Lexical Usage of and Attitude toward Southwest Spanish in the Ysleta, Texas, Area

Author(s): Karen G. Ramírez

Source: Hispania, Vol. 56, Special Issue (Apr., 1973), pp. 308-315
Published by: American Association of Teachers of Spanish and Portuguese
Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/339023
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308 HISPANIA
Agora vou matar 6 a princesa encantada! (p.
72)
4. Conclusion.
While the intrusive ser construction
often seems to carry some sort of promi-
nence for what follows-or for the whole
sentence-it is clear that the construction has
been extended far beyond what was no doubt
its original use and is now simply a speech
pattern well ingrained in the colloquial
language of untutored Brazilians, reflected
in the writings of contemporary authors.8
Whether this construction should be
taught and drilled in courses in Portuguese
for middle-class foreigners is obviously open
to debate. However for grammarians-
native and foreign alike-to slight it is to
leave an uncommented grammatical mystery
for the foreign reader who enters into the
magnificent world of contemporary
Brazilian writers, and a major lacuna in
descriptions of the language.
NOTES
'References, with page numbers, are to the following:
Jorge Amado, Mar Morto, Lisboa: Publicag6es Europa-
Am6rica, 1966; DIAS GOMES, O Pagador de Promessas,
3a. ed., Rio de Janeiro: Civilizagao Brasileira, 1967: Joao
GUIMARAES ROSA, Primeiras Estorias, 4a. ed., Rio de
Janeiro: Jos6 Olympio, 1968: Francisco PEREIRA DA
LEXICAL USAGE OF AND ATTITUDE TOWARD SOUTHWEST
SPANISH IN THE YSLETA, TEXAS, AREA
KAREN G. RAMIREZ
University of Texas at El Paso
Introduction
The purpose of this study is to attempt to
determine the extent of the use of Tirilongo,
an informal code of Southwest Spanish (also
called Tirili, Tirilon, Bato, Pachuco, etc.), in
the Ysleta area of El Paso, Texas. The area
begins just east of the Hidden Valley section
and extends on to the Ysleta eastern city
limits, six to ten miles from Second Ward,
the southern section of El Paso, where the
use of Tirilongo is wide-spread.
The South El Paso and Ysleta com-
munities have very little in common, other
than the fact that the majority of their
inhabitants speak Spanish. South El Paso is a
typical ghetto area and is the first (and often
the last) stop in the United States for
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56 (April 1973)
SILVA, Chapdu-de-Sebo, Rio de Janeiro: Agir, 1966;
Rachel de QUEIROZ, Caminho de Pedras, 5a. ed., Rio de
Janeiro: Jos6 Olympio, 1967; Jose Lins do REGO,
Menino de Engenho, 8a. ed., Rio de Janeiro: Jos6 Olym-
pio, 1965; Ariano SUASSUNA, Auto da Compadecida, in
Teatro Brasileiro Contemporaneo, Wilson Martins and
Seymour Menton, eds., New York; Appleton-Century
Crofts, 1966; and Erico VERISSIMO, Clarissa, 3a. ed.,
Rio de Janeiro: Globo, 1960.
2A future article by the present author will concern it-
self with the full range of peculiar Brazilian-Portuguese
usages of ser.
3E.g., Nelly Alves de Almeida, Estudos s6bre quatro
regionalistas, Goiinia: Imprensa da U.F.G., 1968, con-
siders e que (pp. 115-16, 432-3) and mas era-with exam-
ples only in the imperfect-(pp. 417-19) in Goianian
authors.
4Celso Cunha, Gramitice do portugues contemporineo,
Belo Horizonte: Bernado Alvares, S.A., 1969, 376 pp.
5It seems both pointless and unkind to list the many
reference works consulted which had nothing to say about
this construction.
6Fred P. Ellison, Francisco Gomes de Matos et al, First
edition, New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 1971, 336-37.
7The choice of sources for examples is purely arbitrary.
Any contemporary novel, play, or short story dealing with
contemporary life in Brazil will probably provide similar
examples.
