View source for Mexican Spanish

{{short description|Spanish language in Mexico}}
{{pp-pc}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=March 2016}}
{{more citations needed|date=March 2021}}
{{Infobox language
| name             = Mexican Spanish
| nativename       = {{lang|es|Español mexicano}}
| pronunciation    = {{IPA|es|espaˈɲol mexiˈkano|}}
| states           = [[Mexico]]
| date             = 2021
| ethnicity        = [[Mexicans]]
| speakers         = [[first language|L1]]: {{sigfig|122.00000|2}} million
| ref              = {{citation needed|date=March 2024}}
| speakers2        = [[second language|L2]]: {{sigfig|8.240000|2}} million (2021){{citation needed|date=March 2024}}
| script           = [[Latin script|Latin]] ([[Spanish alphabet]])
| agency           = [[Academia Mexicana de la Lengua]]
| nation           = {{MEX}} (de facto)
| dialects         = [[new Mexican Spanish|New Mexican]]<br>[[sabine River Spanish|Sabine River dialect]]
| iso1             = es
| iso1comment      =
| iso2             = spa<ref>{{cite web|title=ISO 639-2 Language Code search|url=https://www.loc.gov/standards/iso639-2/php/langcodes-keyword.php?SearchTerm=spa&SearchType=iso_639_2&Submit=Go|website=Library of Congress|access-date=22 June 2019}}</ref>
| iso3             = none
| familycolor      = Indo-European
| fam2             = [[Italic languages|Italic]]
| fam3             = [[Latino-Faliscan languages|Latino-Faliscan]]
| fam4             = [[Romance languages|Romance]]
| fam5             = [[Western Romance languages|Western]]
| fam6             = [[Ibero-Romance languages|Ibero-Romance]]
| fam7             = [[West Iberian languages|West Iberian]]
| fam8             = [[Castilian languages|Castilian]]
| fam9             = [[Spanish language|Spanish]]
| isoexception     = dialect
| glotto           = mexi1248
| ietf             = es-MX
| notice           = IPA
| map              = Español Mexicano.svg
| mapcaption       = Varieties of Mexican Spanish.{{Citation needed|date=October 2020}}
{{legend|#FFBA00|Northeastern}}
{{legend|#0047AB|Northwestern}}
{{legend|#FF7028|Northern peninsular}}
{{legend|#44944A|Western}}
{{legend|#50C878|Abajeño}}
{{legend|#FF0000|Central}}
{{legend|#FFCBDB|Southern}}
{{legend|#1E90FF|Coastal}}
{{legend|#660099|Chiapaneco<ref>Similar to [[Central American Spanish]] in border zones and on [[low-class]] speakers.</ref>}}
{{legend|#4CBB17|Yucateco}}
}}

'''Mexican Spanish''' ({{langx|es|español mexicano}}) is the variety of [[dialect]]s and [[sociolect]]s of the [[Spanish language]] spoken in the [[Mexico|United Mexican States]]. Mexico has the largest number of Spanish speakers, more than double any other country in the world. Spanish is spoken by over 99% of the population, being the mother tongue of 93.8%, and the second language of 5.4%.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2022-03-04 |title=CIA World Fact Book - Mexico |url=https://www.cia.gov/the-world-factbook/countries/mexico/#people-and-society |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220321155056/https://www.cia.gov/the-world-factbook/countries/mexico/ |archive-date=2022-03-21 |website=Central Intelligence Agency |publisher=The World Factbook |language=en}}</ref>

== Variation ==

The territory of contemporary Mexico is not coextensive with what might be termed Mexican Spanish,<ref name=":0">{{Cite web |last=Mackenzie |first=Ian |date=1999–2020 |title=Mexican Spanish |url=https://www.staff.ncl.ac.uk/i.e.mackenzie/mexico.htm |url-status=live |access-date=April 3, 2021 |website=The Linguistics of Spanish |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210820042554/https://www.staff.ncl.ac.uk/i.e.mackenzie/mexico.htm |archive-date=Aug 20, 2021 }}</ref> since linguistic boundaries rarely coincide with political ones. The Spanish spoken in the southernmost state of [[Chiapas]], bordering [[Guatemala]], resembles the variety of [[Central American Spanish]] spoken in that country, where {{lang|es|[[voseo]]}} is used.<ref>{{Cite web |title=¿Voseo en México?: Breve perspectiva del voseo en Chiapas |url=https://www.scribd.com/doc/204707214/VoseoEnMexico-Chiapas-pdf |last=Torres Garca |first=Alejandro A. |date=2014 |language=es |trans-title=Voseo in Mexico?: Brief perspective of the voseo in Chiapas |via=[[Scribd]] |access-date=9 March 2016}}</ref> Meanwhile, the [[Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo]] led to a large number of Mexicans residing in what had become US territory, and many of their descendants have continued to speak Spanish. In addition, the waves of 19th- and 20th-century migration from Mexico to the [[United States]], have contributed greatly to making Mexican Spanish the most widely spoken variety of Spanish in the United States. Finally, the Spanish spoken in coastal areas often exhibits certain phonetic traits in common with the [[Caribbean Spanish|Caribbean]] rather than with that of central Mexico, and the Spanish of the [[Yucatán Peninsula]] is quite distinct from other varieties.<ref name=":0" /> It should also be noted that there is great variation in [[Intonation (linguistics)|intonation]] patterns from region to region within Mexico.<ref>{{Harvcoltxt|Cotton|Sharp|1988|p=155}}</ref> For instance, the Spanish of northern Mexico, including the traditional Spanish of New Mexico, is characterized by its own distinct set of intonation patterns.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Lipski |first1=John M. |author-link=John M. Lipski |editor1-last=Díaz-Campos |editor1-first=Manuel |title=The handbook of Hispanic sociolinguistics |date=2011 |publisher=Wiley-Blackwell |location=Malden, MA |isbn=9781405195003 |chapter= Socio-Phonological Variation in Latin American Spanish |pages=72–97 |doi=10.1002/9781444393446.ch4}}</ref>

Regarding the evolution of the Spanish spoken in Mexico, the Swedish linguist [[:sv:Bertil Malmberg (fonetiker)|Bertil Malmberg]]<ref>Not to be confused with the poet [[Bertil Malmberg|Bertil F. H. Malmberg]].</ref> points out that in Central Mexican Spanish—unlike most varieties in the other Spanish-speaking countries—the vowels lose strength, while consonants are fully pronounced. Malmberg attributes this to a [[Nahuatl language|Nahuatl]] [[Stratum (linguistics)|substratum]], as part of a broader cultural phenomenon that preserves aspects of indigenous culture through place names of Nahuatl origin, statues that commemorate Aztec rulers, etc.<ref>{{Harvcoltxt|Malmberg|1964|pp=227–243}}; rpt. Malmberg 1965: 99–126 and Malmberg 1971: 421–438.</ref><ref>{{Harvcoltxt|Lipski|1994|p=238}}</ref> The Mexican linguist [[:es:Juan Miguel Lope Blanch|Juan M. Lope Blanch]], however, finds similar weakening of vowels in regions of several other Spanish-speaking countries; he also finds no similarity between the vowel behavior of Nahuatl and that of Central Mexican Spanish; and thirdly, he finds Nahuatl syllable structure no more complex than that of Spanish.<ref>{{Harvcoltxt|Lope Blanch|1967|pp=153–156}}</ref> Furthermore, Nahuatl is not alone as a possible influence, as there are currently more than 90 native languages spoken in Mexico.<ref>{{Citation |title=Clasificación de Lenguas Indígenas – Histórica |url=http://www.inegi.org.mx/est/contenidos/proyectos/aspectosmetodologicos/clasificadoresycatalogos/doc/clasificacion_de_lenguas_indigenas.pdf |page=2 |trans-title=Classification of Indigenous Languages – Historical |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160909174814/http://www.inegi.org.mx/est/contenidos/proyectos/aspectosmetodologicos/clasificadoresycatalogos/doc/clasificacion_de_lenguas_indigenas.pdf |publisher=Mexico Instituto Nacional de Estadística, Geografía e Informática |language=es |archive-date=2016-09-09 |url-status=dead}}</ref>

