Talk:Gringo

From Academic Kids

Much of that which is below is inaccurate, excepting the assertion that the etymology traces back until at least the 17th century. The term is a variation on the Greek word, griego, or "foreigner." Hence "esto para los labradores era hablarles en Griego o gerigonça" which mutated to gringo.

---

I read that the derivation of the term "Gringo", referring to a USA person by Latin Americans, came from the song "Green Grow the Lilacs"¹, which was often sung by US soldiers during the invasion of Mexico just prior to WW I. Any basis in fact, or is this yet another cute folk etymology? And in either case, does it warrant listing in the article?

¹Or maybe "Green Grow the Rushes-O", a Scots song. Jor 14:15, 14 Feb 2004 (UTC)

The following is from Joan Corominas's Diccionario Crítico Etimológico Castellano e Hispánico:

esto para los labradores era hablarles en Griego o gerigonça. 1615 Quijote II.

In the 18th and 19th century, the word appears deformed as gringo, desde Terr.[?]:

gringos llaman en Málaga a los estranjeros, que tienen cierta especie de acento, que los priva de una locución fácil y natural Castellana, y en Madrid dan el mismo nombre con particularidad a los irlandeses"

Applied to people, also in Estébanez Calderón (no pocos gringos y extranjeros) and Emilia Pardo-Bazán (más vale una chula que treinta gringas)

--Error 00:42, 15 Feb 2004 (UTC)

When I was in Chile, I was given an explanation that combined the Mexican-American war and Brazilian examples: The American soliders occupying Mexico city wore green and the locals yelled at them "Green, go!" Also, I was told that "gringo" specifically applies to persons from the USA because they call the US "los Estados Unidos" and the term for a person from "los EU" is very long and clumsy (I never learned it properly, but it is something like "estadounitiense"). AdamRetchless 13:45, 9 Apr 2004 (UTC)

Estadounidense. Yes, it is a little long. — Chameleon

Actually my sources have an alternative and cuter explanation for the term gringo.

It seems that the Mexicans may have based the term on a misunderstanding of a popular north american song. The song was either "Green Grow the Rushes, Oh!" or "Green Grow the Lilacs" (itself based on the Scottish song "Green Grows the Laurel" and about an American solidier's love of a Mexican woman). The listening Mexicans could only make out the first few syllables, "Green Gro" and used it as a term of abuse.

Opinion is divided as to what period the term stems from. Either from the days of cowboys in south Texas, or during US army efforts to find Pancho Villa.

Etymology

Gringo from Greek? Never heard this before. Never heard a Spanish speaking person of any country refer to an incomprehensible language as "griego" I bet ALL Latin Americans when confronted with a foreign language or characters have the same reaction: "That's 'chino' (Chinese)" not griego!?

I Don't understand why a poorly reasoned etymology is placed as the preferred origin of a word. Then present a "fake etymology" with a lengthy explanation including historical facts.

Read above, the usage goes as far as Quijote. Corominas is the authority on Spanish etimology. And there is the Shakesperean That's Greek to me. -- Error 01:37, 20 Nov 2004 (UTC)

Applications

Two details I guess could be included in the article:

1. In Brazil, the term is usually understood as a synonym for "foreigner", but it's preferably applied to North-Americans (U.S. and Canada) and Europeans. It is especially used when refering to a particular physical appearence, namely tourists with transparent-white skin, usually already reddish from exposure to the sun. In that context, Germans, Scandinavians and North-Americans are the main "target". Although the expression is not pejorative, people do avoid saying it to a foreigner, as they use it only when talking about them. The term is usually not applied to citizens of Latin American countries, if the locals happen to know the place of origin of a foreigner, even if they too are transparent-white.

2. In Mexico, the United States are jocosely dubbed "Gringolandia", a pun with "gringo" and "Disneyland" (Disneylandia in Spanish), the former being an association with people from the U.S. and the latter with the country itself.

Regards, Redux 05:59, 24 Dec 2004 (UTC)

3. Currently in the American Southwest I have noticed that 'Anglo' is a bit less complementary than 'Gringo.' This was referred in a documentary on Los Angeles and I'm aware of it here in northern New Mexico where I do construction with both hispanic Nortenos and Mexicans, as well as other Latin Americans. In the Los Angeles documentary the 'anglos' were the 'ricos' of 'West LA' whereas 'gringos' were just other working stiffs of European descent. I'd be interested if others are aware of this pattern.