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Sep 24, 2015
This week’s theme
Words about words

This week’s words
kenning
mot juste
holophrasm
pochismo
antonomasia

pochismo
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A.Word.A.Day
with Anu Garg

pochismo

PRONUNCIATION:
(po-CHEEZ-mo)

MEANING:
noun
1. An English word borrowed into Spanish, often given a Spanish form or spelling, such as mopear (to mop) instead of trapear or limpiar.
2. American customs, attitudes, etc., adopted by a Hispanic in the US and perceived pejoratively by his compatriots.

ETYMOLOGY:
From Spanish pocho (discolored, faded). Earliest documented use: 1944.

NOTES:
Pocho is a derogatory term used by a Hispanic for a fellow countryman living in the US who is perceived to have lost his culture and adopted American attitudes, and speaks Spanglish (Spanish heavily influenced by English).

USAGE:
“It was not until I was an adult and studying Spanish literature formally at the University of Texas at Austin that I questioned the fine line which designated certain words as pochismos and others as acceptable Spanish.”
Aida Barrera; Looking for Carrascolendas; University of Texas Press; 2001.

A THOUGHT FOR TODAY:
In my youth I thought of writing a satire on mankind; but now in my age I think I should write an apology for them. -Horace Walpole, novelist and essayist (24 Sep 1717-1797)

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