, Islas Canarias, Galicia, Madrid; toco, Pas Vasco; truco, Ourense (in Galicia); truque, Castilla, Cuenca, Len; truquem, Bilbao; turco, Andaluca; unela, Castilla; zancarrilla, Aragn. Should the Asturian term cascallo/cascayo be written with an ll or a y? Does it have the same origin as Spanish cascajo? If so, then cascallo would appear to be the correct spelling, but it was not possible to tell based on pronunciation since none of the Asturianos who gave this term exhibited any llesmo; that is, they pronounced ll and y the same way. Mexico: The following terms were given by people from the following regions: avin/avioncito, Distrito Federal, Guanajuato, Guerrero, Hidalgo, Jalisco, Michoacn, Morelos, Nayarit, Puebla, Quintana Roo (in the Yucatan), Sonora, Veracruz; bebeleche, Coahuila, Colima, Jalisco, Nayarit, Nuevo Len, Sonora, Tamaulipas, Tijuana, Torren, Veracruz, Zacatecas; mamaleche, Chichuahua; chcara, Quintana Roo; gigante, Guanajuato; mueco, Guerrero; peleche and pelenche, Michoacn. Perhaps mambaleche, bembeleche, peleche, pelenche and tembereche can be considered phonetic variants of bebeleche or mamaleche. Panama: Hopscotch, pronounced as if written jop(e)scoch, was given by people from the former Canal Zone. Colombia: The following terms were given by people from specific regions: golosa, Boyac, Cundinamarca, Huila, Santander (much of the eastern interior); rayuela, Antioquia, Riseralda, Valle (much of the western interior); peregrina, the Costa (Atlantic coast region); semana, Pasto; tngara, Santander. Ecuador: Rayuela was given by people from practically all regions of the country but semanita was given by one person from Cuenca. Peru: Mundo is used in many parts of the country, including Lima. Rayuela was given by people from the North (Trujillo, Piura), but another person from Piura gave zarzuela. Plij-plaj was given by a person from Abancay (Department of Apurmac).

11

Bolivia: Tuncua was given by people from La Paz; rayuela by people from Santa Cruz and Tarija but also by people from La Paz; coscoja and coscojo by people from Cochabamba; escalera was also given by people from La Paz; mundo by a person from Santa Cruz. Argentina: Rayuela is used in most of the country, but tejo was given by people from La Rioja, Santa Fe and Crdoba, and luche was given by one person from Mendoza. A4.3 Real Academia Regional Review

Arroz con pollo (F), avin (D), avioncito (F), bebeleche (F), bembeleche (F), bimbalete (D), carabaola (F), cascallo (F), cascayo (F), castro (D), cojita (F), coscoja (D), coscojo (D), chcara (D), chancla (D), chapa (D), charranca (F), china (D), descanso (F), escalera (D), gigante (D), golosa (A), hopscotch (F), imbo cachimbo (F), jopescoch (F), luche (A), lunes (D), machicha (F), mamaleche (F), mambaleche (F), mariola (F), mundo (D), mueca (D), mueco (D), pata coja (C or D?), pateco (F), paticoja (D), peleche (F), pelegrina (F), pelenche (F), peregrina (D), pis (F), piso (D), plij(-)plaj (F), pon (F), ponso (F), rayuela (A or C?), sambori (F), semana (C), semanita (F), tabla (D), tablita (F), tacha (D), tngara (F), tarea (D), tejo (D), tembereche (F), toco (D), tranco (D), trcalo (F), trcamelo (F), trcano (F), truco (D), truque (C), truquem (F), tuncua (F), un dos tres pis (F). The following terms are defined as follows: infernculo, Juego que consiste en sacar, saltando sobre un pie, un tejo de un trazado en el suelo; rayuela, 3. Juego de muchachos que consiste en sacar de varias divisiones trazadas en el suelo un tejo al que se da con un pie, llevando el otro en el aire y cuidando de no pisar las rayas y de que el tejo no se detenga en ellas; a la pata coja (under pata), Juego con el que los muchachos se divierten, llevando un pie en el aire y saltando con el otro; coroneja, Murc. rayuela, juego que consiste en andar a la pata coja y sacar un tejo con el pie de ciertas divisiones trazadas en el suelo; coxcojilla and coxcojita, rayuela, juego que consiste en andar a la pata coja y sacar un tejo con el pie de ciertas divisiones trazadas en el suelo; golosa, Col. infernculo; luche, Chile. Juego de la raya semejante al infernculo o caldern (underlines added); caldern, l. Juego de muchachos parecido al de la tala (underline added; l is an abbreviation of lava, province in north-central Spain); tala, Juego de muchachos, que consiste en dar con un palo en otro pequeo y puntiagudo por ambos extremos colocado en el suelo; el golpe lo hace saltar, y en el aire se le da un segundo golpe que lo despide a mayor distancia; reina mora (under reina), infernculo; semana, 6. fig. Una de las muchas variedades del juego del infernculo (underline added); truque, 2. Una de las variedades del juego del infernculo (underline added). Infernculo and the terms cross-referenced to it (golosa, luche, reina mora, semana and truque) are defined slightly differently from rayuela and the terms cross-referenced to it (coroneja, coxcojilla and coxcojita), and a la pata coja is not cross-referenced to either infernculo or rayuela. Can all of these games be considered synonyms and, if so, shouldnt a broad definition be devised that encompasses all of the different varieties? In that case, one term should be chosen as the base term and given a full definition that covers all of the different varieties of hopscotch, and given that rayuela has by far the most international recognition, it would be the most logical candidate. All other terms should then be cross-referenced to rayuela and defined as simply variedad de la rayuela3, juego with the appropriate regional designation indicated, so that it will be clear to the reader that all of the terms are regional synonyms that refer to varieties of essentially the same game.

12

The Dictionary also states that luche is a game called raya, but there is no definition for a game by this name under raya. It then states that luche is similar to a game called caldern, which, in turn it claims is similar to a game called tala, but when the reader finally gets to the definition for tala, it turns out to be a completely different game from the one Chileans call luche, a variety of hopscotch. Where are coxcojilla, coxcojita, infernculo and reina mora used in the sense defined? The Dictionary provides no regional specification for them and no information on their use was obtained in this study. The Spanish Royal Academy clearly did not have its act together in coordinating this effort. In fact, one must wonder whether it ever consulted with the academias correspondientes in Spanish America regarding these games, or whether the latter provided the former with accurate descriptions of local usage. As we shall see in other sections of this paper, the lack of consistency in cross-referencing regional synonyms and standardizing their definitions is a recurrent problem.

A5 A5.1

JACKS Terms by Country (c. 4 terms plus variants) not common (10/10). matatena (22/30), yax(es) (4/30), pinyex(es) (2/30), yaqui(s) (2/30). yax(es) (13/13). yax(es) (10/10). yax(es) (10/10). yax(es) (7/12), yac/yaque(s) (5/12), yaquis (2/12). yaxes (12/12). yax (11/11). yaqui(s) (16/16). ya(s) (7/10), yax (3/10). yax (13/13). yaqui(s) (12/12), yaquipn (2/12). yas (11/17), yax (6/17). macateta (15/18), yax (3/18). yas(es) (13/21), yax(es) (7/21), pisps (2/21), pispicha (1/21). not common (at least 10/10 for each country).

SPAIN MEXICO GUATEMALA EL SALVADOR HONDURAS NICARAGUA COSTA RICA PANAMA CUBA DOMIN. REP. PUERTO RICO VENEZUELA COLOMBIA ECUADOR PERU REST OF HISPANIC SOUTH AMERICA

A5.2

Details

General: The terms are listed in the above chart with phonetic spellings that indicate how respondents pronounced the words. In most of the countries where this game is played, the predominant term__generally yas, yax(es) or yaqui(s)__derives from English jacks. The exceptions are Mexico and Ecuador where non-jack terms__matatena and macateta, respectively__predominate.

13

Spain, Bolivia, Paraguay, Uruguay, Argentina & Chile: The game of jacks does not appear to be common in these countries, although many similar games, generally played with pebbles, bones or marbles, are common. The following games were offered that are rough equivalents of knucklebones (a game played in ancient Greece by Ajax and Achilles during a lull in the Trojan War!): Spain and Bolivia, taba or tabas; Paraguay, tiquichuela; Uruguay and Argentina, payana; Argentina, aimenti, dinenti, tenenti and tinenti (these appear to be derived from regional Italian dialects); Chile, payaya. If jacks is played in these countries (or if it is introduced in the future), is or will the game be called taba, payana and payaya, etc., in the respective countries, or will it be called yax/yas? Mexico: Matatena was given by people from practically every region of Mexico. However, yaxes and yaqui were given by people from Nuevo Len, Quintana Roo and Tamaulipas and pinyex(es) was given by people from Sonora. Peru: Yas and yax were given by people from many different regions of the country, both Costa and Sierra, but those who gave pisps and pispicha were from the Sierra. One of them also indicated that the phrase no sabe ni jugar pisps is commonly used in the sense of no sabe nada (he/she knows nothing). A5.3 Real Academia Regional Review

Jacks (F), macateta (F), matatena (F), pinyex (F), pispicha (F), pisps (F), yaqui (F), yaquipn (F), yas (F), yax (F), yaz (D). Which term should be chosen as the base term to which all others would be crossreferenced, and how should the base term be defined? A rough translation of the American Heritage Dictionarys definition of jacks is: Juego que se hace con un grupo de pequeas piezas metlicas de seis puntas y una pelotita cuyo objetivo es recoger las piezas en diferentes combinaciones. Should the castillianized phonetic spellings yaquis, yas and yax be listed in the dictionary, or should the anglicism jacks be listed, or should both be listed? Juego de los cantillos is defined (under juego) as El que juegan los nios con cinco piedrecitas haciendo con ellas diversas combinaciones y lanzndolas a lo alto para recogerlas en el aire al caer. How should aimenti, dinenti, payana, payaya, tenenti, tinenti and tiquichuela be defined in the Dictionary?