{{Spanish language}}

== Phonology ==
=== Consonants ===
{| class="wikitable" style="margin: 1em auto 1em auto; text-align: center;"
|+Consonant phonemes of Mexican Spanish
!
! colspan="2" |[[Labial consonant|Labial]]
! colspan="2" |[[Dental consonant|Dental]]/[[Alveolar consonant|Alveolar]]
! colspan="2" |[[Palatal consonant|Palatal]]
! colspan="2" |[[Velar consonant|Velar]]
|-
![[Nasal consonant|Nasal]]
| style="border-right:0; width:25px;" |
| style="border-left:0; width:25px;" |{{IPA link|m}}
| style="border-right:0; width:25px;" |
| style="border-left:0; width:25px;" |{{IPA link|n}}
| style="border-right:0; width:25px;" |
| style="border-left:0; width:25px;" |{{IPA link|ɲ}}
| colspan="2" |
|-
![[Stop consonant|Stop]]
| style="border-right: 0;" |{{IPA link|p}}
| rowspan="2" style="border-left: 0;" |{{IPA link|b}}
|style="border-right: 0;" |{{IPA link|t̪|t}}
| rowspan="2" style="border-left:0; width:25px;" |{{IPA link|d̪|d}}
| style="border-right:0; width:25px;" |{{IPA link|tʃ}}
| rowspan="2" style="border-left:0; width:25px;" |{{IPA link|ʝ˕|ʝ}}
| style="border-right:0; width:25px;" |{{IPA link|k}}
| rowspan="2" style="border-left:0; width:25px;" |{{IPA link|ɡ}}
|-
![[Continuant]]
| style="border-right: 0;" |{{IPA link|f}}
| style="border-right: 0;" |{{IPA link|s}}
| style="border-right: 0;" |{{IPA link|ʃ}}
| style="border-right: 0;" |{{IPA link|x}}
|-
![[Approximant consonant|Approximant]]
| colspan="2" |
| style="border-right: 0;" |
| style="border-left: 0;" |{{IPA link|l}}
| style="border-right: 0;" |
| style="border-left: 0;" |{{IPA link|j}}
| style="border-right: 0;" |
| style="border-left: 0;" |{{IPA link|w}}
|-
![[Flap consonant|Flap]]
| colspan="2" |
| style="border-right: 0;" |
| style="border-left: 0;" |{{IPA link|ɾ}}
| colspan="2" |
| colspan="2" |
|-
![[Trill consonant|Trill]]
| colspan="2" |
| style="border-right: 0;" |
| style="border-left: 0;" |{{IPA link|r}}
| colspan="2" |
| colspan="2" |
|}

==== Affricates ====
Due to influence from [[indigenous languages]], such as [[Nahuatl]], Mexican Spanish has incorporated many words containing the sequences {{angbr|tz}} and {{angbr|tl}}, corresponding to the [[voiceless alveolar affricate]] {{IPA|[t͡s]}} and the [[Voiceless alveolar lateral affricate|voiceless alveolar ''lateral'' affricate]] {{IPA|[t͡ɬ]}}, present in many indigenous languages of Mexico,<ref name="Lope2004">{{Harvcoltxt|Lope Blanch|2004|p=29}}</ref> as in the words {{lang|es|tlapalería}} {{IPA|[t͡ɬapaleˈɾia]}} ('hardware store') and {{lang|es|coatzacoalquense}} {{IPA|[koat͡sakoalˈkense]}} ('from [the city of] [[Coatzacoalcos]]').
Mexican Spanish always pronounces the {{IPA|/t/}} and {{IPA|/l/}} in such a sequence in the same syllable, a trait shared with the Spanish of the rest of Latin America, that of the Canary Islands, and the northwest of the Iberian Peninsula, including Bilbao and Galicia.<ref name="HualdeUnSegmentoTl"/> This includes words of Greek and Latin origin with {{angbr|tl}} such as {{Wikt-lang|es|Atlántico}} and {{Wikt-lang|es|atleta}}. In contrast, in most of Spain, the {{IPA|/t/}} would form part of the previous syllable's coda, and be subject to weakening, as in {{IPA|[aðˈlantiko]}}, {{IPA|[aðˈleta]}}.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.rae.es/espanol-al-dia/division-silabica-y-ortografica-de-palabras-con-tl|language=es|work=Real Académia Española|access-date=19 July 2021|title=División silábica y ortográfica de palabras con "tl"}}</ref>

Some claim that in Mexican Spanish, the sequence {{IPA|/tl/}} is really a single [[phoneme]], the same as the lateral affricate of Nahuatl. On the other hand, [[José Ignacio Hualde]] and Patricio Carrasco argue that {{IPA|/tl/}} is best analyzed as an onset [[consonant cluster|cluster]] on the basis that Mexicans take the same amount of time to pronounce {{IPA|/tl/}} as they do to pronounce {{IPA|/pl/}} and {{IPA|/kl/}}. They predicted that if {{IPA|/tl/}} were a single segment, it would have been pronounced quicker than the other clusters.<ref name="HualdeUnSegmentoTl">{{cite journal |last1=Hualde |first1=José Ignacio |last2=Carrasco |first2=Patricio |author1-link=José Ignacio Hualde |title=/tl/ en español mexicano. ¿Un segmento o dos? |journal=Estudios de Fonética Experimental |date=2009 |volume=XVIII |pages=175–191 |url=https://www.ub.edu/journalofexperimentalphonetics/pdf-articles/XVIII-15.pdf |language=es |issn=1575-5533}}</ref>

==== Fricatives ====
In addition to the usual voiceless fricatives of other American Spanish dialects ({{IPA|/f/}}, {{IPA|/s/}}, {{IPA|/x/}}), Mexican Spanish also has the [[Voiceless palato-alveolar sibilant|palatal sibilant]] <!--Extra wordiness here to jog "/ʃ/" onto the next line; otherwise it separates!-->{{IPA|/ʃ/}},<ref name="Lope2004" /> mostly in words from indigenous languages—especially place names. The {{IPA|/ʃ/}}, represented orthographically as {{angbr|x}}, is commonly found in words of [[Nahuatl]] or [[Mayan languages|Mayan]] origin, such as {{lang|es|[[Metro Xola|Xola]]}} {{IPA|[ˈʃola]}} (a station in the [[Mexico City Metro]]). The spelling {{angbr|x}} can additionally represent the phoneme {{IPA|/x/}} (also mostly in place names), as in {{Lang|es|México}} itself ({{IPA|/ˈmexiko/}}); or {{IPA|/s/}}, as in the place name [[Xochimilco]]—as well as the {{IPA|/ks/}} sequence (in words of Greco-Latin origin, such as {{Lang|es|anexar}} {{IPA|/anekˈsar/}}), which is common to all varieties of Spanish. In many Nahuatl words in which {{angbr|x}} originally represented {{IPA|[ʃ]}}, the pronunciation has changed to {{IPA|[x]}} (or {{IPA|[h]}})—e.g. {{lang|es|[[Xalapa|Jalapa/Xalapa]]}} {{IPA|es|xaˈlapa|}}.<ref>{{cite journal |title=Discourse Features of Written Mexican Spanish: Current Research in Contrastive Rhetoric and Its Implications |journal=Hispania |volume=74 |issue=2 |date=1 May 1991 |pages=417–425 |doi=10.2307/344852 |jstor=344852 |first=María Rosario |last=Montaño-Harmon |issn=0018-2133 }}</ref>

Regarding the pronunciation of the phoneme {{IPA|/x/}}, the articulation in most of Mexico is velar {{IPA|[x]}}, as in {{lang|es|caja}} {{IPA|es|ˈkaxa|}} ('box'). However, in some (but not all) dialects of southern Mexico, the normal articulation is glottal {{IPAblink|h}} (as it is in most dialects of the Caribbean, the Pacific Coast, the [[Canarian Spanish|Canary Islands]], and most of [[Andalusian Spanish|Andalusia]] and [[Extremadura]] in Spain).<ref name=":0" />{{Sfn|Canfield|1981}} Thus, in these dialects, {{lang|es|México, Jalapa}}, and {{lang|es|caja}} are respectively pronounced {{IPA|[ˈmehiko]}}, {{IPA|[haˈlapa]}}, and {{IPA|[ˈkaha]}}.