8The construction is not regularly attributed to
Brazilians of middle or upper class. Works consulted, with
the exception of Amado, do not show the construction in
narration. Many cronistas, however, have incorporated it
into narrative style. Immigrant types do not use it. It ap-
pears that intrusive ser is most characteristic of the nor-
destino; indeed it was a Baiana who once told me "Nosso
portugubs 6 mais puro porque nossa raga 6 mais
pura"-meaning, of course, more Brazilian!
Mexican immigrants; Ysleta, now in-
corporated into the city of El Paso, remains
a rural farming community whose residents,
in general, have lived there for generations.
South El Paso residents who relocate in the
Ysleta area settle, for the most part, around
the Hidden Valley section which is a tran-
sitional area between El Paso proper and
Ysleta. Generally, they have left South El
Paso as a result of their desire to improve
themselves, and along with the change in
living conditions comes a change in
language usage.
The most extensive study, The Tongue of
the Tirilones, was published by Lurline H.
Coltharp of the University of Texas at El
Paso (1965). According to this study, based
 NOTES ON USAGE
on field work in several adjacent blocks of
South El Paso, the Tirilones are an
economically deprived Latin American
people who have settled in the southern sec-
tion of El Paso, many of whom speak, in ad-
dition to English and Spanish, a third
"language" or calo (Coltharp, 1965). In the
present article, it will be referred to as
Tirilongo, a term as current as any, and
perhaps more so than is Pachuco.
A certain amount of mystery surrounds
Tirilongo, giving rise to numerous theories
and hypotheses. Some trace much of the
code to a corpus of jargon dating from the
World War I era, while others have
associated it with criminal, or at least
deviant, elements (Cf. Barker, 1950
References). In its beginnings as a criminal
argot, it served (like thieves' cant throughout
history) as linguistic protection in illegal ac-
tivities or from police reprisal (Cf. Braddy,
1960; Trejo, 1968 References).
Tirilongo now has wide diffusion beyond
El Paso and it has been informally
"codified" and recognized as a separate
code. Its content, mostly nouns and ad-
jectives (as well as some little-studied
suprasegmental features), are now not only
within the repertory of juvenile deviants, but
of almost all socio-economic classes (Cf.
Barker, 1950, References), particularly
among younger males seeking picturesque or
affective semantic shadings in their informal
discourses. Because of this rather remarkable
diffusion, it has lost much of its in-group ap-
plication, except for persons well over sixty
and, at least as far as active vocabulary use
is concerned, for females and indeed for
very "correct" individuals of either sex (par-
ticularly teachers, officials, etc.), who feel
that its use would be degrading. Even these
individuals would, nevertheless, display
"passive" knowledge of its meaning, but
might be loath to admit it.
The personal observations of the writer, as
well as work done in this study, provide
assurance that most Tirilongo items are as
readily comprehended in Ysleta, despite its
more isolated, rustic setting, as in the more
urban, metropolitan El Paso "inner city."
Methodology
The fifteen informants were chosen in-
discriminately from various sections of
Ysleta and from Ysleta High School; they
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309
volunteered their help and were referred by
one another to the interviewer. Their oc-
cupations cover a wide range from student to
housewife to auto-parts warehouseman to
physician. They were, however, divided into
three age-groups: under twenty years of age,
between twenty and forty years of age, and
over forty years of age. This was done in or-
der to determine any differences in
language-usage and in language-attitude be-
tween the age groups.
The twenty-five Tirilongo terms used were
chosen at random from The Tongue of the
Tirilones, and to each "slang" term was ad-
ded others of similar meaning; these were
then matched to "proper" terms. (It was
decided to use these very unscientific terms
on the basis of previous field-examinations.
It was found that the terms were most
readily understood and used by all of the in-
formants, so for the purpose of eliciting their
true attitudes, their own labels were used.
"Proper" is a term that could be used in for-
mal conversations and in literary situations;
"acceptable" is a term that could be used in
both formal and informal conversations; and
"slang" is a term that should only be used in
informal situations among family and
friends). Twenty-five sentences were then
composed which could terminate in each of
these Tirilongo terms (Cf. Kelly, 1969
References). These sentences were translated
from English into Spanish by ten additional
informants, and interference is noted in the
translations. "With the darkest skin" was
consistently translated con el piel mas oscuro
rather than de la piel mas oscura; "to learn
how to teach" was translated aprender como
ensehar, rather than aprender a ensehiar.