A6 A6.1

KITE Terms by Country (c. 20 terms plus variants) cometa (25/25), cachirulo (3/25). papalote (20/30), cometa (6/30), gila/huila (4/30), pandorga (2/30), papagayo (2/30), papelote (2/30). barrilete (17/17). piscucha (16/16). papelote (15/22) barrilete (6/22), cometa (2/22), palometa (1/22). lechuza (9/18), barrilete (6/18), cometa (3/18), palometa (2/18), papalote (1/18), papelote (1/18). papalote (11/23), papelote (10/23), barrilete (3/23).

SPAIN MEXICO GUATEMALA EL SALVADOR HONDURAS NICARAGUA COSTA RICA

14

PANAMA CUBA DOMIN. REP. PUERTO RICO VENEZUELA COLOMBIA ECUADOR PERU BOLIVIA PARAGUAY URUGUAY ARGENTINA CHILE

cometa (14/16), pandero (1/16), papalote (1/16). papalote (17/23), cometa (7/23), coronel (2/23). chichigua (15/15). chiringa (18/18). papagayo (15/22), volantn (4/22), cometa (3/22), petaca (3/22), fuga (1/22), samuraca (1/22). cometa (20/20). cometa (20/20). cometa (20/20). volador (15/20), volantn (5/20), cometa (3/20). pandorga (12/13), barrilete (2/13). cometa (16/21), pandorga (4/21), barrilete (3/21). barrilete (20/25), volantn (4/25), cometa (2/25), pandorga (2/25). volantn (20/20).

A6.2

Details

General: The term cometa can be considered the international standard insofar as it is recognized, and often used in this sense by educated speakers throughout the Spanishspeaking world. However, it is the most commonly used term in only six countries: Spain, Panama, Colombia, Ecuador, Peru and Uruguay. In the remaining countries, regional words for kite predominate. Spain: Cometa was given by Spaniards from diverse regions of the country and is not regionally weighted, but cachirulo was given by people from Valencia and Alicante. Mexico: Papalote was given by Mexicans from diverse regions of the country and is not regionally weighted, but the following other terms were given by people from specific regions: gila/huila, Nuevo Len, Tamaulipas; pandorga, Veracruz; papagayo, Quintana Roo. Venezuela: Papagayo was given by people from many parts of the country; volantn by people from Zulia and Mrida; petaca by people from Zulia; samuraca by one person from Caracas. Bolivia: Volador was given by people from the Altiplano and volantn by people from Santa Cruz and Tarija (lowland Bolivia). Uruguay: Cometa is the predominant term in Montevideo and the coastal region, but pandorga was given by people from Salto (the northwestern part of the country). Argentina: Barrilete is the predominant term in much of the country, but volantn was given by people from San Juan and Santa Fe (northwestern Argentina) and pandorga by people from Entre Ros and Misiones (northeastern Argentina). Names for special kinds of kites: What are all the names for special types of kites, where is each name used, and what type of kite does each refer to? A6.3 Real Academia Regional Review

Barrilete (D), cachirulo (A), cometa (A), coronel (A or D?), chichigua (D), chiringa (D?), fuga (D), gila (D), huila (F), lechuza (D), palometa (D), pandero (C), pandorga (C),

15

papagayo (D), papalote (B), papelote (B), petaca (D), piscucha (F), pizcucha (F), samuraca (F), volador (D), volantn (B). The following terms are defined as follows: barrilete, 3. En algunas provincias, cometa de forma hexagonal y ms alta que ancha; birlocha, cometa, juguete que se eleva en el aire; coronel, 3. Cuba. Cometa grande; chiringa, Cuba y P. Rico. Volantn, cometa pequea; milocha, cometa, armazn de caa y papel o tela; pjara, cometa, armazn; pandorga, 3. Cometa que se sube en el aire; pandero, 3. cometa, juguete de muchachos; papelote, Cuba. papalote, juguete que se echa al aire para que vuele; volantn, 4. Argent. (Cuyo), Cuba, Chile y P. Rico. cometa que se echa al aire como juguete. (Cuyo is the region of Argentina consisting of the provinces of Mendoza, San Juan and San Luis.) Why define these regional terms in such a haphazard way? Did different people write the definitions without any coordination or cross-checking among them? Why not give cometa a full definition, and just cross-reference all of the other regional terms that refer to non-specialized kites to cometa and define them as simply cometa, juguete with the corresponding regional labels? Does coronel refer to a large kite in Cuba? The definition for chiringa states that this term refers to a small kite in Cuba and Puerto Rico whereas the data collected in this study indicate that chiringa is not used in Cuba and that it refers to kites in general in Puerto Rico, not specifically to small kites. The definition for chiringa also implies that volantn is a small kite which is contradicted by the findings of this study and by the Dictionarys own definition for volantn which states that it refers to a kite in general. Birlocha, milocha and pjara are also defined as generic kites, but where are these terms used in this sense? The Dictionary provides no regional specification for them and no information on their use was obtained in this study. It is clear, however, that these terms are not used universally in this sense.

A7 A7.1
SPAIN

MARBLES Terms by Country (c. 35 terms plus variants) canicas (26/30), boliches (4/30), bolas (3/30), bolindres (1/30), bolos (1/30), chivas (1/30), pitos (1/30), pivitines (1/30). canicas (24/30), mosaicos (4/30), cayucos (2/30), bolitas (1/30), chibolas (1/30). cincos (13/15), canicas (3/15). chibolas (16/20), canicas (3/20), maules (2/20). maules (14/18), mables (3/18), canicas (2/18). chibolas (9/12), bolicas (1/12), bolitas (1/12), canicas (1/12), mables (1/12), maules (1/12). bolinchas (10/14), canicas (9/14). bol(it)as (11/18), canicas (8/18), bolitas de guiar (2/18), cristales (1/18), cuajaos (1/18). bol(it)as (19/23), canicas (2/23), balinas (1/23), balines (1/23), chinatas (1/23), mechos (1/23). bol(it)as (9/13), bellugas/vellugas (5/13), canicas (2/13). canicas (13/18), bolitas (3/18), bolas de corote (1/18), bolitas de yeco (1/18), velludas (1/18).

MEXICO GUATEMALA EL SALVADOR HONDURAS NICARAGUA COSTA RICA PANAMA CUBA DOMIN. REP. PUERTO RICO

16

VENEZUELA COLOMBIA

ECUADOR PERU BOLIVIA PARAGUAY URUGUAY ARGENTINA CHILE

metras (18/18). bol(it)as (18/36), canicas (10/36), boliches (3/36), bolitas (de) uita (3/36), bolas chinas (2/36), maras (2/36), bolas de cristal (1/36), mollejones (1/36), pepas (1/36), pinguas (1/36), piquis (1/36). bol(it)as (22/28), canicas (5/28), bolillas (2/28), bolichas (1/28). bol(it)as (21/30), canicas (10/30), boliches (1/30), cristales (1/30), tiros (1/30), ocos (1/30), quinchos (1/30). cachinas (11/24) bol(it)as (7/24), canicas (6/24), pep(it)as (2/24), bolillas (1/24). bol(it)as (9/12), balitas (6/12). bolitas (15/15). bolitas (30/36), balitas (3/36), canicas (2/36), bolillas (1/36), bolillos (1/36), plomines (1/36). bolitas (16/16).

A7.2

Details

General: The term canicas can be considered the international standard in that it is understood by educated speakers throughout the Spanish-speaking world. However, it appears to be commonly used by children in only six countries: Spain, Mexico, Costa Rica, Panama, Puerto Rico, Colombia and Peru. In all others, bola, bolita or a regional term predominate. Where bol(it)a is listed in the above chart, the diminutive form, bolita, is generally more common than bola. Spain: Canica was given by Spaniards from diverse regions of the country and is not regionally weighted, but the following other terms were given by people from specific regions: bolas, Alicante, Galicia; boliches, Islas Canarias; bolindres, Granada; bolos, Pamplona; chivas, Zaragoza; pitos, Len. Pivitines was given by a person from Asturias who indicated that this is the word used in the Bable language, the singular form is pivitina (not pivitn*), and the plural form, pivitines. Mexico: Canica is used practically everywhere, but the following other terms were offered by people from specific regions: mosaicos, Guanajuato, Michoacn, Nayarit, Zacatecas; bolitas, Sinaloa; chibolas, Chiapas; cayucos, Veracruz. Panama: Bolas/bolitas and canicas are used practically everywhere, but cristales and cuajaos were given by people from Chiriqu. Cuba: Bolas/bolitas are used practically everywhere, but mechos and balinas were given by people from the Oriente (the eastern part of Cuba); one person from Havana offered chinatas. Peru: One respondent indicated that oco is the hole you shoot the marble into in certain games played with marbles, but another said it was the marble itself. Argentina: Balita was offered by people from San Juan; bolillas by a person from Entre Ros; and bolillo by a person from La Rioja. An older person from San Juan offered plomines; and one person (region unknown) also indicated that mendocinas referred to glass marbles (ones that are transparent as opposed to opaque). Large/small marbles: The following terms were offered by people in the sense of marbles that are larger or smaller than the standard size ones: bochn (Uruguay, large); bolonca (Honduras, large); pepona (Venezuela, large); pinguita (Uruguay, small); pota (Bogot, Colombia, large); tincuyo (Abancay, Peru, large).

17

Names of games played with marbles: What are all the different names of games that are played with marbles, where is each name used, and how is each game played? A7.3 Real Academia Regional Review

Baln (D), balina (F), balita (D), barro (D), belluga (F), bola (A), bola china (F), bolicha (F), boliche (D), bolilla (D), bolincha (F), bolindre (C), bolita (F), bolita de corote (F), bolita de guiar (F), bolita de yeco (F), bolo (D), cachina (F), canica (A), cayuco (D), cinco (D), cristal (D), cuajao (F), chibola (D), chinata (D), chiva (D), mable (F), mara (F), maule (F), mecho (F), metra (D), mollejn (D), mosaico (D), ojo de gato (D), pepa (D), pivitina (F), pota (D), quincho (D), velluda (D), velluga (F). Bolinche is defined as Bolita para jugar; canica.. Where is this term used in this sense?