In northwestern Mexico and rural Michoacan, {{IPA|[tʃ]}}, represented by {{angbr|ch}}, tends to be [[Deaffrication|deaffricated]] to {{IPA|[ʃ]}}, a phonetic feature also typical of southwestern Andalusian Spanish dialects.<ref>{{Harvp|Lipski|2008|pp=86}}</ref><ref name="ParodiContacto">{{Cite journal |last=Parodi |first=Claudia |date=2001-01-05 |title=Contacto de dialectos y lenguas en el Nuevo Mundo: La vernacularización del español en América |url=https://enlosbordesdelarchivo.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/11/parodi-contact-nuevo-mundo.pdf |journal=International Journal of the Sociology of Language |issue=149 |doi=10.1515/ijsl.2001.022 |issn=0165-2516}}</ref>

All varieties of Mexican Spanish are characterized by {{lang|es|[[yeísmo]]}}: the letters {{angbr|ll}} and {{angbr|y}} correspond to the same phoneme, {{IPA|/ʝ/}}.<ref>This same phoneme is rendered with a non-IPA symbol {{angbr|y}} by many authors, including Canfield and Lipski, using the [[RFE Phonetic Alphabet]]. In IPA, it stands for the [[close front rounded vowel]]. The IPA symbol {{angbr IPA|j}} is also inappropriate for this sound - see {{Citation|last=Martínez Celdrán|first=Eugenio|year=2004|title=Problems in the Classification of Approximants|journal=Journal of the International Phonetic Association|volume=34|issue=2|pages=201–210|doi=10.1017/S0025100304001732|s2cid=144568679|url=https://www.researchgate.net/publication/231180567}}.</ref><ref>{{Harvcoltxt|Canfield|1981|p=62}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |last=Peña Arce |first=Jaime |date=2015 |title=Yeísmo en el español de América. Algunos apuntes sobre su extensión |trans-title= Yeísmo in the Spanish spoken in America. Some notes on its extension |url=https://dialnet.unirioja.es/servlet/articulo?codigo=5120313 |language=Spanish |journal= Revista de Filología de la Universidad de la Laguna |volume=33 |issue= |pages=175–199 |doi= |access-date=October 5, 2021}}</ref> That phoneme, in most variants of Mexican Spanish, is pronounced as either a palatal fricative {{IPAblink|ʝ}} or an approximant {{IPAblink|ʝ˕}} in most cases, although after a [[pausa|pause]] it is instead realized as an affricate {{IPAblink|ɟʝ}}.
In the north and in rural Michoacan, {{IPA|/ʝ/}} is consistently rendered as an approximant and may even be elided when between vowels and in contact with {{IPA|/i/}} or {{IPA|/e/}}, as in {{lang|es|gallina}} 'hen', {{lang|es|silla}} 'chair', and {{lang|es|sella}} 'seal'.<ref name="ParodiContacto" /><ref>{{cite book |last1=Lipski |first1=John M. |title=Enciclopedia de Lingüística Hispánica |date=2016 |publisher=Routledge |isbn=978-1138941380 |editor1-last=Gutiérrez-Rexach |editor1-first=Javier |location=Milton Park, Abingdon, Oxon |pages=363–374 |language=es |chapter=Dialectos del Español de América: Los Estados Unidos |doi=10.4324/9781315713441 |author1-link=John M. Lipski |chapter-url=http://www.personal.psu.edu/jml34/ency.pdf}}</ref>

As in all American dialects of Spanish, Mexican Spanish has [[seseo]], so {{IPA|/θ/}} is not distinguished from {{IPA|/s/}}. Thus, {{lang|es|casa}} 'house' and {{lang|es|caza}} 'hunt' are homophones.

Present in most of the interior of Mexico is the preservation, or absence of [[debuccalization]], of syllable-final {{IPA|/s/}}. The fact that the areas with the strongest preservation of final {{IPA|/s/}} are also those with the most frequent unstressed vowel reduction gives the sibilant {{IPA|/s/}} a special prominence in these dialects. On the other hand, {{IPA|/s/}}-weakening is very frequent on the Pacific and Caribbean coasts, and is also fairly frequent in northern and northwestern Mexico, and in parts of [[Oaxaca]] and the Yucatán peninsula. In all these regions, {{IPA|/s/}}-weakening acts as a [[Sociolinguistics|sociolinguistic]] marker, being more prevalent in rural areas and among the lower classes.{{citation needed|date=June 2024}} The prevalence of a weakened syllable-final {{IPA|/s/}} in so many peripheral areas of Mexico suggests that such weakening was at one point more prevalent in peripheral areas, but that the influence of Mexico City has led to the diffusion of a style of pronunciation without {{IPA|/s/}}-weakening, especially among the urban middle classes.<ref name=":0" /><ref>{{Harvcoltxt|Lipski|1994|pp=223–225, 227–228, 230}}</ref>

{{IPA|/s/}}-weakening on both the Pacific and the Gulf Coast was strengthened by influences from [[Andalusian Spanish|Andalusian]], [[Canarian Spanish|Canarian]], and [[Caribbean Spanish]] dialects.<ref>{{Harvcoltxt|Lipski|1994|p=224}}</ref>

Also, the dialects spoken in rural [[Chihuahua (state)|Chihuahua]], [[Sonora]], and [[Sinaloa]], like that of [[New Mexican Spanish|New Mexico]], have developed aspiration of syllable-initial {{IPA|/s/}}, as in words like {{Lang|es|pasar}} 'to pass' and {{Lang|es|señor}} 'sir'.<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Brown |first1=Esther L. |last2=Torres Cacoullos |first2=Rena |date=January 2002 |title=Que le vamoh aher? Taking the syllable out of Spanish /s/ reduction |url=https://repository.upenn.edu/pwpl/vol8/iss3/3/ |journal=University of Pennsylvania Working Papers in Linguistics |volume=8 |issue=3}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |last1=Brown |first1=Dolores |date=1993 |title=El polimorfismo de la /s/ explosiva en el noroeste de México |journal=Nueva Revista de Filología Hispánica |volume=41 |issue=1 |pages=159–176 |doi=10.24201/nrfh.v41i1.928 |jstor=40299214|doi-access=free }}</ref><ref>{{harvnb|López Berrios|Mendoza Guerrero|1997}}, cited in {{harvnb|Bills|Vigil|2008}}</ref><ref name="caracteristicas">{{Cite web |title=Características del español hablado en México {{!}} Voces {{!}} Unidad 4: México {{!}} Acceso |url=https://acceso.ku.edu/unidad4/voces/caracteristicas.shtml |access-date=2022-03-22 |website=acceso.ku.edu |language=es}}</ref>

Despite the general lack of s-aspiration in the center of the country, {{IPA|/s/}} is often [[elided]] before {{IPA|/r/}} or {{IPA|/l/}}, and the phrase {{lang|es|buenas noches}} is often pronounced without the first {{IPA|/s/}}.{{sfn|Marden|1896|loc=section 42}}

==== Stops ====
There is a set of voiced [[obstruent]]s—{{IPA|/b/}}, {{IPA|/d/}}, {{IPA|/ɡ/}}, and sometimes {{IPA|/ʝ/}}—which alternate between [[Approximant consonant|approximant]] and [[plosive]] allophones depending on the environment.

