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David Bowles (has left this place)
@DavidOBowles
Ungovernable
Mictlampa
Joined August 2010
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    In Spanish, when someone has the same name as you, they're your "tocayo" or "tocaya." I've loved the word since childhood. I minored in Spanish (for BA & MA); the consensus among my professors as to its origin was the same. In Roman marriages, a bride would say a phrase: 1/
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    Arabic is tightly wound up within Spanish, more so than most people know. For 781 years, from 711 to 1492, all or large parts of modern Spain were under Arabic, Muslim rule. Iberian Romance languages were spoken alongside Andalusi Arabic. Every few days, I'll share a word. 1/
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    Duolingo has the fictional language High Valyrian, but not Nahuatl (spoke by 1.5 million people).
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    I often read this question: "Why is Mexico spelled 'México' in Spanish, especially if in Nahuatl Mēxihco was pronounced [me: SHIʔ ko]? What's up with that 'x'?" The answers given are usually partially right or totally wrong. Guess what? I'm going to explain it to you. 1/???
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    I’ll let you in on a secret. I have a doctorate in education, but the field’s basically just a 100 years old. We don’t really know what we’re doing. Our scholarly understanding of how learning happens is like astronomy 2000 years ago. Most classroom practice is astrology.
    Here's something I am wondering... as a parent... Why are there so many tests happening during remote learning? Aren't there other ways to assess at this point that would be more logically aligned with the type of learning environment students are in?
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    My wife has 3 pet names for me: Güero, Amor, & PENDEJO. I'd say the last is her favorite, given how often she uses it. 🤣 If you don't speak Spanish, you may not get the joke. “Pendejo” has a few meanings, but the most common? “Dumb-ass.” Want to know its origin? Okay! 1/
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    As a result of the "güero" thread, several of you have asked me to explain where the word "gringo" came from. It's actually really simple (IMO), but first we have to dispel some folk etymologies and learn a couple of linguistic processes by which words evolve. 1/
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    "Why do people keep writing 'Latinx'? And yikes, how do you pronounce it?" Alright, deep breath. It's the 10th & final edition of my Mexican X series for 2018 (& for 7 Reed ... the Mesoamerican calendar aligns with ours this year). MEXICAN X PART X: WHAT THE HEX A LATINX? 1/?
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    A year and a half ago, I created an online Basic Classical Nahuatl course. Thirteen, self-paced modules with narrated slides and exercises. I'm now giving everyone free access to the course. As you shelter in place, study a vital indigenous language. nahuatl.thinkific.com
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    Güeros mexicanos, ahí les van unos pasos a seguir. 1) Admite que existe el racismo en tu país y que te beneficia. 2) Entiende que no te puedes deshacer de o renunciar al privilegio blanco. No lo habrás pedido, pero lo tienes. 1/
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    Nobody with a shitty, reactionary, regressive take on the classics in the classroom today ... ... actually knows a GODDAMN THING about literacy or the point to English instruction in public schools. Hint, dumbasses: it's NOT to churn out English majors. 1/
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    "Hey, so were there gay, trans, non-binary, or otherwise queer folx in pre-Colombian Mesoamerica, especially in the Aztec Empire?" Okay, here we go. MEXICAN X PART XII: JUST WHAT DID XOCHIHUAH "POSSESS"? 1/
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    Spanish is not a foreign language, pinche @ABC.
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    Apropos of nothing (ahem), I'd like to remind everyone that the vast majority of Mexican Americans do indeed have *significant* Indigenous heritage. Some of us actually know *which* Indigenous nation our ancestors were from; others have a vaguer notion; many had that erased. 1/