A8

SEESAW or TEETER-TOTTER

Note: This item is also called dandle board, teedle board, tilting board and other names in some regions of the United States (Soukhanov 1844). A8.1 Terms by Country (c. 20 terms plus variants) balancn (20/35), subibaja (11/35), columpio (8/35). subibaja (25/40), bambilete (6/40), balancn (3/40), balanza (3/40), bimbalete (2/40), chiquineo (1/40), pimbalete (1/40), regilete (1/40), tambaln (1/40). subibaja (15/15). subibaja (14/16), maroma (3/16). subibaja (10/11), balim-balam (1/11). subibaja (11/11). subibaja (13/13). subibaja (9/15), tintibajo (7/15), tintiribajo (1/15). cachumbamb (18/18). subibaja (11/11). subibaja (12/13), burro (1/13). subibaja (18/18). subibaja (10/40), burro (8/40), balancn (7/40), balanza (7/40), machnmachn (3/40), mataculn (3/40), balanceadero (1/40), gato (1/40) gatos arriba (1/40), sonsn (1/40). subibaja (15/26), guinguiringongo (11/26). subibaja (20/20). subibaja (16/16). subibaja (12/13), balancn (3/13). subibaja (16/16). subibaja (23/24), maroma (2/24). balancn (15/15).

SPAIN MEXICO

GUATEMALA EL SALVADOR HONDURAS NICARAGUA COSTA RICA PANAMA CUBA DOMIN. REP. PUERTO RICO VENEZUELA COLOMBIA

ECUADOR PERU BOLIVIA PARAGUAY URUGUAY ARGENTINA CHILE

18

C8.2

Details

General: The above chart simplifies the survey responses somewhat in that a number of variants of subibaja, such as sube y baja and sube-baja, were offered both in speech and writing. Subibaja and its variants are used in parts of almost all Spanish-speaking countries with the possible exception of Cuba and Chile. Spain: Are there regional preferences within Spain for balancn, subibaja/sube y baja and columpio? All three terms were given by people from diverse regions. Mexico: Subibaja seems to be used practically everywhere, but the following other terms were given by people from specific regions: balancn, Jalisco, Nuevo Len; balanza, Nuevo Len, Tamaulipas; bambilete, Guanajuato, Jalisco, Michoacn; bimbalete and pimbalete, Jalisco, Quertaro; chiquineo, Nayarit; regilete, Hidalgo; tambaln, Guanajuato. Bambilete, bimbalete and pimbalete can be considered phonetic variants of each other. El Salvador: Maroma, according to several respondents, is a type of primitive seesaw found in the countryside typically made from a log attached to a stump. Colombia: Subibaja/sube y baja was given by people from diverse regions of the country, including the interior and the Costa (Atlantic Coast region), but the following other terms were given by people from specific regions: burro and balancn, Riseralda, Valle; machn-machn, Santander; mataculn, Antioquia; gato or gatos arriba, Nario; sonsn, Antioquia. Ecuador: Subibaja and its variants are used in the highlands, but guinguiringongo, and its variants__guinguirigongo, guinguilingongo and linguiringongo__are the predominant terms in Guayaquil where the following popular saying is heard: Guinguiringongo, pata de longo, sube Panchito, y baja mondongo. (In Ecuadoran Spanish, longo is a pejorative word meaning indigenous person and, in Coastal Ecuadoran Spanish, it also refers pejoratively to any person from the Sierra, serrano.) Argentina: The two who gave maroma were from Mendoza and San Juan. A8.3 Real Academia Regional Review

Balancn (D), balanza (D), balim-balam (F), bambilete (F), bimbalete (D), burro (D), cachumbamb (F), columpio (D), chiquineo (F), gato (D), gatos arriba (F), guinguilingongo (F), guinguirigongo (F), guinguiringongo (F), linguiringongo (F), machn-machn (F), maroma (D), mataculn (F), pimbalete (F), regilete (F), sonsn (F), sube y baja (F), subibaja (F), tambaln (F), tintibajo (F), tintiribajo (F). What explanation can be given for the fact that the Dictionary has failed to provide a definition for the item in question under any of the terms encountered in this study, including the three terms given by Spaniards, balancn, subibaja/sube y baja and columpio? Have its editors never played on a seesaw or observed others doing so, or did they just forget to include a description of it in the Dictionary? It does include definitions of the Peninsular Spanish words for swing and slide and, therefore, not defining seesaw does not appear to be an intentional act. Are seesaws much less common in Spain than swings and slides? This author had no problem coming up with Spaniards who were familiar with and could name the seesaw.

19

A9 A9.1

SLIDE Terms by Country (c. 18 terms plus variants) tobogn (20/20). resbaladilla (22/40), resbaladero (13/40), resbaladera (9/40). resbaladero (14/14). deslizadero (13/20), deslizador (3/20), choyadero (2/20), tobogn (2/20). deslizador (10/12), deslizadero (3/12). resbaladero (13/13). tobogn (11/11). zurra-zurra (10/15), zurradero (5/15), tobogn (2/15), resbalador (1/15). canal (10/10). tobogn (5/10), not common (5/10). chorrera (13/13). tobogn (14/14). rodadero (14/25), resbaladero (6/25), tobogn (5/25), deslizadero (2/25), canoa (1/25). resbaladera (13/15), tobogn (2/15), rodadera (1/15). resbaladera (17/24), tobogn (4/24), resbaladora (3/24), resbaladero (1/24). resbaln (12/17), tobogn (5/17), resbalador (2/17). tobogn (10/10). tobogn (15/15). tobogn (20/20). re(s)faln (9/16), resbaln (5/16), tobogn (3/16).

SPAIN MEXICO GUATEMALA EL SALVADOR HONDURAS NICARAGUA COSTA RICA PANAMA CUBA DOMIN. REP. PUERTO RICO VENEZUELA COLOMBIA ECUADOR PERU BOLIVIA PARAGUAY URUGUAY ARGENTINA CHILE

A9.2

Details

General: Tobogn is the most frequently used term for generic slides in Spain, Costa Rica, Venezuela, Paraguay, Uruguay, Argentina, and possibly the Dominican Republic, but in the remaining countries other terms__generally derived from the verbs resbalar or deslizar__are more commonly used in this sense. Tobogn is also used in many countries to refer to the large, curvy, water slides that are found in some amusement parks. Mexico: Resbaladilla appears to be used in much of southern and central Mexico whereas resbaladera and resbaladero appear to be used more in the North. Resbaladilla was offered by people from the Distrito Federal, Guanajuato, Guerrero, Jalisco, Michoacn, Morelos, Puebla, Quintana Roo, Sinaloa, Tamaulipas, and Zacatecas. Resbaladero was offered by people from Baja California del Norte, Chihuahua, Guanajuato, Jalisco, Michoacn, Nayarit, Nuevo Len, Sonora and Zacatecas. Resbaladera was given by people from Colima, Guanajuato, Jalisco, Michoacn and Tamaulipas. Panama: Opinions vary on whether the correct spelling is surra-surra or zurra-zurra. The same applies to surradero vs. zurradero. Assuming the word derives from the verb zurrar, then the z-forms would appear to be the correct spellings. In addition to the s vs. z question, should the first pair be written with a hyphen or without, i.e. surra-surra/zurra-zurra or surrasurra/zurrazurra? Panamanians also seem to be divided on this point.

20

Cuba: Canal, when used in this sense, is feminine (la canal). Slang/vulgar words for slide: What regional slang and/or vulgar words are there for slide? Several Chileans gave rascapoto or raspapoto (poto means rear end in Chilean Spanish). One Spaniard from Zaragoza also indicated that esbarizaculos is used there by older people. The term comes from General Spanish culo (ass, asshole in the anatomical sense) and the verb esbarizar which is defined as (Cruce de esbarar y deslizar.) intr. Ar. [Aragn] resbalar. Esbarar is defined as resbalar. A9.3 Real Academia Regional Review

Canal (D), cholladero (F), choyadero (F), chorrera (D), deslizadero (D), deslizador (F), esbarizaculos (F), rascapoto (F), raspapoto (F), refaln (F), resbaladera (F), resbaladero (D), resbaladilla (F), resbalador (D), resbaladora (F), resbaln (F), resfaln (F), rodadera (F), rodadero (D), surradero (F), surra-surra (F), tobogn (A), zurradero (F), zurra-zurra (F).

A10

SLINGSHOT

A10.1 Terms by Country (c. 40 terms plus variants)

SPAIN MEXICO

GUATEMALA EL SALVADOR HONDURAS NICARAGUA COSTA RICA PANAMA CUBA DOMIN. REP. PUERTO RICO VENEZUELA COLOMBIA ECUADOR

PERU BOLIVIA PARAGUAY URUGUAY

tirachinas (25/40), honda (6/40), tirador (6/40), tiragomas (3/40), tirabeque (1/40), tirabolas (1/40), tiradera (1/40), tirapiedras (1/40). resortera (27/50), charpe (6/50), hulera (4/50), honda (3/50), tirahule (3/50), flecha (2/50), horqueta (2/50), tirador (2/50), tiradora (2/50), estirador (1/50), jaladera (1/50), negasura (1/50), parche (1/50), recua (1/50). honda (17/17). hondilla (15/18), honda (4/18). honda (10/10). tiradora (8/14), honda (5/14), hulera (5/14). flecha (9/15), resortera (8/15), honda (2/15). biombo (14/16), honda (2/16), resortera (2/16). tirapiedra(s) (15/21), tiradera (5/21), flecha (3/21), tiraflechas (3/21). tirapiedra(s) (12/15), tirador (2/15), escopeta (1/15), goma (1/15), horqueta (1/15). honda (18/21), tirabete (2/21), tiradeque (1/21), flecha (1/21). china (17/30), honda (9/30), fonda (3/30), tiratira (2/30), flecha (1/30), resortera (1/30), tiragomas (1/30). cauchera (25/30), honda (5/30), flecha (2/30). cata (4/38), catapulta (4/38), cauchera (2/38), cimbra (1/38), flecha (3/38), gauchera (1/38), honda (2/38), horqueta (10/38), jebe (1/38), lanzadera (1/38), liga (1/38), liguera (1/38), paica/pailca (4/38), resortera (3/38), tiradera (1/38), tirajebe (2/38). honda (25/33), resortera (3/33), callampa (2/33), horqueta (2/33), estirador (1/33), goma (1/33), guaraca/huaraca (1/33). flecha (10/21), honda (9/21), resortera (3/21). hondita (12/15), honda (4/15). honda (18/20), gomera (2/20).