{{IPA|/bw/}} often becomes {{IPA|/gw/}},{{sfn|Marden|1896|loc=sections 27, 30}} especially in more rural speech, such that {{lang|es|abuelo}} and {{lang|es|bueno}} may be pronounced as {{lang|es-mx|agüelo}} and {{lang|es|güeno}}. In addition, {{IPA|/gw/}} is often assimilated to {{IPA|/w/}}.{{sfn|Marden|1896|loc=sections 48, 52}}

Speakers from the Yucatán, especially men or those who are older, often pronounce the voiceless stops {{IPA|/p, t, k/}} with [[Aspirated consonant|aspiration]].<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Michnowicz |first1=Jim |last2=Carpenter |first2=Lindsey |title=Voiceless stop aspiration in Yucatan Spanish: A sociolinguistic analysis |journal=Spanish in Context |date=3 December 2013 |volume=10 |issue=3 |pages=410–437 |doi=10.1075/sic.10.3.05mic |url=https://www.researchgate.net/publication/263565092 |access-date=4 January 2022}}</ref>

=== Vowels ===
{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center;"
|+
!
![[Front vowel|Front]]
![[Central vowel|Central]]
![[Back vowel|Back]]
|-
![[Close vowel|Close]]
|{{IPA link|i}}
|
|{{IPA link|u}}
|-
![[Mid vowel|Mid]]
|{{IPA link|e̞|e}}
|
|{{IPA link|o̞|o}}
|-
![[Open vowel|Open]]
|
|{{IPA link|ä|a}}
|
|}
Like most Spanish dialects and varieties, Mexican Spanish has five vowels: close unrounded front {{IPA|/i/}}, close rounded back {{IPA|/u/}}, mid unrounded front {{IPA|/e/}}, mid rounded back {{IPA|/o/}}, and open unrounded {{IPA|/a/}}.<ref name="yobuca">{{cite book |first1=Yolanda |last1=Lastra |first2=Pedro Martín |last2=Butragueño |editor1-first=Ana M. |editor1-last=Carvalho |editor2-first=Rafael |editor2-last=Orozco |editor3-first=Naomi |editor3-last=Lapidus Shin |publisher=[[Georgetown University Press]] |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=CwsxCgAAQBAJ&pg=PA39 |via=[[Google Books]] |publication-place=[[Washington, D.C.]] |isbn=9781626161702 |date=25 February 2015 |edition=1st |title=Subject Pronoun Expression in Oral Mexican Spanish |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=CwsxCgAAQBAJ |chapter=Chapter 3. Subject Pronoun Expression in Spanish: A Cross-Dialectal Perspective |pages=39–58 |access-date=13 October 2021 }}</ref>

A striking feature of Mexican Spanish, particularly that of central Mexico, is the high rate of [[vowel reduction|reduction]], which can involve shortening and [[Mid-centralized vowel|centralization]], [[Voiceless vowel|devoicing]], or both, and even [[elision]] of unstressed vowels, as in {{IPA|[ˈtɾasts]}} ({{Lang|es|trastes}}, 'cooking utensils'). This process is most frequent when a vowel is in contact with the phoneme {{IPA|/s/}}, so that {{IPA|/s/}}+ vowel + {{IPA|/s/}} is the construction when the vowel is most frequently affected.<ref>{{Harvcoltxt|Canfield|1981|p=61}}</ref><ref>{{Harvcoltxt|Cotton|Sharp|1988|pp=154–155}}</ref><ref>{{Harvcoltxt|Lope Blanch|1972|p=53}}</ref> It can be the case that the words {{Lang|es|pesos}}, {{Lang|es|pesas}}, and {{Lang|es|peces}} are pronounced the same {{IPA|[ˈpesəs]}}.{{Citation needed|date=December 2022|reason=obviously a merger results when the vowel is totally elided, but i haven't seen any source saying /a e o/ can all become schwa - Lope Blanch doesn't describe it that way}} The vowels are slightly less frequently reduced or eliminated in the constructions {{IPA|/t, p, k, d/}} + vowel + {{IPA|/s/}}, so that the words {{Lang|es|pastas}}, {{Lang|es|pastes}}, and {{Lang|es|pastos}} may also be pronounced the same {{IPA|[ˈpasts]}}.

== Morphology ==

Mexican Spanish is a {{Lang|es|tuteante}} form of the language (i.e. using {{Lang|es|tú}} and its traditional verb forms for the familiar second person singular). The traditional familiar second person ''plural'' pronoun {{Lang|es|vosotros}}—in colloquial use only in Spain—is found in Mexico only in certain archaic texts and ceremonial language. However, since it is used in many Spanish-language Bibles throughout the country, most Mexicans are familiar with the form and understand it. An instance of it is found in the [[Himno Nacional Mexicano|national anthem]], which all Mexicans learn to sing: {{Lang|es|Mexicanos, al grito de guerra / el acero '''aprestad''' y el bridón}}.

Mexicans tend to use the [[Spanish personal pronouns|polite personal pronoun]] {{lang|es|usted}} in the majority of social situations, especially in [[Northern Mexico]]. In the north, children even address their parents with {{lang|es|usted}}.<ref name="caracteristicas"/>

In rural areas of Sonora, Chihuahua, Durango, Jalisco, Guanajuato, and Tlaxcala, many people use a number of distinct non-standard morphological forms: 2nd person preterite verb forms ending in {{lang|es|-ates, ites}}, imperfect forms such as {{lang|es|traiba, creiba}} instead of {{lang|es|traía, creía}} 'brought, believed', a merger of {{lang|es|-ir}} and {{lang|es|-er}} verb conjugations such that 'we live' is {{lang|es|vivemos}} instead of {{lang|es|vivimos}}, verb roots other than {{lang|es|haiga}} (instead of {{lang|es|haya}}) with non-standard {{IPA|/g/}} such as {{lang|es|creigo}} 'I believe' for {{lang|es|creo}}, an accent shift in the first person plural subjunctive forms {{lang|es|váyamos}} instead of {{lang|es|vayamos}} 'we go', and a shift from {{lang|es|-mos}} to {{lang|es|-nos}} in [[proparoxytonic]] third person singular verb forms ({{lang|es|cantaríanos}} instead of {{lang|es|cantaríamos}} 'we sing'). These same verb forms are also found in the traditional Spanish of northern New Mexico and southern Colorado.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Sanz |first1=Israel |last2=Villa |first2=Daniel J. |title=The Genesis of Traditional New Mexican Spanish: The Emergence of a Unique Dialect in the Americas |journal=Studies in Hispanic and Lusophone Linguistics |date=1 September 2011 |volume=4 |issue=2 |pages=417–442 |doi=10.1515/shll-2011-1107 |s2cid=163620325 |url=https://web.nmsu.edu/~dvilla/sanz_villa_tnms.pdf |access-date=24 May 2022}}</ref>

=== Suffixes ===

Central Mexico is noted for the frequent use of [[diminutive]] suffixes with many nouns, adverbs, and adjectives, even where no semantic diminution of size or intensity is implied. Most frequent is the {{Lang|es|-ito/ita}} suffix, which replaces the final vowel on words that have one. Words ending with ''-n'' use the suffix {{Lang|es|-cito/cita}}. Use of the diminutive does not necessarily denote small size, but rather often implies an affectionate attitude; thus one may speak of "{{Lang|es|una casita grande|italic=unset}}" ('a nice, big house').