Another instance of English interference is
noted in such phrases as "an illiterate," "a
job," "a truck driver," "a wino," "a flat-
terer," "a liar," and "a prostitute" which
were translated un analfabeto, un trabajo, un
camionero, un vinatero, un adulador, un em-
bustero, and una prostituta. The translations
were used without attempting to standardize
them; lexical choices also appear exactly as
they were given.
The interviewer read the sentences orally,
and the informant completed each sentence
with the first term that came to his mind.
The informant was then asked a set of
questions concerning his choices, i.e., with
310 HISPANIA
whom he would use these terms and under
what circumstances. He was asked if he had
used or would use any other terms, with
whom, and under what circumstances. He
was asked to recall having heard any other
terms and, again, who used them, with whom
they were used, and under what cir-
cumstances.
Those items chosen first, those also used,
and those heard by each informant were
charted according to age groups. Percentages
and attitudes were figured for the three
groups, both individually and in a com-
parative study.
Results
The following twenty-five sentences were
used to elicit lexical usage from the in-
formants. All choices are written in paren-
theses, with standard terms first and non-
standard terms, along with those which don't
quite belong, second. Terms found in The
Tongue of the Tirilones are underlined. The
informants' first choices, along with at-
titudes toward their personal lexicon, are
noted after each sentence. All other terms
used or heard by them were classified in all
three attitude categories, unless otherwise
stated.
1. Voy al baile. Van a tener buen orques-
tra [sic] y tengo ganas de (bailar / borlotear,
chanclear, dar vueltas, tirar chancla, tirar
chanclas, zapatear).
It is interesting to note that the first choice
of all informants was bailar which was con-
sidered "proper." Borlotear, dar vueltas, and
chanclear had been used and were con-
sidered "acceptable," while all other terms
which were used or heard were considered
"slang."
2. Las personas con el piel mas oscuro son
(negros / alemanes, chugas, chuguitas, de
color, llantones, mallates, morenos, negritos,
prietos, tintos, tiraches).
Negros, which was considered "proper,"
was the choice of all informants under
twenty years of age. Negros was also the
choice of many other informants who also
considered it to be "proper." Other choices
were mallates which was considered "slang,"
and morenos which was considered
"proper." One informant offered the opinion
that negroes were called chugas because they
called everyone "sugah."
3. Un hombre del campo que no tiene
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56 (April 1973)
much educacion ni cultura es un (analfabeto,
humilde, ignorante, iliterato, ineducado, in-
culto / bracero, chivero', erreje, granadero,
jinete, labrador, menso, mogrero, mojado,
pendejo, peon, ranchero, surrumato, tapado,
tonto).
Ignorante was a first choice in all three
age groups and was considered "proper."
Other choices were ineducado, ranchero,
humilde, mogrero, and peon, all of which
were considered "proper," and menso and
surrumato which were considered "ac-
ceptable." Bracero and chivero were con-
sidered "slang."
4. Necesito ganar dinero, y por eso, tengo
que buscar un (empleo, trabajo / camallar,2
chamba, jale, puesto).
Trabaj• and empleo were first choices
which were considered "proper," and jale
was considered "slang."
5. Un hombre que carga mercancia o
ganado en un vehiculo grande se llama un
(camionero, cargador, chofer / chofero,
maestro, manejador, troquero).
First choices which were considered
"proper" were chofer, manejador, and
camionero; troquero was considered in all
three attitude categories. Other terms used
and heard were all considered "proper."
6. El viejo no quiere compartir su dinero
porque es muy (dvaro, misero / agarrado,
apretado, chinchi, chipe, codo, invidioso,
raspa, rind, tacaho).
First choices which 'vere considered
"proper" were misero, tacaho, invidioso, and
rind. Other first choices were agarrado and
codo which were classified in all three at-
titude categories. Chinchi was a first choice
which was considered "slang."