21

ARGENTINA CHILE

honda (27/37), gomera (21/37). honda (20/20).

A10.2 Details General: The item in question is the Y-shaped device with an elastic strap, often used to kill birds, (not the weapon David is believed to have used to kill Goliath which appears to be honda everywhere). Spain: Tirachinas was given by Spaniards from diverse regions of the country and does not appear to be regionally weighted, but the following terms were offered by people from specific regions: tirador, Galicia, Madrid; honda, Catalua; tiragomas, Len; tirabeque, Pamplona; tirapiedras and tirabolas, Galicia; tiradera, Islas Canarias. Mexico: Resortera seems to be used practically everywhere, but the following terms were given by people from specific regions: charpe, Oaxaca, Puebla, Veracruz; hulera, Distrito Federal, Hidalgo, Nuevo Len; honda, Chiapas, Veracruz; tirahule, Quintana Roo; flecha, Distrito Federal, Hidalgo; horqueta, Distrito Federal, Sinaloa; tiradora, Chiapas, Nuevo Len; estirador, Sinaloa; jaladera, Distrito Federal. Cuba: Tirapiedra(s) appears to be the dominant term in many regions, including Havana, but where are flecha, tiradera and tiraflechas used? All five of those who offered tiradera were from the Oriente. Venezuela: China seems to be used practically everywhere, but tiratira (should it be spelled tiratira?) was given by people from Falcn and Zulia; fonda was offered by people from Barquisimeto. Ecuador: The following terms were given by people from specific regions: cata and catapulta, Quito; cauchera, Esmeraldas, Tulcn; cimbra, Tulcn; flecha, Ambato, Baos; gauchera, Esmeraldas; honda, Guayaquil; horqueta, Ambato, Guayaquil, Riobamba; jebe, El Oro; lanzadera, paica and pailca, Cuenca; liga and liguera, Los Ros; resortera, Chimborazo, Pichincha; tiradera, Los Ros; tirajebe, Loja. Paica/pailca, also spelled pallca, is of Quechua/Quichua origin (Cordero 81). Peru: Honda was given by Peruvians from diverse regions of the country and is not regionally weighted, but the following other terms were given by people from specific regions: resortera, Lima; horqueta, Lima, Tacna; callampa, Junn; goma, Hunuco; guaraca, Trujillo; estirador, Piura. Bolivia: Flecha was given by people from the Altiplano; honda by people from Santa Cruz and Tarija and by some from the Altiplano. A10.3 Real Academia Regional Review Biombo (D), callampa (D), cata (D), catapulta (D), cauchera (D), cimbra (D), charpe (F), china (D), escopeta (D), estirador (F), flecha (D), fonda (D), gauchera (F), goma (D), gomera (D or F?), guaraca (D), honda (D), hondilla (F), hondita (F), horqueta (D), huaraca (F), hulera (F), jaladera (F), jebe (D), lanzadera (D), liga (D), liguera (D), negasura (F), paica (F), pailca (F), parche (D), recua (D), resortera (F), tirabeque (C), tirabete (F), tirabolas (F), tirachinas (B or C?), tiradera (D), tirador (C?), tiradora (C?), tiraflechas (F), tiragomas (C), tirahule (F), tirajebe (F), tirapiedras (F), tiratira (D).

22

The following terms, all beginning in tira-, are defined as follows: tirabeque, 2. Horquilla con mango, a los extremos de la cual se sujetan dos gomas unidas por una badana, en la que se ponen piedrecillas o perdigones; tirador, tiragomas; tirachinas, tirachinos which in turn is defined as Sev. Tirador de horquilla con gomas para tirar con pedrezuelas; tiragomas; tiragomas, Horquilla con gomas para tirar pedrezuelas; tirador, tirachinas. Sense 9 of the definition for tirador is identical to sense 2 of tirabeque except that en la que se ponen piedrecillas o perdigones; tirador, tiragomas is changed to en la que se colocan piedrecillas o perdigones para dispararlos (underlines added). Why is there a lack of uniformity in the definitions? Did several different people write them and not know what their colleagues were doing? Why not select one term and give it a full definition and merely cross-reference all of the others to that one? Since honda is the only term that is used in this sense by at least some people in almost all Spanish-speaking countries (Cuba and the Dominican Republic being possible exceptions), this would be the most logical candidate for the lead term. The suggestion, therefore, is to add a sense 3 to the definition of honda that is similar to the Dictionarys definition of tirabeque (sense 2) or tirador (sense 9) and have all other regional synonyms be defined as simply honda3, arma en forma de horqueta para lanzar piedritas.

A11

SWING

A11.1 Terms by Country (7 terms plus variants)

SPAIN EL SALVADOR HONDURAS NICARAGUA COSTA RICA PANAMA BOLIVIA PARAGUAY URUGUAY ARGENTINA REST OF SPANISH AMERICA

columpio (20/20). columpio (12/17), trapecio (6/17), mecedora (2/17). columpio (13/17), mecedora (3/17), trapecio (3/17), mecedor (1/17). chino(s) (11/14), columpio (5/14), trapecio (3/14). hamaca (12/12). suinsun (9/14), columpio (4/14), trapecio (2/14). columpio (14/15), hamaca (1/15). hamaca (10/10). hamaca (13/13). hamaca (20/20). columpio (at least 10/10 for each country).

A11.2 Details General: The above chart simplifies usage somewhat in that a number of respondents offered variants of columpio such as columbio, culumpio and golumpio. Although such forms were offered both in speech and in writing by people from Colombia, Ecuador, El Salvador, Honduras, Nicaragua and Peru, there is little reason to believe that these variants are not also found in many other parts of the Spanish-speaking world. El Salvador: Several respondents indicated that trapecio refers to a primitive type of swing that often consists of a rope, whereas columpio refers to a manufactured swing of the type installed in parks.

23

Panama: How should the Panamanian term be spelled, suinsun, suin-suan or swing-swang? One respondent also pronounced the word sinsun. Bolivia: Columpio appears to be the dominant term, but hamaca was offered by a person from Santa Cruz. Hammocks vs. swings in Costa Rica, Paraguay, Uruguay & Argentina: In Uruguay and Argentina, hammocks are often referred to as hamacas paraguayas to distinguish them from swings (hamacas). One Argentine indicated that the term coy or coi is also used in the sense of hammock and she believed it was of Guaran origin. A Par aguayan indicated that the Guaran term for this is kyha (with a nasalized y), and the castillianized pronunciation is quij. Are coy and quij used in Argentina and Paraguay, respectively, when people are speaking Spanish? Are there terms other than hamaca that are used to refer to hammocks in Costa Rica? A11.3 Real Academia Regional Review Columbio (F), columpio (A), culumpio (F), chino (D), golumpio (F), hamaca (D), mecedor (C), mecedora (D), sinsun (F), suinsun (F), trapecio (D). Mecedor is defined as 3. columpio. Other than possibly Honduras, where is this term commonly used in this sense?

A12

TICKTACKTOE (also spelled tick-tack-toe and tic-tac-toe)

A12.1 Terms by Country (c. 20 terms plus variants)

SPAIN MEXICO GUATEMALA EL SALVADOR HONDURAS NICARAGUA COSTA RICA PANAMA CUBA DOMIN. REP. PUERTO RICO

VENEZUELA COLOMBIA ECUADOR PERU BOLIVIA PARAGUAY

tres en raya (20/20). gato (20/26), gato y ratn (3/26), coyote (1/26), timbiriche (1/26), tres en gallos (1/26). totito (13/13). equis cero (12/12). equis cero (10/10). equis cero (13/18), tictact (6/18). gato (12/13), equis cero (2/13). equis cero (10/10). ceritos (4/10), ti(c)ta(c)t (4/10), el cero (1/10), tresillo (1/10). not common (4/10), ti(c)ta(c)t (3/10), cero y cruz (2/10), ceritos (1/10). cerito(s) (10/20), tictact (4/20), cerito cruz (1/20), ceros y cruces (1/20), cero y equis (1/20), cruces y ceritos (1/20), cruz y cero (1/20), equis y cerito (1/20), tres en lnea (1/20), tres en raya (1/20). la vieja (10/10). triqui (8/18), tictact/tictactoc (4/18), tictac (2/18), crucecitos (1/18), equis cero (1/18), tres en lnea (1/18), trique (1/18), triquitr (1/18). tres en raya (12/16), tres en calle (3/16), tres en lnea (1/16). michi (17/22), gato (3/22), tres en raya (3/22). tres en raya (9/12), tres cruces (3/12). tatet (10/10).

24

URUGUAY ARGENTINA CHILE

tatet (14/14). tatet (20/20). gato (13/13).