When the diminutive suffix is applied to an adjective, often a near-equivalent idea can be expressed in English by "nice and [adjective]". So, for example, a mattress ({{Langx|es|un colchón}}) described as {{Lang|es|blandito}} might be "nice and soft", while calling it {{Lang|es|blando}} might be heard to mean "too soft".

In some regions of Mexico, the diminutive suffix {{Lang|es|-ito}} is also used to form affectives to express politeness or submission ({{Lang|es|cafecito}}, literally "little coffee"; {{Lang|es|cabecita}}, literally "little head"; {{Lang|es|chavito}} "little boy"), and is attached to names ({{Lang|es|Marquitos}}, from {{Lang|es|Marcos}}; {{Lang|es|Juanito}}, from {{Lang|es|Juan}}—cf. Eng. {{Lang|en|Johnny}}) denoting affection. In the northern parts of the country, the suffix {{Lang|es|-ito}} is often replaced in informal situations by {{Lang|es|-illo}} ({{Lang|es|cafecillo}}, {{Lang|es|cabecilla}}, {{Lang|es|morrillo}}, {{Lang|es|Juanillo}}).

Frequent use of the diminutive is found across all socioeconomic classes, but its "excessive" use is commonly associated with lower-class speech. {{citation needed|date=December 2011}}

The [[augmentative]] suffix {{Lang|es|-(z)ote}} is typically used in Mexico to make nouns larger, more powerful, etc. For example, the word {{Lang|es|camión}}, in Mexico, means {{Lang|en|bus}}; the suffixed form {{Lang|es|camionzote}} means "big or long bus". It can be repeated just as in the case of the suffixes {{Lang|es|-ito}} and {{Lang|es|-ísimo}}; therefore {{Lang|es|camionzotototote}} means {{Lang|en|very, very, very big bus}}.

The suffix {{Lang|es|-uco}} or {{Lang|es|-ucho}} and its feminine counterparts {{Lang|es|-uca}} and {{Lang|es|-ucha}} respectively, are used as a disparaging form of a noun; for example, the word {{Lang|es|casa}}, meaning "house", can be modified with that suffix ({{Lang|es|casucha}}) to change the word's meaning to make it disparaging, and sometimes offensive; so the word {{Lang|es|casucha}} often refers to a shanty, hut or hovel. The word {{Lang|es|madera}} ("wood") can take the suffix {{Lang|es|-uca}} ({{Lang|es|maderuca}}) to mean "rotten, ugly wood".

Other suffixes include, but are not limited to: {{Lang|es|-azo}} as in {{Lang|es|carrazo}}, which refers to a very impressive car ({{Lang|es|carro}}) such as a Ferrari or Mercedes-Benz; {{Lang|es|-ón}}, for example {{Lang|es|narizón}}, meaning "big-nosed" ({{Lang|es|nariz}} = "nose"), or {{Lang|es|patona}}, a female with large feet ({{Lang|es|patas}}).

=== Nicknames ===

It is common to replace {{IPA|/s/}} with {{IPA|/tʃ/}} to form diminutives, e.g. {{Lang|es|I'''sabel'''}} → {{Lang|es|Chabela}}, {{Lang|es|Jo'''sé Ma'''ría}} → ''Chema'', {{Lang|es|'''Ce'''r'''ve'''za}} ("beer") → {{Lang|es|Chela}}/{{Lang|es|Cheve}}, {{Lang|es|'''Conc'''epción}} → {{Lang|es|Conchita}}, {{Lang|es|'''Sin Muela'''s}} ("without molars") → {{Lang|es|Chimuela}} ("toothless"). This is common in, but not exclusive to, Mexican Spanish.

== Syntax ==

Typical of Mexican Spanish is an ellipsis of the negative particle {{Lang|es|no}} in a main clause introduced by an adverbial clause with {{Lang|es|hasta que}}:
* {{Lang|es|Hasta que me tomé la pastilla se me quitó el dolor|italic=no}}. (Until I took the pill, the pain ''did not'' go away.)<ref name=":0" />

In this kind of construction, the main verb is implicitly understood as being negated.

Mexico shares with many other areas of Spanish America the use of interrogative {{Lang|es|qué}} in conjunction with the quantifier {{Lang|es|tan(to)}}:<ref name=":0" /><ref>Kany, p.330</ref>
* {{Lang|es|¿Qué tan graves son los daños?|italic=no}} (How serious are the damages?) (Compare the form typical of Spain: "{{Lang|es|¿Hay muchos daños?|italic=no}}" (Is there a lot of damage?))
* {{Lang|es|¿Qué tan buen cocinero eres?|italic=no}} (How good a cook are you?) (Compare Spain's "{{Lang|es|¿Eres buen cocinero?|italic=no}}" (Are you a good cook?))

It has been suggested that there is influence of [[Native American languages|indigenous languages]] on the syntax of Mexican Spanish (as well as that of other areas in the Americas), manifested, for example, in the redundant use of verbal [[clitic]]s, particularly {{Lang|es|lo}}. This is more common among bilinguals or in isolated rural areas.<ref name=":0" />

{{Lang|es-MX|Mucho muy}} can be used colloquially in place of the superlative {{Lang|es|-ísimo}}, as in:
* {{Lang|es-MX| Este tipo de tratamientos son mucho muy caros|italic=no}} (That type of treatment is really expensive.)<ref name=":0" />

Mexican Spanish, like that of many other parts of the Americas, prefers the preposition {{Lang|es|por}} in expressions of time spans, as in
* "{{Lang|es|Fue presidente de la compañía '''por''' veinte años|italic=no}}" (He was the president of the company for twenty years)—compare the more frequent use of {{Lang|es|durante}} in Spain: "{{Lang|es|Fue presidente de la compañia '''durante''' veinte años.|italic=no}}"

A more or less recent phenomenon in the speech of central Mexico, having its apparent origin in the [[State of Mexico]], is the use of negation in an [[Markedness|unmarked]] [[Yes–no question|yes/no question]]. Thus, in place of "{{Lang|es|¿Quieres...?|italic=no}}" (Would you like...?), there is a tendency to ask "{{Lang|es|¿No quieres...?|italic=no}}" (Wouldn't you like...?).

==Lexicon==
Mexican Spanish retains a number of words that are considered archaic in Spain.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Varieties of Spanish |url=http://w3.salemstate.edu/~jaske/courses/readings/Varieties_of_Spanish_By_Ian_Mackenzie.pdf |last=Mackenzie |first=Ian }}</ref>

Also, there are a number of words widely used in Mexico which have Nahuatl, Mayan or other native origins, in particular names for flora, fauna and [[Toponymy|toponyms]].  Some of these words are used in most, or all, Spanish-speaking countries, like {{lang|es|chocolate}} and {{lang|es|aguacate}} ("avocado"), and some are only used in Mexico. The latter include {{lang|es-MX|guajolote}} "turkey" < Nahuatl {{lang|nah|huaxōlōtl}} {{IPA-nah|waˈʃoːloːt͡ɬ|}} (although {{lang|es|pavo}} is also used, as in other Spanish-speaking countries); {{lang|es-MX|papalote}} "kite" < Nahuatl {{lang|nah|pāpālōtl}} {{IPA-nah|paːˈpaːloːt͡ɬ|}} "butterfly"; and {{lang|es-MX|jitomate}} "tomato" < Nahuatl {{lang|nah|xītomatl}} {{IPA-nah|ʃiːˈtomat͡ɬ|}}. For a more complete list see [[List of Spanish words of Nahuatl origin]].