7. Las personas cuyas padres vinieron de
Mexico se Ilaman (Mexico-americanos /
chicanos, espahioles, hispanos, indios-
espahios, la raza, la raza mexicana,
mexicanos, mojados, pochos).
Espaiioles and mexicanos were first
choices which were considered "proper."
Another first choice was chicanos which was
considered both "acceptable" and "slang."
Pochos was a first choice which was con-
sidered "slang."
8. Una muchacha que tiene mucho miedo
es muy (cobarde, miedosa, nerviosa,
temerosa, timida / asustona, chiva, escama,
escamada, escandalosa, reservada).
 NOTESON USAGE
"Proper" first choices were cobarde,
miedosa, nerviosa, and timida. Escamada
was a first choice which was considered
"slang."
9. El marido que quiere salir solo del
hogar tiene que tener el permiso de la
(esposa / controla, jaina,3 jefa,3 marida,
mujer, ruca, sehora, vieja).
Esposa was a first choice which was con-
sidered "proper." First choices considered
"slang" were jefa and ruca.
10. El hombre adicto al vino se llama un
(vinatero / alcoh6lico, vicioso, borrachento,
borracho, giiainero, giiaino,4 pisto,5 tomador).
Alcoh6lico and tomador were first choices
which were considered "proper." Borracho,
another first choice, was considered both
"proper" and "acceptable." A first choice
which was considered both "acceptable" and
"slang" was giiaino. Borrachento and
giiainero were considered "slang."
11. La persona que anda chismeando de
casa a casa se llama (cuentista, murmurador
/ chirinolera, chismosa, chivinolera, coma-
drera, cotera, embustera, jacalero, meticha).
Cotera and cuentista were considered
"proper." Chismosa was considered both
"proper" and "acceptable." Chirinolera fell
in the category of all three attitudes. Of the
terms used and heard, meticha was con-
sidered "acceptable." Chivinolera, found in
Dr. Coltharp's book, was completely
unknown.
12. Uno que pgradece a su jefe, para
elevarse, es un (adulador, lisonjero, zalamero
/ agradecido, barbero, chucho, falso, labioso,
lambero, lambiache, lambiche, lambichero,
lambion, lambishi, lambista).
"Proper" choices were adulador,
agradecido, and falso. Lambion was con-
sidered both "proper" and "acceptable."
Lambero, lambiche, lambichero, lambishi,
and lambista were considered "slang."
Zalamero was unknown to informants below
forty years of age.
13. Cuando tiene hambre al mediodia, sale
del trabajo para (almorzar, comer / la
pastura, lonchar, refinar, tragar).
Almorzar and comer were considered
"proper." It is interesting to note, however,
that only one informant chose almorzar; in
this area there seems to be some confusion in
semantics, and almorzar is used as 'to eat
breakfast.'
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311
14. La persona que cuenta mentiras es un
(embustero, engahiador, mentiroso /
hablador, maderista).
Embustero was considered "proper." Men-
tiroso was considered both "proper" and "ac-
ceptable."
15. Las personas que viven en Tejas se
llaman (pasehos / pachucos, paisanos,
pochos,6 son de El Paso, vatos del Chuco).
"Proper" choices were paisanos, pasehos,
and vatos del Chuco. Son de El Paso was
considered "acceptable." Approximately one
fourth of the informants made no response.
All the informants had heard pachucos, but
all agreed that it has a different connotation.
16. La mujer que vende el amor se llama
una (cortesana, mujer de la calle, prostituta,
puta, ramera / baja, chutea, cualquiera,
degenerada, pey, piluja, piruja, pluma, sin
vergiienza, vieja de la calle).
The choice which was considered
"proper" was prostituta. Puta was considered
both "proper" and "acceptable." Pluma was
considered in all three attitude categories.
Vieja de la calle was considered "ac-
ceptable," while chutea and pey were con-
sidered "slang." Only two informants over
forty years of age had ever heard ramera,
which was considered "proper."
17. Con unas puertas tiene que jalar; con
otras tiene que (empujar / empuchar, puchar,
pushar).