A12.2 Details General: As with many games, the terms are used much more in speech than in writing and therefore even educated people are often unsure of the correct spelling. How should the following terms be spelled, as one word or several, with hyphens or without? Equis cero, equiscero or equis-cero? Tatet or ta-te-ti? Totito or to-ti-to? Tres en raya or tres-enraya? For consistency, the hyphenless spellings are presented in the above chart despite the fact that many people indicated that they spell their word for this item with a hyphen, and for brevity most of the terms are presented above without the definite article even though in speech they often come with the article, i.e. el totito, los ceritos, etc. Mexico: Gato was given by Mexicans from diverse regions of the country and is not regionally weighted, but the following other terms were given by people from specific regions: el coyote, Zacatecas; tres en gallos, Quintana Roo; timbiriche, an older woman from the Distrito Federal. (Did she misunderstand? See tembereche in subsection A4.1, Mexico.) Ecuador: Tres en raya was given by people from many different regions, but the three who gave tres en calle were from Ambato and Baos. Peru: Michi means cat (gato) in Quechua. Paraguay, Uruguay & Argentina: Most of those queried indicated they would spell the term with hyphens, ta-te-ti or ta-te-t, not tatet. A12.3 Real Academia Regional Review Cerito(s) (D), cerito cruz (F), ceros y cruces (F), coyote (D), crucecitos (F), equis cero (F), gato (D), gato y ratn (F), michi (F), tatet (D), tictact (F), tictactoc (F), timbiriche (D), totito (F), tres cruces (F), tres en calle (F), tres en gallos (F), tres en lnea (F), tres en raya (D), tresillo (D), trique (D), triqui (F), triquitr (F), vieja (D). Tres en raya is defined under raya as Juego de muchachos, que se juega con unas piedrecillas o tantos colocados en un cuadro, dividido en otros cuatro, con las lneas tiradas de un lado a otro por el centro, y aadidas las diagonales de un ngulo a otro. El fin del juego consiste en colocar en cualquiera de las lneas los tres tantos propios, y el arte del juego, en impedir que esto se logre, interpolando los tantos contrarios. This definition describes a game that is similar to but distinct from ticktacktoe. The game people in the United States refer to as ticktacktoe is common in the Spanish-speaking world and, therefore, a sense 2 needs to be added to the subentry for tres en raya. What is the best way to define ticktacktoe in Spanish? The following three definitions, proposed by the author, are possibilities: a) Juego en que dos contrincantes se alternan poniendo cruces o crculos intentando cada uno ser el primero en completar una hilera horizontal, vertical o diagonal en un tablero de nueve casillas formado por la interseccin de dos lneas verticales y dos horizontales; b) Juego en que dos jugadores se alternan poniendo equis y ceros en las casillas de un dibujo o tablero formado por dos lneas verticales que cruzan dos lneas horizontales; cada jugador intenta crear una hilera de tres equis o tres ceros antes que el contrincante;

25

c) Juego de dos personas en que cada uno trata de hacer una hilera de tres equis o tres ceros en un cuadro que tiene nueve casillas. (This last definition is a rough translation of the definition for ticktacktoe found in the American Heritage Dictionary.) The fact that tres en raya appears under tres with a cross-reference that reads 3. V. tres en raya raises another lexicographical issue. How should compound terms such as this one be listed in the Dictionary, under tres, under raya, or should tres en raya be its own separate entry? Where is the reader most likely to look first, and which solution will make him or her do the least legwork?

B B1 B1.1

SCHOOL & MISCELLANEOUS CHEAT-SHEET Terms by Country (c. 25 terms plus variants) chuleta (20/20). acorden (20/20). chivo (14/14). copia (9/10), acorden (2/10). chepe (11/12), acorden (1/12). copia (11/11). forro (11/11). batera (12/12). chivo (12/14), acorden (4/14). chivo (12/12). drog(uit)a (12/18), bate (5/18), chivo (2/18). chuleta (18/18). chancuco (12/40), copia (7/40), copialina (6/40), machete (5/40), soplete (4/40), chanchullo (3/40), pastel (3/40), boleta (1/40), comprimido (1/40), gua (1/40). polla (20/20). plagio (13/25), comprimido (7/25), copia (5/25), plage (3/25), plagia (2/25), flajeo (1/25), plageo (1/25). chanchullo (15/22), chanchulla (5/22), copie (3/22), becha-becha (1/22). copiatn (5/11), copiatini (5/11), copietine (1/11). ferrocarril (9/15), trencito (9/15), machete (1/15). machete (25/25). torpedo (16/16).

SPAIN MEXICO GUATEMALA EL SALVADOR HONDURAS NICARAGUA COSTA RICA PANAMA CUBA DOMIN. REP. PUERTO RICO VENEZUELA COLOMBIA ECUADOR PERU BOLIVIA PARAGUAY URUGUAY ARGENTINA CHILE

B1.2

Details

General: The item in question is a piece of paper or other object on which students write information in order to cheat on exams. Most of the above terms represent what might be called standardized regional slang terminology. Of course, many speakers use other more coded or idiosyncratic terms (e.g. arma secreta).

26

Nicaragua: A copia is a standard cheat-sheet, but a number of Nicaraguans indicated that in student slang a piedra is a photocopy or hand-written copy of the exam itself that is surreptitiously obtained by students for the purpose of cheating. Others indicated that piedra refers to any pista or clave (hint or key) that helps students with exams, including ones that are provided by the teacher. To the extent Nicaraguans use both copia and piedra to refer to cheat-sheets, how do they distinguish between these two terms? Puerto Rico: Who says bate, who says droga or droguita, and who says chivo? One respondent indicated that bate and chivo are used in the western part of the island and drog(uit)a is used in the eastern part, but the data collected is inconclusive. Colombia: The following terms were given by people from specific regions: chancuco, Cundinamarca, Nario, Valle; copia, Cundinamarca, Huila, Santander; copialina, Cundinamarca, Valle; soplete, Boyac, Cundinamarca; chanchullo, the Costa (Atlantic Coast region), Cundinamarca, Valle; machete, the Costa; pastel, Antioquia; boleta, Antioquia; comprimido, Cundinamarca; gua, Santander. What, if any, are the regional standards within Colombia? Bolivia: The following terms were given by people from the following regions: chanchullo and chanchulla, Cochabamba, La Paz; copie (masculine word), Santa Cruz; becha-becha, Tarija. Cheating (informal expressions): In Honduras, the verb chepear is used in informal language in the sense of to cheat. What other slang verbs meaning to cheat derive from nouns meaning cheat-sheet? B1.3 Real Academia Regional Review

Acorden (B), bate (D), batera (D), becha-becha (F), boleta (D), comprimido (D), copia (D), copialina (F), copiatn (F), copiatini (F), copie (F), copietine (F), chancuco (D), chanchulla (F), chanchullo (D), chepe (F), chivo (D), chuleta (B), droga (D), droguita (F), ferrocarril (D), flajeo (F), forro (D), gua (D), machete (B), pastel (D), piedra (D), plage (F), plageo (F), plagia (F), plagio (D), polla (D), torpedo (D), tren (D), trencito (F). Chuleta is defined as 4. fig. Entre estudiantes, papelito con frmulas u otros apuntes que se lleva oculto para usarlo disimuladamente en los exmenes (underline added), whereas acorden is defined as 2. fam. Mj. Especie de chuleta, papelito con apuntes para uso, no autorizado, de los estudiantes en exmenes escritos (underlines added). Why is chuleta defined as figurative usage while acorden is characterized as familiar usage and as a type of chuleta? The two are simply regional synonyms for the same phenomenon and this should be clearly indicated in the definitions. If chuleta is to be the regional term for which a full definition is given, why not define acorden, and all other regional synonyms, as simply chuleta4, papel u otro objeto que se usa para hacer trampa en un examen? Are any of the terms presented in subsection B1.1 above commonly used to refer to any piece of paper containing information that people use legally to recall facts they would not otherwise remember, in the extended meaning in which cheat-sheet is used in U.S. English? If so, the Dictionary will need to add a second sense to the definitions of these terms.

27

B2 B2.1

HOMEWORK Terms by Country (3 terms) deberes (25/34), tarea (12/34). tarea (25/25). deberes (9/13), tarea (6/13). deberes (8/12), tarea (6/12). tarea (10/10). tarea (10/10). tarea (10/14), asignacin (6/14). tarea (14/14). tarea (12/12). tarea (11/11). asignacin (14/15), tarea (2/15). tarea (14/14). tarea (20/20). deberes (13/17), tarea (6/17). tarea (20/20), asignacin (4/20). tarea (14/14). deberes (13/14), tarea (5/14). deberes (16/17), tarea (2/17). deberes (21/23), tarea (10/23). tarea (19/19).

SPAIN MEXICO GUATEMALA EL SALVADOR HONDURAS NICARAGUA COSTA RICA PANAMA CUBA DOMIN. REP. PUERTO RICO VENEZUELA COLOMBIA ECUADOR PERU BOLIVIA PARAGUAY URUGUAY ARGENTINA CHILE

B2.2

Details

General: Deberes and tareas can be considered simple synonyms insofar as both terms are generally understood by educated speakers as being equivalent (the modifiers escolares, para el hogar or para la casa can be added for clarification). Nevertheless, the data from this study clearly indicate that in most Spanish-speaking countries one of the two terms is more commonly used in the sense of homework. Deberes seems to be preferred in Spain, Ecuador, Paraguay, Uruguay and Argentina while tarea is predominant in Mexico, Honduras, Nicaragua, Costa Rica, Panama, Cuba, the Dominican Republic, Venezuela, Colombia, Peru, Bolivia and Chile. In Guatemala and El Salvador, there appears to be a fairly healthy competition between the two terms. Guatemala & El Salvador: Are the terms deberes and tareas used interchangeably in these two countries, or would testing greater numbers of people show a definite preference for one over the other? Asignacin: Many people from Costa Rica and Peru indicated that asignacin is a written report, term paper or other assignment that is longer than a tarea, which is a shorter homework assignment, while a few said asignacin and tarea were synonyms. In Puerto Rico, however, asignacin is a homework assignment in general. Is asignacin commonly used in either sense anywhere other than Costa Rica, Peru and Puerto Rico?

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B2.3

Real Academia Regional Review

Asignacin (D), deber (A or D?), tarea (D). Deber is defined as 3. Ejercicio que, como complemento de lo aprendido en clase, se encarga, para hacerlo fuera de ella, al alumno de los primeros grados de enseanza. . m. en pl. (underline added). The definition indicates that deber is homework done specifically by a primary school student. To what extent, and where, is this true? The evidence from this study indicates that, both deberes and tareas are used, in their respective regions, in the generic sense of homework, whether in primary, secondary, or higher education. Given how common the use of tarea in the sense of homework is in much of the Spanish-speaking world (it appears to be the dominant term in twelve out of twenty countries), what explanation can be given for the fact that the Dictionary has failed to include this sense in its entry for tarea?

