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La Onda and Other Youthful Mexican Expressions

Author(s): Marion F. FreemanSource: Hispania, Vol. 66, No. 2 (May, 1983), pp. 260-261Published by: American Association of Teachers of Spanish and PortugueseStable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/341408

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Hispania 66 (May 1983)ispania 66 (May 1983)

uruguayo esta fastidiado por una conversa-cion comienza a ametrallar con el -ta. Seoye entonces algo muy curioso: ta tatatatatd ta. Es como se dijera: No me mo-leste mas.2Esta expresi6n ha encontrado ultima-mente un sustituto que parece quererregenerar la perdida material ocurrida yque ha comenzado a usarse con bastantefrecuencia, aunque solo para indicar apro-bacion y jamas molestia. Se trata de ahiva, que es la continuadora de ahi estacenuso desde hace varios afos.Sin embargo, en el momento actual el-ta se halla en pleno apogeo, sobre todo,como se ha dicho, entre las generacionesmas j6venes, y esta demostrando, desdehace varios anos, que no es un fenomenotemporario o pasajero sino estable y, sobre

uruguayo esta fastidiado por una conversa-cion comienza a ametrallar con el -ta. Seoye entonces algo muy curioso: ta tatatatatd ta. Es como se dijera: No me mo-leste mas.2Esta expresi6n ha encontrado ultima-mente un sustituto que parece quererregenerar la perdida material ocurrida yque ha comenzado a usarse con bastantefrecuencia, aunque solo para indicar apro-bacion y jamas molestia. Se trata de ahiva, que es la continuadora de ahi estacenuso desde hace varios afos.Sin embargo, en el momento actual el-ta se halla en pleno apogeo, sobre todo,como se ha dicho, entre las generacionesmas j6venes, y esta demostrando, desdehace varios anos, que no es un fenomenotemporario o pasajero sino estable y, sobre

todo, identificador de un grupo lingiis-tico hispanohablante.NOTAS

'La forma de acuerdo siempre tuvo muy pocosusuarios en el Uruguay, tal vez porque se siente unpoco forzada o snob. Se prefiere el lenguaje menosprotocolar.2Lo mas extraordinario de estos casos es que loshablantes no son conscientes de su proceder lin-giuistico. Una gran profesora de espafol me seial6en una oportunidad que lo que yo sostenia no eraexacto y hasta lleg6 a ridiculizar mi aserto. A lostres minutos cay6 una persona con un papel parafirmar y ante una pregunta dijo: ta-tata-tata. Deinmediato le hice ver su conducta lingiiistica y nosupo c6mo justificarse.

todo, identificador de un grupo lingiis-tico hispanohablante.NOTAS

'La forma de acuerdo siempre tuvo muy pocosusuarios en el Uruguay, tal vez porque se siente unpoco forzada o snob. Se prefiere el lenguaje menosprotocolar.2Lo mas extraordinario de estos casos es que loshablantes no son conscientes de su proceder lin-giuistico. Una gran profesora de espafol me seial6en una oportunidad que lo que yo sostenia no eraexacto y hasta lleg6 a ridiculizar mi aserto. A lostres minutos cay6 una persona con un papel parafirmar y ante una pregunta dijo: ta-tata-tata. Deinmediato le hice ver su conducta lingiiistica y nosupo c6mo justificarse.

LA ONDA AND OTHER YOUTHFUL MEXICAN EXPRESSIONSMARIONF. FREEMANColorado State University, Fort Collins

LA ONDA AND OTHER YOUTHFUL MEXICAN EXPRESSIONSMARIONF. FREEMANColorado State University, Fort Collins