Other expressions that are common in colloquial Mexican Spanish include:

* {{wikt-lang|es|ahorita}}: "soon; in a moment". Literally "right now". E.g. {{lang|es|Ahorita que acabe}}, "As soon as I finish (this)". Considered informal.
* {{wikt-lang|es|bronca}}:{{dubious|date=July 2020}} "fight" or "problem". Literally "aggressive woman or girl, or wild female animal". Commonly used among young people.
* {{wikt-lang|es|bronco}}:  "wild, untame". E.g. {{lang|es|leche bronca}}: "unpasteurized milk".
* {{wikt-lang|es|camión}}: "bus"
* {{wikt-lang|es|caray}}: darn.
* {{wikt-lang|es|carnal}}: "brother" or "bro"
* {{wikt-lang|es|chafa}}: cheap, of bad quality.
* {{wikt-lang|es|chavo}} ({{lang|es|chava}}); {{wikt-lang|es|chamaco}} ({{lang|es|chamaca}}); {{wikt-lang|es|chilpayate}}: "a child, teen, or youngster". Also {{wikt-lang|es|huerco}} ({{lang|es|huerca}}), {{wikt-lang|es|morro}} ({{lang|es|morra}}), and {{wikt-lang|es|plebe}} are used in northern Mexico. All these terms except {{lang|es|chilpayate}} are also found in their diminutives: {{lang|es|chavito}}, {{lang|es|chamaquito}}, {{lang|es|huerquito}}, {{lang|es|morrito}}. Considered informal.
* {{wikt-lang|es|chequear|chequear/checar}}: "to check (verify)"
* {{wikt-lang|es|chichi}}({{lang|es|s}}): "breast(s)". From Nahuatl {{Lang|nah|chīchīhualli}} {{IPA-nah|tʃiːtʃiːwɑlːi|}}. Considered informal.
* {{wikt-lang|es|chido}}: "cool, attractive, fun, etc." A variant common in the Northwest is {{wikt-lang|es|chilo}}, sometimes spelled and pronounced ''shilo''.
* {{wikt-lang|es|chingadera}}: "trash; crap". Considered vulgar. Derived from {{wikt-lang|es|chingar}}.
* {{wikt-lang|es|cholo}}: In northern Mexico, equivalent to the English term ''gangsta''; in the rest of Mexico, equivalent to the Spanish term {{lang|es|[[wikt:es:pandillero|pandillero]]}} ("hooligan", "gang member"), which refers to young slum-dwellers living in conditions of [[extreme poverty]], drug dependency, and malnutrition.
* {{wikt-lang|es|durazno}}: "peach"
* {{lang|es|En un momento}}: "Just a minute", "Hold on a second", etc. Literally "in a moment".
* {{wikt-lang|es|escuincle}}: "a bratty child" or "squirt". From Nahuatl {{lang|nah|itzcuīntli}} {{IPA-nah|it͡skʷiːnt͡ɬi|}}, "dog".
* {{wikt-lang|es|este|Este...}}: a [[filler word]], similar to American English "um, uh". Literally, "this". Also used in other countries.
* {{wikt-lang|es|equis}}: The name of the letter [[X]]. Coming from the use of X as a [[Variable (mathematics)|variable]] in math, {{lang|es|equis}} can be a noun modifier meaning "some", it can mean something is unimportant, or it can be an exclamation, used to show indifference towards the truth value of something previously said.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Kellert |first1=Olga |editor1-last=Gergel |editor1-first=Remus |editor2-last=Watkins |editor2-first=Jonathan |title=Quantification and scales in change |date=2019 |publisher=Language Science Press |location=Berlin |isbn=978-3-96110-266-2 |pages=131–159 |chapter=Semantic and syntactic change of {{lang|es|equis}} in Mexican Spanish}}</ref>
* {{wikt-lang|es|gacho}}: messed-up
* {{wikt-lang|es|güero}}: a fair-haired or fair-skinned person. Derived from a term meaning "[[egg white]]".<ref>{{Cite web|title=GÜERO|url=http://etimologias.dechile.net/?gu_ero|access-date=2021-09-12|website=Etimologías de Chile - Diccionario que explica el origen de las palabras|language=es}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last1=Bancroft |first1=Hubert Howe |title=History of the Pacific States of North America: California pastoral |date=1888 |publisher=A.L. Bancroft & Company |page=529 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=f7sUAAAAYAAJ |language=en}}</ref>
* {{lang|es|[[güey]]}}, {{lang|es|wey}} or {{lang|es|buey}}: "dude", "guy" (literally, "ox"). As an adjective, "dumb", "asinine", "moronic", etc. Not to be confused with "Huey" from the Aztec title "[[Huey Tlatoani]]", in which "Huey" is a term of reverence.
* {{Lang|es-MX|hablar con}}: "to talk with (on the telephone)". Used in place of the standard {{lang|es|llamar}}.
* {{wikt-lang|es|jitomate}}: red tomato, in contrast to tomatillos.
* {{wikt-lang|es|macho}}: "manly". Applied to a woman ({{lang|es|macha}}): "manly" or "skillful". From {{lang|es|macho}}, male.
* {{wikt-lang|es|mamón}}: stuck up, arrogant. Considered vulgar.
* {{wikt-lang|es|menso}}: dumb, foolish. Euphemistic in nature.
* {{lang|es|[[Naco (slang)|naco]]}}: "a low-class, boorish, foolish, ignorant and/or uneducated person". Pejorative.
* {{wikt-lang|es|órale|órale}}: (1) similar to English "Wow!" (2) "Okay". (3) Exclamation of surprised protest. Abbreviated {{lang|es|¡Ora!}} by low-class people in their uneducated variety. May be considered rude.
* {{wikt-lang|es|padre}}: used as an adjective to denote something "cool", attractive, good, fun, etc. E.g. {{lang|es|Esta música está muy padre}}, "This music is very cool." Literally, "father".
* {{wikt-lang|es|pedo}}: "problem" or "fight". Literally "fart". Also, in a greeting, {{lang|es|¿Qué pedo, güey?}} ("What's up, dude?"). As an adjective, "drunk", e.g. {{lang|es|estar pedo}}, "to be drunk". Also the noun {{lang|es|peda}}: "a drunken gathering". All forms are considered vulgar for their connection to {{lang|es|pedo}}, "fart".
* {{Lang|es-MX|pelo chino}}: "curly hair".<ref name="Cuervas" /> The word {{wikt-lang|es|chino}} derives from the Spanish word {{lang|es|cochino}}, "pig".<ref name="Cuervas" /> The phrase originally referenced the {{lang|es|[[casta]]}} (racial type) known as {{lang|es|chino}}, meaning a person of mixed indigenous and African ancestry whose hair was curly.<ref name="Cuervas">{{Cite journal |last=Hernández Cuevas |first=Marco Polo |date=June 2012 |title=The Mexican Colonial Term "Chino" Is a Referent of Afrodescendant |journal=The Journal of Pan African Studies |volume=5 |issue=5}}</ref> Sometimes erroneously thought to be derived from Spanish {{lang|es|chino}}, "Chinese".<ref name="Cuervas" />
* {{wikt-lang|es|pinche}}: "damned", "lousy", more akin to "freaking". E.g. {{lang|es|Quita tu pinche música de aquí.}} ("Take your lousy music from here"). As a noun, literally, "kitchen assistant". Considered vulgar.
* {{wikt-lang|es|popote}}: "drinking straw". From Nahuatl {{lang|nah|popōtl}} {{IPA-nah|popoːt͡ɬ|}}, the name of a plant from which brooms and drinking straws are made, or the straws themselves.{{citation needed|date=September 2012}}
* {{wikt-lang|es|rentar}}: "to rent"
* {{Lang|es-MX|¿Cómo la ves?}}: "What do you think about it?" Literally "How do you see it?"
* {{wikt-lang|es|híjole|¡Híjole!}}: An exclamation, used variously to express surprise, frustration, etc. From {{lang|es|hijo de...}} ("son of a..."). Also {{lang|es|¡Híjoles!}}.
* {{wikt-lang|es|mande|¿Mande?}}: "Beg your pardon?". From {{lang|es|mandar}}, "to order", formal command form. {{lang|es|¿Cómo?}} (literally "How?"), as in other countries, is also in use. The use of {{lang|es|¿Qué?}} ("What?") on its own is sometimes considered impolite, unless accompanied by a verb: {{Lang|es-MX|¿Qué dijiste?}} ("What did you say?").
* {{wikt-lang|es|qué ondas|¿Qué onda?}}: "What's up?". Literally, "What's the vibe?".
* {{wikt-lang|es|valer madre}}: to be worthless. Literally "to be worth (a) mother".