B3 B3.1
SPAIN

TO PLAY HOOKY (also spelled hookey) Phrases by Country (c. 50 phrases plus variants) hacer novillos (20/50), pirar(se) (8/50), hacer pellas (7/50), hacer campana (4/50), hacer pira (3/50), pelar(se) la clase (3/50), fumarse la clase (2/50), grillarse la clase (2/50), hacer pirola (2/50), hacer rabona (2/50), latar a clase (2/50), colgar clase (1/50), fanar clases (1/50), hacer calva (1/50), hacer fuchina (1/50), hacer la liebre (1/50), hacer pila (1/50), irse de pellas (1/50), salarse la clase (1/50). irse de pinta (27/40), hacerse la pinta (8/40), echarse la pinta (4/40), salirse de pinta (1/40), pintar venados (2/40), pintear(se) la clase (2/40), hacerse la balona (1/40), hacerse la perra (1/40), perrearse (1/40). capear(se) (11/12), irse de capiuza (3/12). no common expression (10/10). no common expression (10/10). no common expression (10/10). no common expression (10/10). pavear(se) (11/11). no common expression (6/11), comerse la gusima (2/11), hacer novillo(s) (2/11), pelar la gusima (1/11). no common expression (7/10), brillar (3/10). comer jobo (10/18), cortar clase (9/18), hacer brusca (3/18). jubilarse (9/17), no common expression (8/17). capar (14/22), (es)cachar (4/22), echarse/tirarse la leva (4/22), capear (2/22). echarse la pera (10/22), hacerse la pava (9/22), hacerse la pera (4/22), perearse (4/22), tirarse la pera (3/22), ranclarse (1/22). hacerse la vaca (26/40), tirarse la pera (16/40), tirarse la vaca (4/40), hacerse la pera (3/40), echarse la pera (2/40), irse de vaca (1/40). chachar(se) (15/18), chuear (3/18). hacer(se la) rabona (7/11), rabonear (7/11). hacer(se la) rabona (15/18), hacerse la rata (5/18), ratearse (2/18).

MEXICO

GUATEMALA EL SALVADOR HONDURAS NICARAGUA COSTA RICA PANAMA CUBA DOMIN. REP. PUERTO RICO VENEZUELA COLOMBIA ECUADOR PERU BOLIVIA PARAGUAY URUGUAY

29

ARGENTINA CHILE

hacerse la rata (25/37), hacer(se la) rabona (13/37), hacerse la chupina (5/37), ratearse (3/37). hacer la cimarra (11/15), capear (6/15), hacer la chancha (3/15), hacerse el chancho (1/15).

B3.2

Details

General: The above phrases are colloquial expressions meaning not to go to school without having a valid excuse such as an illness, that is, to play hooky. Spain: The expression hacer novillos was given by Spaniards from diverse regions of the country and is not regionally weighted. The following expressions, however, were given by people from specific regions: pirar(se), Aragn, Asturias, Len; hacer pellas/irse de pellas, Castilla, Len, Pas Vasco; hacer campana, Castilla, Catalua, Valladolid; hacer pira, Pas Vasco; pelar(se) la clase, Alicante, Valencia; fumarse la clase, Alicante, Valladolid; grillarse la clase, Len; hacer pirola, Zaragoza, Aragn; hacer rabona, Andaluca; latar a clase, Galicia (respondents indicated this is a Gallego expression); colgar clase and fanar clases, Galicia; hacer calva, Pamplona; hacer fuchina, Valencia; hacer la liebre, Asturias; hacer pila and salarse la clase, Valencia. Cuba: Are the expressions comerse la gusima and pelar la gusima used primarily in the Oriente? Those who gave these expressions were from this region. Dominican Republic: Brillar, when used in this sense, is apparently an ellipsis for brillar por la ausencia, brillar por su ausencia, etc. How common is this usage? Puerto Rico: Is comer jobo used in this sense more by the older generations and cortar clase (a calque of to cut class) more by the younger generations? There is some evidence that this is the case. Colombia: Capar and/or capear were offered by Colombians from many different areas of the interior, but cachar and escachar were offered by people from Tunja and Santander, and echarse la leva or tirarse la leva by people from the Costa. Ecuador: Echarse la pera, hacerse la pera, tirarse la pera and perearse were given by Ecuadorans from many different areas of the Sierra (highland region); hacerse la pava, by people from Guayaquil; ranclarse by a person from Cuenca. Bolivia: Chachar was offered by people from various parts of the Altiplano; chuear by people from Santa Cruz. Uruguay: A number of people indicated that the expressions hacerse la rata and ratearse have entered into Uruguayan usage relatively recently and are due to Argentine influence. Argentina: Hacerse la rata, hacer rabona or hacerse la rabona, and ratearse were offered by Argentines from diverse regions of the country and are not regionally weighted, but hacerse la chupina was only offered by people from Crdoba and Santa Fe. People who play hooky: The following slang terms, which derive from the expressions presented in subsection B3.1 above, are commonly used as nouns and adjectives to refer to people who play hooky: chachn, Bolivia; perista, Highland Ecuador; rabonero, Paraguay (and Argentina and Uruguay?); vaquero, Peru. What other terms that could be formed from expressions for to play hooky__such as capeador (Guatemala?, Chile?); jobero (Puerto Rico?), novillero (Spain?), and pintero or pintn (Mexico?), etc.__are commonly used in this sense?

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B3.3

Real Academia Regional Review

Brillar (D), cachar (D), capar (D), capear(se) (B), colgar clase (F), comer jobo(s) (A), comerse la gusima (F), cortar clase (F), chachar (F), chuear (F), echarse de pinta (F), echarse la leva (F), echarse la pera (F), escachar (D), fanar clases (F), grillarse la clase (F), hacer brusca (F), hacer calva (F), hacer campana (F), hacer fuchina (C or F?), hacer la cimarra (A?), hacer la chancha (F), hacerse el chancho (F), hacerse la chupina (F), hacer la lata (F), hacer la liebre (F), hacer novillos (C), hacerse la pava (F), hacer pellas (C), hacerse la pera (F), hacer peyas (F), hacer pila (F), hacerse la pinta (F), hacer pira (F), hacer pirola (F), hacer(se la) rabona (C), hacerse la rata (B), hacerse la vaca (F), irse de capiuza (F), irse de pellas (F), irse de peyas (F), irse de pinta (F), irse de vaca (F), jubilarse (D), latar a clase (F), pavear(se) (F), pelar clases (F), pelar la gusima (F), perearse (F), pintar venado(s) (F), pintear(se) (D), pirar (C), rabonear (F), ranclarse (F), ratearse (D), salarse la clase (D), tirarse la leva (F), tirarse la pera (F), tirarse la vaca (F). The following terms and phrases are defined as follows: hacer novillos (under novillos), fr. fam. Dejar uno de asistir a alguna parte contra lo debido o acostumbrado, especialmente los escolares; pirar, intr. vulg. Hacer novillos, faltar a clase; capear, 5. Guat. Entre escolares y estudiantes, faltar a sus clases sin motivo justificado, a espaldas de sus padres o tutores; fuchina, (Del cat. fugir.) f. Ar. Huida, escapada; hacer cimarra (under cimarra), (der. regres. de cimarrn.) fr. fam. Argent. (Cuyo) y Chile. hacer novillos; ir de pira (under pira), fr. en la jerga estudiantil, no entrar en la clase. Why is the definition of capear worded differently from that of hacer novillos when they are synonyms, that is, regional expressions for the same phenomenon? If hacer novillos is to be the base term for which a full definition is given, why not just cross-reference all of the other expressions to this one, as has been done with hacer cimarra. Is hacer la cimarra or hacer cimarra used in the Argentine provinces of Mendoza, San Juan and San Luis?

B4 B4.1

SCHOOL YEAR School Year by Country

Note: Data from respondents are not presented in this subsection because the school year is a question of fact rather than individual usage. About ten people were queried from each country.
SPAIN MEXICO GUATEMALA EL SALVADOR HONDURAS NICARAGUA COSTA RICA PANAMA CUBA DOMIN. REP. PUERTO RICO

September to June. August/September to June. January to October. January to October. February to November. February to November/December. February/March to December. March/April to December. September to June. September to June. August to May.

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VENEZUELA COLOMBIA ECUADOR PERU BOLIVIA PARAGUAY URUGUAY ARGENTINA CHILE

September to July. January/February to November/December. October to July (Sierra); April/May to January/February (Costa). March/April to December. February to October/November. February/March to November. March to November/December. March to November/December. March to December.

B4.2

Details

General: The school year schedules presented above are for primary and secondary schools in the countries public education systems. In many cases, a range of months has been indicated because the school year often varies slightly from year to year and, occasionally, between primary and secondary school. In essence, all Spanish-speaking countries, with the exception of Ecuador, use one of two schedules. The school years of Spain, Mexico, the Hispanic Antilles and Venezuela run from approximately September to June, give or take a month, whereas those of Hispanic Central America and all of Hispanic South America except Venezuela and Ecuador run from about February to November, again, give or take a month. For countries that have four seasons, an important factor seems to be to have the vacation period coincide with the warmer months, whereas in the cases of tropical countries, some prefer to have their vacations coincide with the December through January Christmas holiday season, and others seem to prefer to match up with the academic years of Europe and North America and therefore have adopted a Septemberto-June schedule. Mexico: There used to be two different school years, a February/March-to-November/December schedule, called Plan A, in the central and southern parts of the country, and a September-to-June schedule, called Plan B, in northern states. (In Mexico los estados del Norte generally refer to the border states of Baja California del Norte, Sonora, Chihuahua, Coahila, Nuevo Len and Tamaulipas, plus Sinaloa and Durango.) In about 1970, the two systems were unified with the September-to-June schedule being imposed throughout the country. There have recently been some initiatives to have the Distrito Federal go back to a Plan A schedule because of high levels of pollution due to thermal inversion that occur during the winter months. Ecuador: The school year in the Sierra (highland region) is October to July whereas in the Costa (coastal region) it is from April or May until January or February. Public schools in the Oriente (amazon region) follow the Sierra school schedule and in the Galapagos Islands the Costas schedule is followed. Ecuador is currently the only Spanish-speaking country in which half the country uses one school year and the other half uses another. The reason for this is weather. In the Costa, the invierno (rainy season) runs from approximately January through April during which time massive flooding tends to wash out roads and make transportation difficult in rural areas. Costeos, therefore, schedule their school year around this period. In the Sierra, however, there is less precipitation between June and September and, for this reason, serranos prefer to have their vacation during this

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sunnier period. Is the fact that the Sierras September-to-June schedule coincides with the U.S. school year also a determining factor? Private Schools: In Colombia, Hispanic Central America, and perhaps some Hispanic South American countries where public schools run from about February to November, there are private schools__generally bilingual schools that cater to the upper classes__that follow a September-to-June school year so that people who attend them can easily match up with the United States and Europes academic calendar. In Colombia, Calendario A refers to the school schedule that runs from January/February to November/December, that is followed by the vast majority of schools, while Calendario B refers to the September-toJune schedule followed by some private schools.