Que onda(s)?: a question heard as fre-quently among young Mexicans as themore universal g Que tal? or the very Mexi-can , Que paso? But it does not stop there;la onda seems to have come to stay andforms the basis of a large number of ex-pressions found in relaxed and easygoingconversations among members of the samepeer group. Its particular identificationwith the younger generation is made patentby the name of the literary group-"laOnda"-formed by Jose Agustin and Gus-tavo Sainz, two of Mexico's more recentliterary arrivals. In a general article onMexico's young writers, Xorge del Campoclearly establishes a relation between theword onda and this group of youngauthors who wish to lead their country'sliterature in new directions.' No con-temporary word can better reflect the at-titudes of a group of "with it" literaryrebels who reject the established normsand seek to do their own, innovative thing.During my three years of teaching in oneof Monterrey Technological Institute'spreparatory schools (La Prepa), in Guay-mas, Sonora, I was exposed to and de-lighted by modern Mexican colloquial us-age, and prided myself on learning to useit as naturally and creatively (at times ) asmy students and colleagues. To what Eng-lish slang word or idea, I asked myself re-peatedly, does this onda correspond?Its most direct English translation, ofcourse, is wave and there is a definite

Que onda(s)?: a question heard as fre-quently among young Mexicans as themore universal g Que tal? or the very Mexi-can , Que paso? But it does not stop there;la onda seems to have come to stay andforms the basis of a large number of ex-pressions found in relaxed and easygoingconversations among members of the samepeer group. Its particular identificationwith the younger generation is made patentby the name of the literary group-"laOnda"-formed by Jose Agustin and Gus-tavo Sainz, two of Mexico's more recentliterary arrivals. In a general article onMexico's young writers, Xorge del Campoclearly establishes a relation between theword onda and this group of youngauthors who wish to lead their country'sliterature in new directions.' No con-temporary word can better reflect the at-titudes of a group of "with it" literaryrebels who reject the established normsand seek to do their own, innovative thing.During my three years of teaching in oneof Monterrey Technological Institute'spreparatory schools (La Prepa), in Guay-mas, Sonora, I was exposed to and de-lighted by modern Mexican colloquial us-age, and prided myself on learning to useit as naturally and creatively (at times ) asmy students and colleagues. To what Eng-lish slang word or idea, I asked myself re-peatedly, does this onda correspond?Its most direct English translation, ofcourse, is wave and there is a definite

implication of the idea of wavelength inmany of the expressions based on it. Thereseems to be, however, no single Englishword which covers all of its widespreaduses. Examples of uses employing the wordonda are:iQue onda? What's the deal? What's going on?;(Que) buena onda (What a) good deal Neati(Que) mala onda (What a) bad dealMe sac6 de onda. It blew my mind. It freaked me out.Por fin agarre la onda. I finally caught on.Fulano estd en onda. So-and-So is on the right track,on base, with it.Mangano estd fuera de onda. What's-his-name isn'twith it, on the wrong track, out of it.Se me fue la onda. I forgot what I was saying, lostmy train of thought.

Besides the ever present onda, other fair-ly new slang terms seem to have gaineduniversal acceptance.2 Most frequent visi-tors to Mexico are familiar with such ex-pressions of approval or disapproval aspadre3 or suave* (neat, great) or desmadre(a very strong term, almost whispered bysome, meaning disaster). But how manystayed long enough or became deeplyenough involved in everyday activities tohear the words gacho (bad news, malaonda) or chilo (great, super) or to be calledmaestro or maestra by someone who isvery hip and probably smokes mota? Thislast term of address will surely be utteredby prep school or university students andis bound to offend and horrify their elders.Therefore, it is usually reserved for con-

implication of the idea of wavelength inmany of the expressions based on it. Thereseems to be, however, no single Englishword which covers all of its widespreaduses. Examples of uses employing the wordonda are:iQue onda? What's the deal? What's going on?;(Que) buena onda (What a) good deal Neati(Que) mala onda (What a) bad dealMe sac6 de onda. It blew my mind. It freaked me out.Por fin agarre la onda. I finally caught on.Fulano estd en onda. So-and-So is on the right track,on base, with it.Mangano estd fuera de onda. What's-his-name isn'twith it, on the wrong track, out of it.Se me fue la onda. I forgot what I was saying, lostmy train of thought.