Empujar was considered "proper." Em-
puchar was considered "acceptable," while
puchar fell in all three attitude categories.
Pushar was considered "slang."
18. En la guerra de Vietnam ya se
mataron muchos (soldados / sardinas, sar-
dos).
Soldados was the only choice, and it was
considered "proper." Informants below
twenty years of age had never heard sardos.
19. El maestro estudio en la universidad
para aprender como (enseihar, educar /
profesorar, tichar).
Ensehiar and profesorar were considered
"proper." Tichar was considered "ac-
ceptable," although informants below twenty
years of age had never heard it.
20. La muchacha que tiene novio y que
sale con otro, sin que el novio lo sepa, le esta
(engahiando / chanceando, escondiendo,
haciendo tonto, madereando, manjeando,
quemando, sanchando, sancheando,
312
traisonando).
Engaiando and traisonando were con-
sidered "proper." Haciendo tonto, escon-
diendo, and sanchando were considered "ac-
ceptable," but chanceando and quemando
were considered "slang."
21. Quiero fumar; dame un (cigarillo,
cigarro / frajo, leho, pitillo).
Choices which were considered "proper"
were cigarillo and cigarro. Frajo was con-
sidered both "acceptable" and "slang," while
pitillo was considered "slang." Lehio had
been used in this situation, although it sup-
posedly refers to a marijuana cigarette.
22. En la zona delante de la corte que esta
pintada de rojo, no puede (estacionarse /
parar,7 pararse, parquear, parquearse).
Estacionarse, parar, and parquear were all
considered "proper" whereas parquearse was
considered both "acceptable" and "slang."
23. Ya, como tengo empleo, tengo que
levantarme a las cinco, que es muy temprano
de la (mahana / baraha, madrugada).
Both madrugada and mahana were con-
sidered "proper." No informant under
twenty years of age had heard baraiia.
24. Los articulos que se ponen en los pies
antes de ponerse los zapatos son (calcetas,
calcetines / sacatines, tubos).
Calcetines was considered both "ac-
ceptable" and "proper." No informant below
forty years of age had heard of tubos.
25. Cuando uno le pregunta algo, y usted
esta de acuerdo, contestarai (si / nacho,
simon, sirolas).
All informants chose si which was con-
sidered "proper."
This, of course, is not a report of the com-
plete study. Anyone interested in the com-
plete study with percentages and attitudes of
all lexical items chosen, used, and heard for
each age group may refer to the copy in the
library at the University of Texas at El Paso.
CONCLUSION
The South El Paso dialect, like all
languages whether standard or non-standard,
is subject to constant change, and along with
semantic and lexical changes come changes
in norms and attitudes. These changes can
easily occur under normal circumstances in a
unilingual community which is influenced
only from within; in a bilingual area, in-
fluences are much greater. Community and
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HISPANIA 56 (April 1973)
personal beliefs, along with personal and
group values and practices, determine
language usage in a unilingual area; in a
bilingual area, such as El Paso, each culture
and each language influence the other (Cf.
Craddock, 1970, References).
In the El Paso area, English may not
necessarily be the majority language, but it is
the dominant and official one. English is
used in the schools, in the courts and, with
the exception of South El Paso, in business.
In El Paso proper, church services are con-
ducted in English, although Spanish services
are conducted in South El Paso and in the
outlying areas of Canutillo and Ysleta. In
general, Spanish is spoken by Mexican
Americans in the home with members of the
family and outside the home with friends. It
may be presumed, then, that English is
regarded as a formal language and that
Spanish is regarded as an informal language.
As the dominant language, English exerts
a very strong influence over changes in or
additions to the local Spanish dialect. Such
words as chipe, giiaino, lonchar, parquear,
puchar, and tichar reflect the English coun-
terparts 'cheap,' 'wino,' 'to have lunch,' 'to
park,' 'to push,' and 'to teach.' Thus, the
South El Paso dialect is subject to change
not only from within, but also from without,
as is the case with two or more languages in
contact.