APPENDIX: ADDITIONAL TOPICS The following is a small selection of additional topics in the field of Spanish lexical dialectology that relate to children. In many cases, only a few informants from each specified country or region have been observed or questioned regarding these issues, and the findings are therefore tentative at best. No doubt many of the usages presented are used in many more regions than those listed; the information provided is based on the data the author was able to collect. Although some information is provided on how the terminology varies by region, the topics are primarily presented to call attention to their existence as possible dialectological issues and to encourage others to research them further. Spelling issues such as c vs. s are also raised. All references to definitions are to those of the 1992 edition of the Diccionario de la Lengua Espaola (the Spanish Royal Academy Dictionary). amusement park. Is it parque de atracciones in Spain and parque de diversiones in most of Spanish America? In Panama, coney island, pronounced as if written coni aylan, is also used in this sense (from Coney Island, the amusement park in Brooklyn, New York). bogeyman. The terms given below are rough equivalents insofar as they are all imaginary figures used to scare children, but the image that each conjures varies considerably. How should each of these terms be defined in the Dictionary? In other words, what images do they refer to in their respective countries or regions? El bulto (Santa Cruz, Bolivia); el cadejo (Costa Rica, Guatemala); la cegua/la segua (Costa Rica, Nicaragua); la ciguanaba/la siguanaba (Guatemala); el cipito/el sipito (El Salvador); el coco (Bolivia?, Colombia, Costa Rica, Cuba, Guatemala, Mexico, Panama?, Spain, Venezuela); el cuco (Argentina, Chile, Cuba, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, Mexico?, Panama, Peru, Puerto Rico, Uruguay); el cucu (Bolivia); la cucula (Bolivia); el cuculi (Bolivia); el cuc-lel (Paraguay); el cucuy/el cocuy (Mexico); el curup (Paraguay); el chamuco (Mexico); el chucho (Manizales, Colombia); el hombre de la bolsa and el viejo de la bolsa (Argentina, Paraguay, Uruguay); el hombre del saco (Spain); el hui (Mexico); el loco (Mexico, Venezuela); la llorona (Costa Rica, Guatemala, Mexico, Nicaragua, Venezuela); la madremonte (Colombia); la mano pachona (Mexico); la mariangula (Ecuador); la mocuana (Nicaragua); el mono (Nicaragua); el monstruo de los mangones (Colombia); el mumo (Valencia, Spain); el nagual (Jalisco, Mexico); el ogro (Aragn, Spain); el pombero (Paraguay); la sayona (Venezuela); la solapa (Entre Ros, Argentina); la tulivieja (Panama); el yas-yater or yasy-yater (Paraguay, with a nasal tilde on the

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second y of yasy, Guaran term). Paparrasolla is defined as Ente imaginario con que se amedrenta a los nios a fin de que se callen cuando lloran. Where is this term commonly used in this sense? dodge ball. The American Heritage Dictionary defines dodge ball as A game in which players outside a circle try to eliminate players on the inside by hitting them with an inflated ball. Is this game (or varieties of it) played in Spanish-speaking countries and, if so, what are its names? gum (chewing gum, bubble gum). Are goma de mascar and chicle universal synonyms for chewing gum, or are there regional preferences? Are there special regional names for bubble gum (including brand names that have become generic terms)? What about the bubbles one can create when chewing bubble gum? Who says bomba and who says globo? Does anyone say burbuja? hide and seek. What, if any, are the regional preferences between jugar a las escondidas and jugar al escondite, and what other names for this game exist? kid (colloquial and popular words for child). The following is a selection of regional terms used for children. Much more research needs to be done to determine what age groups each term generally refers to, and what sociolinguistic associations each term has in each region: bicho (El Salvador, Honduras); botija (Uruguay); cabro (Chile); carajillo (Costa Rica); carajito (Colombia, Dominican Republic, Venezuela); carricito (Venezuela); cipote/sipote (El Salvador, Honduras, Nicaragua); cro (Spain); chamaco (Costa Rica, Cuba?, Honduras, Mexico, Venezuela); chamo (Venezuela, teenager); chango (Northwest Argentina and the Bolivian Altiplano); chaval (Spain); chavalo (Mexico, Nicaragua); chavo (Guatemala, Mexico); chibolo (Peru); chilpayate (Mexico); chino (Colombia); chirs (Guatemala); chign (Nicaragua); chorreado (El Salvador, pejorative, = nio sucio); enano (Spain); escuincle (Mexico, pejorative); guagua (Bolivia, Chile, Ecuador, Peru, baby/child); guaina? (Chile?); guaje (Asturias, Spain, Asturiano term); gumbito (Tolima and Huila, Colombia); guambra (Highland Ecuador, adolescent); gerco/huerco (Monterrey, Mexico); gila (Costa Rica); giro (Guatemala); girro? (Honduras?); gur (Uruguay and northeast Argentina, popular plural = gurises, feminine form, girl = gurisa); imilla (Bolivian Altiplano = girl; see llocalla below); ishto (Guatemala, pejorative); llocalla (Bolivian Altiplano = boy; see imilla above. Are imilla and llocalla of Aymara or of Quechua origin?); mita/mita (Paraguay = boy, Guaran term); mita cua (Paraguay = girl, Guaran term); morro (Sonora, Mexico); nano (Alicante, Spain); neno (Asturias, Spain); patojo (Guatemala and Loja, Ecuador); pela(d)o (Colombia, Panama, lowland Bolivia); peladingo (lowland Bolivia); pendejo (Argentina, Uruguay, pejorative); peneca? (Chile?); peque? (Spain?); pequeajo (Spain, pejorative?); pibe (Argentina); pistusia? (Chile?); plebe (Sinaloa, Mexico); purrete (Argentina); rapacio (Galicia, Spain, Gallego term); rapaz (Len, Spain); tiguerito (Dominican Republic, pejorative, streetwise child or one who misbehaves); sardino (Colombia); vejigo (Cuba, pejorative); xiquet (Alicante, Spain, Cataln term); zagal (Spain, rural areas?). How universal is the use of chico in the sense of child? piata. In Ecuador, piatas are generally called ollas encantadas. What other local terms are there for this in other regions? quiz. What is the term used in each country for a short test? Many Spanish speakers from many different regions answered prueba and others stated that there is no specific word for it other than examen (the word for test or exam) plus a modifier such as pequeo,

34

corto, relmpago, etc. Others, however, offered specific words for quiz. Prueba was offered by people from many different countries, but the following more regionally weighted terms were also offered: aporte (Guayaquil, Ecuador; in the Sierra quizzes are called pruebas); concurso (Islas Canarias); control (Chile, Tacna, Peru, Spain, Uruguay?); cuestionario (Argentina?, Mexico, Uruguay?); cis/quiz (Colombia, Costa Rica, Nicaragua, Panama, Puerto Rico, Venezuela); escrito (Uruguay); paso (Peru); previa (Colombia); pruebn (Dominican Republic; a prueba is longer, more like a test); repaso (Bolivia, a prueba is longer); test (Argentina?, Cuba?, Mexico?, Spain, Uruguay?, Venezuela). Which countries generally use a two-term gradation scheme differentiating their tests into shorter tests and longer tests, and which use a three-way scheme consisting of short, medium and long tests (perhaps like quiz test and exam in U.S. English)? report card. Are there regional preferences between, for example, boletn and libreta? What other base terms are used? What about when modifiers are added such as de notas, de calificaciones or academico/a? Do all Spanish-speaking countries have a specific term for report card that is commonly used? Many Spanish speakers queried in this study indicated that report cards are called simply las notas. roller blades. Is there any special name for them other than patines or patines de ruedas? Sense 1 of the Dictionarys definition of patn is: Aparato de patinar que consiste en una plancha que se adapta a la suela del calzado y lleva una especie de cuchilla o dos pares de ruedas, segn sirva para ir sobre el hielo o sobre un pavimento duro, liso y muy llano. En el segundo caso se llama patn de ruedas. The above definition needs to be modified and expanded so that it covers not only the old roller skates that were attached to ones shoes, but also the more modern versions that come in the form of boots with attached wheels. The definition also describes ice skates that attached to ones shoes which is even more antiquated than attachable roller skates; the latter were common in the United States until about the late sixties/early seventies, but attachable ice skates? They probably went out of style with pipes and bow ties, if not earlier. In the different regions of the Spanishspeaking world, how common is the type of roller skate described in this definition in comparison to the more modern form of roller skates and to roller blades? scold. How do Spanish speakers say My mom scolded me? Yes, mi mam/mami/madre me rega is certainly a possibility and a form that is universally understood by educated speakers, but regaar is not the most commonly used verb in many regions. Here are some local ways of saying it that were offered by people from the regions indicated: me pasm (Len, Spain); me pele (Dominican Republic); me ri (Bolivia, Spain); me repel (Ecuador); me resondr (Peru); me ret (Argentina, Bolivia [lowland Bolivia?], Chile, Ecuador, Paraguay, Uruguay); me rezong (Uruguay); me trape (Costa Rica, rural). In addition to these verbs, several regional expressions were offered for this including: me cant las cuarenta (Spain, and elsewhere?); me ech/dio un boche (Dominican Republic); me ech/peg una bronca (Spain); me ech un puro (Spain); me ech una vaina/una descarga/un raspapolvo (Cuba); me ley la cartilla (Spain). In what regions of the Spanish-speaking world are these and other expressions commonly used? scooter. Sense 2 of patn is patinete which, in turn, is defined as, Juguete que consiste en una plancha sobre ruedas y provista de un manillar para conducirlo, sobre el que se deslizan los nios poniendo un pie sobre l e impulsndose con el otro contra el suelo. Although some have suggested patinete is the predominant term for this item in Spain and patineta in Spanish America, the breakdown does not appear to be quite that simple. The