Besides the ever present onda, other fair-ly new slang terms seem to have gaineduniversal acceptance.2 Most frequent visi-tors to Mexico are familiar with such ex-pressions of approval or disapproval aspadre3 or suave* (neat, great) or desmadre(a very strong term, almost whispered bysome, meaning disaster). But how manystayed long enough or became deeplyenough involved in everyday activities tohear the words gacho (bad news, malaonda) or chilo (great, super) or to be calledmaestro or maestra by someone who isvery hip and probably smokes mota? Thislast term of address will surely be utteredby prep school or university students andis bound to offend and horrify their elders.Therefore, it is usually reserved for con-

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Teaching in ElementarySchoolseaching in ElementarySchoolsversations with those of one's own socialcircle. No problem, man is frequently ren-dered, No hay pedo, maestro any literalmeaning of that term seemingly lost. Thissame age group will also refrain from usingthe words alivianar and alivianada in aneven semiformal or polite conversation.They mean roughly the same as aliviar andalivio (and are in Larousse) but are some-how not considered correct or respectful.Another very frequently heard descrip-tive expression is a todo dar (great, fan-tastic). It functions in an utterance as anordinary, one-word adjective: Pepe es atodo dar, iQue a todo darThe school environment offers its ownspecial colloquialisms, not all of themnecessarily of the most recent origin. ThePrepos (prep school students) may referto themselves or be referred to by theirteachers as raza or the typical Mexicanpenchant for the diminutive, racilla. Theymay tronar (flunk) a course or blame it onthe instructor (me tron6). At test time theexpressions machacar o aprender de ma-

versations with those of one's own socialcircle. No problem, man is frequently ren-dered, No hay pedo, maestro any literalmeaning of that term seemingly lost. Thissame age group will also refrain from usingthe words alivianar and alivianada in aneven semiformal or polite conversation.They mean roughly the same as aliviar andalivio (and are in Larousse) but are some-how not considered correct or respectful.Another very frequently heard descrip-tive expression is a todo dar (great, fan-tastic). It functions in an utterance as anordinary, one-word adjective: Pepe es atodo dar, iQue a todo darThe school environment offers its ownspecial colloquialisms, not all of themnecessarily of the most recent origin. ThePrepos (prep school students) may referto themselves or be referred to by theirteachers as raza or the typical Mexicanpenchant for the diminutive, racilla. Theymay tronar (flunk) a course or blame it onthe instructor (me tron6). At test time theexpressions machacar o aprender de ma-

chete (to cram) are often heard.Mexico's young authors are concerned,among other things, with their own gen-eration. Many of the above words andphrases, not listed in the dictionaries, arefound in their writings. This partial listmay be helpful to their readers as well as toexchange students and others who come incontact with the Spanish of Mexico.NOTES

'Xorge del Campo, "La narrative joven de Mexi-co," Studies in Short Fiction, viii (Winter 1971),pp. 180-98.21 would wonder if perhaps some of the expres-sions are found only in Sonora or northern Mexicoif it were not for the fact that a university-levelbranch of Monterrey Tech is located in Guaymas.I thus came in contact with students and professorsfrom all areas of the country.3Padre is listed in Francisco J. Santamaria, Dic-cionario de mejicanismos (Mexico, 1974). Otherwords appearing in the Diccionario with the meaningindicated in my list will be marked with an asterisk.

chete (to cram) are often heard.Mexico's young authors are concerned,among other things, with their own gen-eration. Many of the above words andphrases, not listed in the dictionaries, arefound in their writings. This partial listmay be helpful to their readers as well as toexchange students and others who come incontact with the Spanish of Mexico.NOTES

'Xorge del Campo, "La narrative joven de Mexi-co," Studies in Short Fiction, viii (Winter 1971),pp. 180-98.21 would wonder if perhaps some of the expres-sions are found only in Sonora or northern Mexicoif it were not for the fact that a university-levelbranch of Monterrey Tech is located in Guaymas.I thus came in contact with students and professorsfrom all areas of the country.3Padre is listed in Francisco J. Santamaria, Dic-cionario de mejicanismos (Mexico, 1974). Otherwords appearing in the Diccionario with the meaningindicated in my list will be marked with an asterisk.