Attitudes of Spanish speakers toward the
South El Paso dialect vary from one age
group to another. Those informants over
forty years of age, with little or no
education, feel that their lexicon is non-
standard; those with some education
vehemently reject any term which they con-
sider non-standard, and rejection of the
lexicon seems to be accompanied by rejec-
tion of the group that uses it.
Attitudes of informants between twenty
and forty years of age differ greatly from
those of the older group. Having had, for the
most part, little or no academic training in
Spanish, they generally tend to feel that their
lexicon is "acceptable," if not standard or
"proper." However, those with some
education showed great animosity and
agitation at the mention of terms which they
considered to be non-standard or "slang." It
seems to be characteristic of the two groups
over twenty years of age that they actually
 NOTES ON USAGE
do not know which lexicon is truly standard
and which is non-standard, according to
academic "authorities."
Informants below twenty years of age are
apparently better educated and more broad-
minded than those older than they. In-
formants in this age group have, in general,
had academic training in Spanish and are
well aware of standard or "proper" lexical
items. Due to their education, they tended to
choose, during the interview, lexical items
which they knew to be standard. They iden-
tified most terms which they used informally
as non-standard or "slang," since these terms
are not used in the formal classroom. Most
feel, however, that these terms are becoming
more and more acceptable in the dialect of
this area. It is interesting to note that terms
they had heard used by their parents and
relatives (generally belonging to the group
above forty years of age) were considered
non-standard or "slang" without reservation.
Among the three age groups, very little
agreement was found in usage of and at-
titudes toward Spanish lexical items, which
further indicates change. Of the twenty-five
items elicited, only bailar, calcetines, si, and
soldados were the first choices of all three
age groups. Comer was the first choice of
those informants under twenty years and
those over forty years of age. (Chart I)
There is more agreement among the three
age groups as to which lexical terms are
standard or "proper." Bailar, cigarro, comer,
ensehar, esposa, estacionarse, mahiana,
mexicanos, si, soldados, and trabajo were all
considered standard. Among those in-
formants below twenty years of age and
those between twenty and forty years of age,
engahando was considered standard.
Calcetines, chofer, and empleo were con-
sidered standard among those informants
below twenty years of age and those over
forty years of age. Negros was the only term
considered standard among those informants
between twenty and forty years of age and
those over forty years of age. (Chart II)
All three age groups agreed that pachucos
actually meant hoodlums. Alcoholico and
almorzar had different connotations among
those informants below twenty years of age
and those over forty years of age. All in-
formants under twenty years of age agreed
that frajo was non-standard.
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313
Among all three age groups, chivinolera
was completely unknown. Among those in-
formants below twenty years of age and
those between twenty and forty years of age,
ramera, tubos,and zalamero were unknown.
(Chart III)
The basic role of language has always
been communication and, traditionally, the
means of achieving fairly precise com-
munication has been through stan-
dardization.When a lexicon is used by small
numbers of people, this uniformity is not so
necessary; but when large numbers of people
begin to use a type of lexicon frequently, a
certain degree of uniformity and stan-
dardization is achieved (Cf. Rice, 1962,
References). The greater the use of elements
of such special codes and their diffusion
among a larger variety of socio-economic
groups, the less is the existence of closed, in-
group systems. Quite predictably, the
"borrowings" from English become a natural
part of the dialect, often taking on the
phonological and grammatical shapes and
shadings of the second language.
Standardization, therefore, has largely
come about in this South El Paso Spanish
dialect. The standardization of a non-
productive vernacular (Cf. Kelly, 1969,
References) is questionable; however, this
dialect is now used in such wide-spread
publications as El Grito, Nosotros, Con
Safos, La Raza, El Chicano, and so on.
Lexical items, once used only by a small
group, are now used by, or are familiar to,
large numbers of people. What was once
termed non-standard is now relatively stan-
dard within the dialect, even though it is not
recognized by the Real Academia Espahola
or the Academia Mejicana de la Lengua.
A change in attitudes has resulted from
wider language usage and standardization.
