Ropa Históricas de los Muchachos: Glosario de Terminos Extranjeros--Español/
Boys' Foreign-Language Clothing Glossary: Spanish


Figure 1.--This Mexican boy wears a blue pullover sweater with collar and cuff trim and matching short pants and kneesocks.

We will archive foreign language terms here. We will use English language definitions, although we may try to add foreign language definitions in the future. At least the alphabetical listing of foreign terms will help our non-English speakers find the topics of interest. We also plan to use this page to follow foreign-language fashion terms which provide insights into fashion developments. Again this project will require some time to pursue so it will be a while before we will be able to compile a substantial list. Many Spanish clothing terms are distinct, but there are also a lot of similarities with English and French. In terms of clothing and fashion terms, the general trend has been the adoption of many English and foreign terms into Spanish. Relatively few Spanish clothing terms have become English terms. Several terms like "sombrero" have become recognizeable in English, but only a few like "poncho" have been incorporated into English.

Archivaremos aquí términos del idioma extranjero. Utilizaremos definiciones del lenguaje inglés, aunque trataremos de agregar definiciones de idiomas extranjeros en el futuro. Al menos el listado alfabético de términos no nativos ayudará a nuestros lectores no angloparlantes a encontrar los distintos temas que sean de su interés. También planeamos utilizar esta pagina para seguir los términos extranjeros que hayan tenido penetracion en el desarrollo de la moda. Este proyecto requerirá otra vez un cierto tiempo de desarrollo hasta que podamos compilar una lista substancial. Muchos términos españoles referidos a la ropa son muy distintos de un idioma a otro, pero, no obstante también existen muchas semejanzas con el inglés y el francés. En términos de la ropa y de la moda, la tendencia general ha sido la adopción de muchos términos ingleses y extranjeros en español. Relativamente pocos términos españoles de la ropa tienen términos ingleses convertidos. Varios términos como "sombrero" han llegado a ser recognizeable en inglés, pero solamente algunos como "poncho" se han incorporado en inglés.

Glossary Entries

A-L


M-Z


Spanish Language Regional Variations

Spain

Spain until the second half 20th century was a very insular, conservative country. The policies of the Catholic Church, especially the Holy Office of the Inquisition had the impact of sharply reducing foreign influences. This had a very significant imapct on the development of the Spanish economy and educational system. Spain by the 19th century was the most backward country in Western Europe. Franco's victory in the Civil War during the 1930s further reinforned this tendency. One result in linguistic terms is that until recetly, relatively few English-language words entered the Spanish language as spoken in Spain.

Latin America

Spain's Latin American colonies from Mexico to Argentina achieved their independence in the early 19th century following the Napoleonic Wars in Europe, with a few exceptions like Cuba and Puerto Rico. Each of the Latin American republics have developed along different historical patterns, but generally speaking were more open to foreign influences--especially after independence. The different historical and cultural experiences of the Latin American republics, however, has meant that there is considerable variation in the incorporation of English and other foreign-language words.
Immigration: Imigration from Europe significantly influenced language development. European immigration was especially important in Argentina. It began after independence in 1810, but the principal years were 1880-1910. Many Itlalians immigrated to Argentina, but there were immigrants from many other countries as well, including Spain and England. In the case of Argentina, the social, political and economical crisis of 2002 have caused a substantial reverse migration with many with mant people, usually the father, emmigrting to Spain, the United States, and other countries. In many cases, the emmigrants choose the country they or their ancestors came from.
Emmigration: Latin American countries have been mostly noted for receiving foreign immigrants. This changed in the second half of the 20th centuries as large numbers of Hispanics emmigrated legally and illegally to the United States. These were primarily people from Mexico and Central America, but important numbers also camed from South America. The Cuba Revolution brought large numbers of Cubans. Many have maintained their cultural and family connections which has resulted in linguistic exchanges in both directions.
Trade: Trade was an important factor affecting both cultutal ties and linguistic development. Many of the Latin American countries traded more heavily with Europe than the United States in the 19th century. The Argerntines for example shipped meat primarily to Europe, especially England and Italy. Latin American countries have also had bartying trade policies. Argentina, for example from about 1930-74 established very stringent import policies to incourage the development of national industries. Only in the 1990s were imported products widely available in Argentina. Foreign products wre normally more avilable in the smaller countries that did not have the economic base to support industrial production.
Culture: France was of considerable cultural importance in the 19th century. In the 20th century this has shifted and the United States has become more important economically and culturally. A major factor here has been the mass media, movies and especially television. The use of American television programing is pervasive in Latin America. The expanding cultural ties have played an important role in the incorportaion of English-language words into Spanish, especially the Spanish spoken in Latin America.
Technology: A combination of historical, cultural, and economic factors caused Spain in the 16th centurty to close itself off from the outside world. Spain at the time was the wealthiest most powerful nation in Europe. (There are many examples in history of rich, powerful countries cutting themselves off from foreign influences and discouraging inovation only to find themselves becoming weak economic backwaters.) Jews and Moors had been forced to convert or expelled. The Office of the Holy Inquisition guarded agianst religious hersey and all foreigers were suspect as were foreign ideas and books. Universities did not promote free thought and scierntific inquiry. The result was that Spain and it colonies did not significantly participate in the scientific and other technological advances being made in other European countries. As a result, in the Spanish language most scientific and other technical terms are cognates (nuclear, radar, radio, television, etc.) or direct translations (ferrocaril) of English or other languages.
GeographyThe different historical and cultural experiences of the Latin American republics, however, has meant that there is considerable variation in the incorporation of English and other foreign-language words. This incorporation of English words has been especially extensive in Mexico which borders the United States as well as the countries of Central America and the Caribbean.

United States

Across the border in the United States, the large Hispanic population has played a major role in introducing large numbers of Spanish words into English. Many young Hispanics in the United States, in many cases caught in a sence between two languages have begun to speak what some have termed as Spanglish. Spanglish has also begun to appear in Latin America. The linguistic development in Latin America is not unlike what occurred in America after independence from Britain in the late 20th century. There are a variety of different terms used in Britain and America, including clothing terms. While these terms are recogniazable in both countries, Americans and Brits are not always aware of the differeing usages. The situation is much more complicated in Latin America as there are so many more countries involved with varied historical, cultural, and seconomic experiences.

Clothing Terms

In terms of clothing and fashion terms, the general trend has been the adoption of many English and foreign terms into Spanish. These terms include blazer, cardigan, jeans, jersey, socks (called "zoquetes" in Argentina), sweaters, and many others. Relatively few Spanish clothing terms have become English terms. Several terms like "sombrero" have become recognizeable in English, but only a few like "poncho" have been incorporated into English.






Christopher Wagner






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Created: September 26, 2001
Last updated: June 16, 2002