TEACHING N ELEMENTARYCHOOLSCONDUCTED BY LEONOR A. LAREW*

KINDERGARTENERS AND PARENTS: LEARNING SPANISH TOGETHERMARCIA H. ROSENBUSCHIowa State University

TEACHING N ELEMENTARYCHOOLSCONDUCTED BY LEONOR A. LAREW*

KINDERGARTENERS AND PARENTS: LEARNING SPANISH TOGETHERMARCIA H. ROSENBUSCHIowa State University

Roosevelt Elementary School in Ames,Iowa has offered extracurricular foreignlanguage classes in French, German, andSpanish through the past five years. Theclasses meet before school, at noon hour,or after school for forty-five minutes twicea week during two twelve week sessions.They are available to children from firstthrough sixth grade on a tuition basis. Par-ent volunteers organize and administerthe classes, collect the tuition, hire andpay the salaries of the teachers, and pro-vide the teaching materials for the classes.The school supports the program by pro-viding the meeting space.When parents of kindergarteners re-quested a Spanish class for their childrenthe idea of an evening class for childrenand their parents developed since the Span-ish teacher was interested in involving the*Articles for this section may be sent to Prof. LeonorA. Larew, New York State University College,Geneseo, N.Y. 14454.

Roosevelt Elementary School in Ames,Iowa has offered extracurricular foreignlanguage classes in French, German, andSpanish through the past five years. Theclasses meet before school, at noon hour,or after school for forty-five minutes twicea week during two twelve week sessions.They are available to children from firstthrough sixth grade on a tuition basis. Par-ent volunteers organize and administerthe classes, collect the tuition, hire andpay the salaries of the teachers, and pro-vide the teaching materials for the classes.The school supports the program by pro-viding the meeting space.When parents of kindergarteners re-quested a Spanish class for their childrenthe idea of an evening class for childrenand their parents developed since the Span-ish teacher was interested in involving the*Articles for this section may be sent to Prof. LeonorA. Larew, New York State University College,Geneseo, N.Y. 14454.

parents in the learning process and wasunavailable for more daytime classes. Aclass was proposed which would meet onenight a week for forty-five minutes duringone session with the possibility of continu-ing a second session. The class came intoexistence when seven families signed upwho were able to meet on the same night ofthe week.The basic objective for the class was todevelop a positive attitude toward thelearning of Spanish. Goals leading to thisobjective were: 1) to encourage enjoymentof the language; 2) to encourage good pro-nunciation; 3) to stimulate communicationin the language; 4) to introduce the gram-matical concepts of gender, the formationof the plural of nouns, and sentence wordorder; 5) to stimulate interest in Latin cul-ture; 6) to provide a positive learning ex-perience for children and parents together.The general procedure to be used inteaching the class was of concern for tworeasons:

parents in the learning process and wasunavailable for more daytime classes. Aclass was proposed which would meet onenight a week for forty-five minutes duringone session with the possibility of continu-ing a second session. The class came intoexistence when seven families signed upwho were able to meet on the same night ofthe week.The basic objective for the class was todevelop a positive attitude toward thelearning of Spanish. Goals leading to thisobjective were: 1) to encourage enjoymentof the language; 2) to encourage good pro-nunciation; 3) to stimulate communicationin the language; 4) to introduce the gram-matical concepts of gender, the formationof the plural of nouns, and sentence wordorder; 5) to stimulate interest in Latin cul-ture; 6) to provide a positive learning ex-perience for children and parents together.The general procedure to be used inteaching the class was of concern for tworeasons:

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