Older Spanish speakers in the El Paso area
tend to cling to their "older" more con-
ventional, if not always standard, code as
many persistently tend to cling to tradition,
perhaps as a result of fear of new and dif-
ferent ways. They tend to feel that their
lexical patterns are inferior but, as a
minority group, it is all they have that truly
belongs to them, so they tenaciously keep it
(Cf. Craddock, 1970; Kelly, 1969, Referen-
314 HISPANIA 56 (April 1973)

ces). The youth have a different reason.
They are developing a fierce pride in their
cultural heritage (Cf. Craddock, 1970,
References); they are Chicanos, and their use
of the dialect identifies them with this at-,
titude. Lexical items used in this dialect
were, perhaps, Tirilongo but no more. They
are what is now called Chicanismo, the
dialect of a new generation.

REFERENCES Americ6, 1962.

BARKER,GEORGEC. "Pachuco: An American-Spanish
Argot and Its Social Functions in Tucson, Arizona,"
Univeristy of Arizona Bulletin, 21, No. 1, (January
1950).
BRADDY, HALDEEN,"The Pachucos and Their Argot,"
Southern Folklore Quarterly, 24, (1960).
COLTHARP, LURLINE H. The Tongue of the Tirilones.
Alabama: University of Alabama Press, 1965.
CRADDOCK, JERRY R. Current Trends in Linguistics.
California: Berkeley, 1970.
KELLY, L. G. (ed.). Description and Measurement of
Bilingualism: An International Seminar. Toronto:
University of Toronto Press, 1969.
RICE, FRANK A. (ed.). Study of the Role of Second
Language. Washington, D. C.: Center for Applied
Linguistics of the Modern Language Association of
TREJO,ARNULFO D. Diccionario etimol6gico latinoameri-
cano del 16xico de la delincuencia. M6xico: Uteha,
1968.
NOTES
'Lurline H. Coltharp, The Tongue of the Tirilones
(University, Alabama: University of Alabama Press,
1965), 151. Chivero is cited, but meaning "a scaredy cat."
2Ibid., p. 136. The form camellar is cited.
3Ibid., pp. 204, 209. Jaina and jefa are cited, but
meaning 'girl friend' and 'mother' respectively.
4Ibid., p. 198. The form giiaino is cited.
5Ibid., p. 241. Pisto is cited, but meaning "a drunkard."
6Ibid., p. 242. Pocho is cited, but meaning "a person
from California who is a Mexican descent."
7Ibid., p. 233. Parar is cited, but meaning "to purchase."
8Ibid., p. 258. The form sirol is cited.

CHART I
First Choice-100% Agreement
Item X Y Z
Bailar X Y Z
Calcetines X Y Z
Comer X Z
Esposa X
Estacionarse X
Mahiana Y Z
Mentiroso Y
Mexicanos X
Miedosa X
Negros Z
Si X Y Z
Soldados X Y Z
Trabajo Y

Troquero Y
X-Informants under 20 years of age
Y-Informants between 20 and 40 years of age
Z-Informants over 40 years of age

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 NOTESON USAGE 315

CHART II
Standard Lexical Items-100% Agreement
Item X Y Z
A lcoholico Y
Almorzar X
Bailar X Y Z
Calcetines X Z
Chojer X Z
Cigarro X Y Z
Comer X Y Z
Empleo X Z
Empujar X
Engahan do X Y
Ensehiar X Y Z
Esposa X Y Z
Estacionarse X Y Z
Ignorante Y
Mahana X Y Z
Men tiroso Y
Mexicanos X Y Z
Miedosa X
Negros Y Z
Si X Y Z
Soldados X Y Z
Timida Y
Trabajo X Y Z
X-Informants under 20 years of age Y-Informants over 40 years of age
Y-Informants between 20 and 40 years of age

CHART III
Unknown Lexical Items
Item X Y Z
Adulador X
Avaro X
Barahia- NS X
Chiva - NS X
Chivinolera - NS X Y Z
Controla - NS X
Lisonjero X
Llantones - NS X
Murmurador y
Ramera X Y
Sancheando - NS Y
Sardos - NS X
Tichar - NS X
Tubos- NS X Y
Zalamero X Y
X-Informants under 20 years of age Z-Informants over 40 years of age
Y-Informants between 20 and 40 years of age NS-Non-standard

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