35

following other terms for this item were also offered: carriola (Cuba); escter (from scooter, Costa Rica, Chile); monopatn (Argentina, Bolivia, Chile, Uruguay); el patn del diablo (Mexico, Puerto Rico). Given that monopatn refers to skateboard, can it also refer to scooter? Scooters may not currently be very common in many parts of the world, but in the United States in the late 1990s they made an incredible comeback and, therefore, may become popular elsewhere as well. tag. There are many different regional names given to the childrens game in which one player chases after the others until he or she is able to touch one of them who, in turn, then becomes the pursuer. The following terms have been offered by people from the following regions (this is probably only the tip of the iceberg): al agarra(d)o / a los agarra(d)o(s) (Cuba); ampay (Peru); a coger (Puerto Rico); cntaro (Honduras); a cogernos (Salamanca, Spain); las cogidas (Cuba?, Ecuador); la cogidilla (Islas Canarias); corre-corre que te pillo (Mlaga, Spain); corre que te pillo (Chile); la chapada (Junn, Peru); la chepa (Peru); chucha (Manizales, Colombia); la ere (Venezuela; Does it come from eres, present tense of ser?); eres t and t eres (Puerto Rico); la gambeta (Santander, Colombia); el loco (Dominican Republic); la lleva (Mrida, Venezuela and Colombia, Panama); la mancha (Argentina and Uruguay); a la mano negra and pasar la mano (La Paz, Bolivia); el mare (Valencia, Spain); la mica (El Salvador); la minga (Dominican Republic); psala (Panama); la pega (Guayaquil, Ecuador, Panama, Peru); pega-pega (Peru); pegada (Piura, Peru); pgale y crrele (Mexico); el pegue (Nicaragua); la pelonera (Panama); pescao (Puerto Rico); pesca-pesca (Bolivia and Yucatn, Mexico); a la peste (Tarragona, Spain); la pica (Len, Spain); al pillao (Bilbao, Spain); pillapilla (Madrid and Valencia, Spain); a pillar(se) and al pillar (Spain, Chile); la pinta (Chile); la popa (Rosario, Argentina); la queda (Asturias, Spain); qued (Costa Rica); las quemadas (Cuenca, Ecuador); a que no me coges (Puerto Rico); la roa (Mexico); la tiene (Panama); te la llevas (Andaluca, Spain); tenta (Guatemala); a las tocadas (Ambato, Ecuador); tcale y psala (Mexico); a las topadas (Quito, Ecuador); al topao (Dominican Republic); tuca- / tuke (Paraguay, Guaran terms); la tuja (Santa Cruz, Bolivia); la tula (Bolivia and Aragn, Len, Madrid and Valencia, Spain); t la llevas (Alicante, Spain); t la pagas (Zaragoza, Spain); t la traes and a la trae (Baja California del Norte, Jalisco and Michoacn, Mexico); el vale (Guayaquil, Ecuador); voland (Nicaragua). How should each of the above games be defined, that is, how is each played and in what specific regions? Should a single broad definition be used to cover many of the above or do many more specific definitions need to be devised? The following phrases were offered from the following regions as what is said at the moment when one child touches the other or to refer to the condition of being it in the game of tag: ampay me salvo (Peru); qued (Costa Rica); tiene la mica (El Salvador); t la traes (i.e. traes la roa, Mexico). to take an exam (what the student does). Do the verbs people use to express this concept in everyday language vary by region? The answer to this question is a resounding yes. Certainly, there are formal ways of stating this that are internationally accepted such as examinarse, presentarse al examen and rendir examen, but when people let their hair down a bit, the following more regionally weighted expressions are used (in many countries more than one verb is commonly used in informal language): coger (el) examen (Dominican Republic, Panama); dar (el) examen (Argentina, Bolivia, Chile, Ecuador, Paraguay, Peru, Uruguay, i.e. all of Spanish-speaking South America from Ecuador on

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south); hacer (el) examen (most of Central America, Mexico, Spain); presentar (el) examen (Colombia, Panama?, Venezuela); tener (el) examen (Spain); tomar (el) examen (Cuba?, Dominican Republic, Guatemala, Mexico, Panama, Paraguay?, Uruguay?). Interestingly enough, some from Paraguay and Uruguay indicated that both dar and tomar were used in this sense. See to give an exam below. to give an exam (what the teacher does). Given the fact that the way of expressing the concept of taking exams exhibits regional variation, it is not surprising that giving exams does likewise. While the non-regionally weighted phrases examinarles a los alumnos, aplicarles el examen or impartirles el examen are used in formal usage, everyday expressions show a more regional distribution: dar (el) examen (most of Central America, Colombia, Hispanic Antilles, Mexico, Paraguay, Spain, Uruguay, Venezuela); hacer (el) examen (Spain); poner (el) examen (Mexico, Spain); tomar (el) examen (Argentina, Bolivia, Chile, Ecuador, Paraguay, Peru, Uruguay, i.e. all of Spanishspeaking South America from Ecuador on south). Again, people from Paraguay and Uruguay indicated that both dar and tomar were used in this sense. to flunk an exam (to fail an exam in colloquial language). What verbs are equivalent to flunk? In the more formal register, verbs such as suspender, perder and desaprobar or reprobar are more or less universal, but less formal expressions are more regionally weighted: aplazar (Argentina, Bolivia, El Salvador, Honduras, Paraguay, Venezuela, and elsewhere?); bochar (Argentina, Uruguay); cargar (Spain); catear and dar un cate (Spain); colgar (Cuba, Nicaragua, Puerto Rico, Spain); corcharse (Colombia); echarse (Guatemala); escachar (Islas Canarias); follar (Valencia, Spain); fracasar (Panama, for example, in the expression fracas el examen); guindar (Puerto Rico); jalar (Peru); palmar (Valencia, Spain); pencar (Catalua, Pas Vasco, Spain); planchar (en) (Guatemala); ponchar (Cuba?, Guatemala); quedarse (Costa Rica, Honduras); quemarse (Dominican Republic); rajar (Chile, Colombia); raspar (Venezuela); sonar (en) (Costa Rica, Paraguay?); tirarse (Bolivia, Colombia, Ecuador); tronar (Guatemala, Mexico, Nicaragua). It should be noted that aplazar and quedarse, although not as formal as suspender or desaprobar, are also not as slangy as rajar, raspar or tronar, etc. Also, in some of these expressions, the verb can be transitive or intransitive, i.e. me jalaron vs. jal (el examen, en matemticas), me rajaron vs. me raj (en el examen), me tronaron vs. tron el examen, etc. In general, however, the transitive forms, such as me colgaron, me rasparon, me poncharon, etc., appear to be more common than the corresponding intransitive forms, perhaps because people naturally find it more palatable to attribute their failures to actions taken by others rather than to their own shortcomings. There are also many expressions that are even slangier and/or more vulgar than those listed above such as me cagaron, me culearon, me encajaron un huevo (i.e. un cero), me hacharon, me hicieron mierda, me huevaron, me mamaron, me lo metieron, me pasaron con la aplanadora, me reventaron. However, most in this last group are much more general in meaning in that they can refer to any situation in which one person is, or claims to be unfairly treated by another and, as is the case with the English verb screw (over), many of these expressions have sexual implications. For to just barely pass, to pass by the skin of ones neck, etc., a Mexican gave the expression pasar de panzazo and an Argentine gave pasar a gatas and pasar de refiln. Are these expressions universal, regional or idiosyncratic?

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NOTES 1. For information on items in other semantic fields whose names in Spanish vary by region, see the following works by Andre Moskowitz: Topics in Spanish lexical dialectology: food and drink. Proceedings of the 40th Annual Conference of the American Translators Association, St. Louis, Missouri, U.S.A., November 3-6, 1999. Ed. Ann G. Macfarlane. American Translators Association, 1999. 275-308. Topics in Spanish lexical dialectology: the home. Proceedings of the 39th Annual Conference of the American Translators Association, Hilton Head Island, South Carolina, U.S.A., November 4-8, 1998. Ed. Ann G. Macfarlane. American Translators Association, 1998. 221-253. Fruit and vegetable terminology in the Spanish-speaking world: regional variation. Proceedings of the 38th Annual Conference of the American Translators Association, San Francisco, California, U.S.A., November 5-9, 1997. Ed. Muriel M. Jrme-OKeeffe. American Translators Association, 1997. 233-261. Clothing terminology in the Spanish-speaking world: regional variation. Proceedings of the 37th Annual Conference of the American Translators Association, Colorado Springs, Colorado, U.S.A., October 30-November 3, 1996. Ed. Muriel M. Jrme-OKeeffe. American Translators Association, 1996. 287-308. Car terminology in the Spanish-speaking world. Proceedings of the 36th Annual Conference of the American Translators Association, Nashville, Tennessee, U.S.A., November 8-12, 1995. Ed. Peter W. Krawutschke. American Translators Association, 1995. 331-340. Contribucin al estudio del espaol ecuatoriano. Unpublished M.A. thesis. Department of Romance Languages and Literatures, University of Florida. Gainesville, Florida. 1995. A box of office supplies: dialectological fun The Georgetown Journal of Languages & Linguistics. Vol 1.3. Ed. Richard J. OBrien, S.J. 1990. 315-344. 2. The author would like to thank Dasha Hlavenka for kindly providing the illustrations that appear in this article, and Lucrecia Hug, Dbora Simcovich and Josh Wallman for editing earlier drafts and making a number of valuable suggestions. In addition, he would like to express his appreciation to Susan Black, Albert Bork, Sharlee Merner Bradley, Lolita Aniyar de Castro, Mark and Silvia Cox, Rudolf Heller, Clary Loisel, Sonia Stroessner, and Tom West for going out of their way to put me in contact with informants/respondents for this study. Last but not least, he would like to thank all of the people who generously gave of their time to answer questions on usage.

REFERENCES Alvar, Manuel. 1991. Estudios de Geografa Lingstica. Madrid: Paraninfo. Cordero, Luis. 1989. Diccionario Quichua. Quito: Corporacin Editora Nacional.

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Real Academia Espaola. 1992. Diccionario de la Lengua Espaola. 21st Edition. Madrid: Espasa-Calpe, S.A. Seco, Manuel. 1987. Estudios de Lexicografa Espaola. Madrid: Paraninfo. Soukhanov, Anne H., ed. 1996. The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language. Boston: Houghton Mifflin Company.

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