Most of the words above are considered informal (e.g. {{Lang|es-MX|chavo(a)}}, {{Lang|es-MX|padre}}, {{Lang|es-MX|güero}}, etc.), rude ({{Lang|es-MX|güey}}, {{Lang|es-MX|naco}}, {{Lang|es-MX|¿cómo (la) ves?}}, etc.) or vulgar (e.g. {{Lang|es-MX|chingadera}}, {{Lang|es-MX|pinche}}, {{Lang|es-MX|pedo}}) and are limited to slang use among friends or in informal settings; foreigners need to exercise caution in their use. In 2009, at an audience for the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding between Mexico and the Netherlands, the then Crown Prince of the Netherlands, [[Willem-Alexander of the Netherlands|Willem-Alexander]], made a statement to the audience with a word that, in Mexican Spanish, is considered very vulgar. Evidently oblivious to the word's different connotations in different countries, the prince's Argentine interpreter used the word {{Lang|es-MX|chingada}} as the ending to the familiar Mexican proverb "{{Lang|es-MX|Camarón que se duerme se lo lleva la corriente|italic=no}}" (A sleeping shrimp is carried away by the tide), without realizing the vulgarity associated with the word in Mexico. The prince, also unaware of the differences, proceeded to say the word, to the bemusement and offense of some of the attendees.<ref>{{Cite news |date=6 November 2009 |title=Spanish quote gets prince into trouble |work=DutchNews.nl |url=http://www.dutchnews.nl/news/archives/2009/11/spanish_quote_gets_prince_into/ |access-date=9 March 2016}}</ref>

== Similar dialects ==

[[New Mexican Spanish|New Mexico Spanish]] has many similarities with an older version of Mexican Spanish, and can be considered part of a Mexican Spanish "macro-dialect".{{Sfn|Bills|Vigil|2008|pp=14-17}}
The small amount of [[Philippine Spanish]] has traditionally been influenced by Mexican Spanish, as the colony was initially administered from [[Mexico City]] before being administered directly from [[Madrid]]. [[Chavacano]], a [[Spanish-based creole language]] in the Philippines, is based on Mexican Spanish. To outsiders, the accents of nearby Spanish-speaking countries in northern Central America, such as [[El Salvador]] and [[Guatemala]], might sound similar to those spoken in Mexico, especially in central and southern Mexico.

== Influence of Nahuatl ==
The Spanish of Mexico has had various [[indigenous languages]] as a [[linguistic substrate]]. Particularly significant has been the influence of [[Nahuatl]], especially in the [[lexicon]]. However, while in the vocabulary its influence is undeniable, it is hardly felt in the [[grammar]] field. In the lexicon, in addition to the words that originated from Mexico with which the [[Spanish language]] has been enriched, such as {{lang|es-MX|tomate}} "tomato", {{lang|es-MX|hule}} "rubber", {{lang|es-MX|tiza}} "chalk", {{lang|es-MX|chocolate}} "chocolate", {{lang|es-MX|coyote}} "coyote", {{lang|es-MX|petaca}} "flask", et cetera; the Spanish of [[Mexico]] has many [[Nahuatlismo]]s that confer a lexical personality of its own.  It can happen that the [[Nahuatl]] word coexists with the Spanish word, as in the cases of {{lang|es-MX|cuate}} "buddy" and {{lang|es-MX|amigo}} "friend", {{lang|es-MX|guajolote}} "turkey" and {{lang|es-MX|pavo}} "turkey", {{lang|es-MX|chamaco}} "kid" and {{lang|es-MX|niño}} "boy", {{lang|es-MX|mecate}} "rope" and {{lang|es-MX|reata}} "rope", etc. On other occasions, the indigenous word differs slightly from the Spanish, as in the case of {{lang|es-MX|huarache}}, which is another type of sandal; {{lang|es-MX|tlapalería}}, hardware store, {{lang|es-MX|molcajete}}, a stone mortar, etc. Other times, the Nahuatl word has almost completely displaced the Spanish, {{lang|es-MX|tecolote}} "owl", {{lang|es-MX|atole}} "cornflour drink", {{lang|es-MX|popote}} "straw", {{lang|es-MX|milpa}} "cornfield", {{lang|es-MX|ejote}} "green bean", {{lang|es-MX|jacal}} "shack", {{lang|es-MX|papalote}} "kite", etc. There are many {{lang|es-MX|indigenismos}} "words of indigenous origin" who designate Mexican realities for which there is no Spanish word; {{lang|es-MX|mezquite}} "mesquite", {{lang|es-MX|zapote}} "sapota", {{lang|es-MX|jícama}} "jicama", {{lang|es-MX|ixtle}} "ixtle", {{lang|es-MX|cenzontle}} "mockingbird", {{lang|es-MX|tuza}} "husk", {{lang|es-MX|[[pozole]]}}, {{lang|es-MX|[[tamales]]}}, {{lang|es-MX|huacal}} "crate", {{lang|es-MX|comal}} "hotplate", {{lang|es-MX|huipil}} "embroidered blouse", {{lang|es-MX|metate}} "stone for grinding", etc. The strength of the Nahuatl substrate influence is felt less each day, since there are no new contributions.

* Frequently used [[Nahuatlismo]]s: {{lang|es-MX|aguacate}} "avocado", {{lang|es-MX|cacahuate}} "peanut", {{lang|es-MX|cacao}} "cocoa", {{lang|es-MX|coyote}} "coyote", {{lang|es-MX|cuate}} "buddy", {{lang|es-MX|chapulín}} "chapulin", {{lang|es-MX|chicle}} "gum", {{lang|es-MX|chocolate}} "chocolate", {{lang|es-MX|ejote}} "bean", {{lang|es-MX|elote}} "corn", {{lang|es-MX|huachinango}} "huachinango", {{lang|es-MX|guajolote}} "turkey", {{lang|es-MX|hule}} "rubber", {{lang|es-MX|jitomate}} "tomato", {{lang|es-MX|mayate}} "Mayan (used for people of African descent)", {{lang|es-MX|mecate}} "rope", {{lang|es-MX|milpa}} "cornfield", {{lang|es-MX|olote}} "corn husk", {{lang|es-MX|papalote}} "kite", {{lang|es-MX|petaca}} "flask" (per suitcase), {{lang|es-MX|piocha}} "goatee", {{lang|es-MX|zopilote}} "buzzard." 
* Moderately frequent Nahuatlismos: {{lang|es-MX|ajolote}} "axolotl", {{lang|es-MX|chichi}} "boob" (for female breast), {{lang|es-MX|jacal}} "shack, hut" {{lang|es-MX|xocoyote}} "youngest child", {{lang|es-MX|tecolote}} "owl", {{lang|es-MX|tianguis}} "street market", {{lang|es-MX|tlapalería}} "hardware store", {{lang|es-MX|zacate}} "grass." 
* Purépechismos or Tarasquismos: {{lang|es-MX|huarache}} "sandal", {{lang|es-MX|jorongo}} "poncho", {{lang|es-MX|cotorina}} "jerkin", {{lang|es-MX|soricua}}, {{lang|es-MX|tacuche}} "bundle of rags" (slang for suit), {{lang|es-MX|achoque}} "salamander", {{lang|es-MX|corunda}} {{lang|es-MX|pirecua}}. 
* Other non-Mexican indigenismos: {{lang|es-MX|arepa}} "flatbread corn", {{lang|es-MX|butaca}} "armchair", {{lang|es-MX|cacique}} "chief, headman", {{lang|es-MX|caimán}} "alligator", {{lang|es-MX|canoa}} "canoe", {{lang|es-MX|coatí}} "coati", {{lang|es-MX|colibrí}} "hummingbird", {{lang|es-MX|chirimoya}} "custard apple", {{lang|es-MX|naguas}} "rags", {{lang|es-MX|guayaba}} "guava", {{lang|es-MX|huracán}} "hurricane", {{lang|es-MX|iguana}} "iguana", {{lang|es-MX|jaguar}} "jaguar", {{lang|es-MX|jaiba}} "crab", {{lang|es-MX|jefén}} "jefen", {{lang|es-MX|loro}} "parrot", {{lang|es-MX|maguey}} "agave", {{lang|es-MX|maíz}} "corn", {{lang|es-MX|mamey}} "mammee", {{lang|es-MX|maní}} "peanut", {{lang|es-MX|ñame}} "yam", {{lang|es-MX|ñandú}} "rhea", {{lang|es-MX|papaya}} "papaya", {{lang|es-MX|piragua}} "canoe", {{lang|es-MX|puma}} "puma", {{lang|es-MX|tabaco}} "tobacco", {{lang|es-MX|tapioca}} " {{lang|es-MX|yuca}} "cassava."

===Influence on phonology===
The influence of Nahuatl on phonology seems restricted to the monosyllabic pronunciation of digraphs '''-tz-''' and '''-tl-''' (Mexico: {{IPA|[aˈt͡ɬantiko]}} / Spain : {{IPA|[aðˈlantiko]}}), and to the various pronunciations of the letter '''-x-''', coming to represent the sounds '''{{IPA|[ks]}}''', '''{{IPA|[gz]}}''', '''{{IPA|[s]}}''', '''{{IPA|[x]}}''' and '''{{IPA|[ʃ]}}'''. In the grammar, one can cite as influence of Nahuatl the extensive use of diminutives: The most common Spanish diminutive suffix is {{lang|es-MX|-ito/-ita}}. English examples are –y in doggy or -let in booklet.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Diminutives in Spanish |url=https://practiceespanol.com/diminutives-in-spanish/ |date=30 Sep 2024 |website=Practice Español}}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal |last=Dávila Garibi |first=J. Ignacio |date=1959 |title=Posible influencia del náhuatl en el uso y abuso del diminutivo en el español de México |trans-title=Possible influence of Nahuatl on the use and abuse of the diminutive in Mexican Spanish |url=http://www.historicas.unam.mx/publicaciones/revistas/nahuatl/pdf/ecn01/007.pdf |journal=Estudios de Cultura Náhuatl |language=es |volume=1 |pages=91–94}}</ref> It can also be cited as influence of Nahuatl the use of the suffix '''-Le''' to give an emphatic character to the [https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/imperative imperative]. For example: {{lang|es-MX|brinca}} "jump" -> {{lang|es-MX|brínca'''le'''}} "jump", {{lang|es-MX|come}} "eat" -> {{lang|es-MX|cóme'''le'''}} "eat", {{lang|es-MX|pasa}} "go/proceed" -> {{lang|es-MX|pása'''le'''}} "go/proceed", etc. This suffix is considered to be a crossover of the Spanish [[indirect object]] pronoun '''-le''' with the Nahua excitable interjections, such as {{lang|na|cuele}} '''"strain."'''<ref>{{Cite journal |last=López Austin |first=Alfredo |date=1989 |title=Sobre el origen del falso dativo '''-le''' del español de México |trans-title=On the origin of the false dative '''-le''' of Mexican Spanish |url=http://www.revistas.unam.mx/index.php/antropologia/article/view/13070/12391 |journal=Anales de Antropología |language=es |volume=26 |pages=407–416}}</ref> However, this suffix is not a real pronoun of indirect object, since it is still used in non-verbal constructions, such as {{lang|es-MX|hijo}} "son" -> {{lang|es-MX|híjo'''le'''}} "damn", {{lang|es-MX|ahora}} "now" ->  {{lang|es-MX|óra'''le'''}} "wow","{{lang|es-MX|¿que hubo?}}" "what's up?" -> {{lang|es-MX|quihúbo'''le'''}} "how's it going?", etc.

Although the suffix '''-le''' hypothesis as influence of Nahuatl has been widely questioned; Navarro Ibarra (2009) finds another explanation about '''-le''' intensifying character. The author warns that it is a defective dative clitic; instead of working as an indirect object pronoun, it modifies the verb. An effect of the modification is the intransitive of the transitive verbs that appear with this '''-le''' defective (ex. {{lang|es-MX|moverle}} "to move" it is not {{lang|es-MX|mover algo para alguien}} "to move something for someone" but {{lang|es-MX|hacer la acción de mover}} "to make the action of moving").<ref name="Predicados">{{Cite thesis |last=Ibarra |first=Navarro |title=Predicados complejos con le en español mexicano |date=2009 |degree=Doctoral |publisher=Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona |url=https://ddd.uab.cat/pub/tesis/2009/tdx-0527110-121845/ini1de1.pdf |language=es |trans-title=Complex predicates with le in Mexican Spanish}}</ref> This intensifier use is a particular grammatical feature of the Mexican Spanish variant. In any case, it should not be confused the use of '''-le''' as verbal modifier, with the different uses of the pronouns of [[indirect object |indirect object (dative)]] in the classical Spanish, as these are thoroughly used to indicate in particular the [[Genitive case|case genitive]] and the ethical dative. In what is considered one of the founding documents of the Spanish language, the [[Cantar de mio Cid|poem of Mio Cid]] written around the year 1200, you can already find various examples of [[Dative case|dative possessive]] or ethical.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Satorre Grau |first=Javier F. |title=Los posesivos en español |date=1999 |publisher=Universitat de València |series=Cuadernos de Filología: Anejo XXXV |pages=65–69 |trans-title=Possessives in Spanish}}</ref>

== Influence of English ==

Mexico has a border of more than 2,500 kilometers with the [[United States]], and receives major influxes of American and Canadian tourists every year. More than 63% of the 57 million Latinos in the United States are assumed as of Mexican origin.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Sulbarán Lovera |first=Patricia |date=6 February 2019 |title=Mexicanos en Estados Unidos: las cifras que muestran su verdadero poder económico |language=es |trans-title=Mexicans in the United States: the figures that show their true economic power |work=BBC News Mundo |url=https://www.bbc.com/mundo/noticias-internacional-46705825}}</ref> [[English language|English]] is the most studied foreign language in [[Mexico]], and the third most spoken after Spanish and the native languages taken together.<ref>{{Cite news |title=The future of language |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/worldviews/wp/2015/09/24/the-future-of-language/?noredirect=on |last=Noack |first=Rick |date=September 24, 2015 |newspaper=The Washington Post}}</ref> Given these circumstances, [[anglicism]]s in Mexican Spanish are continuously increasing (as they are also in the rest of the Americas and Spain), including {{lang|es-MX|filmar}} "to film", {{lang|es-MX|béisbol}} "baseball", {{lang|es-MX|club}} "club", {{lang|es-MX|coctel}} "cocktail", {{lang|es-MX|líder}} "leader", {{lang|es-MX|cheque}} "check", {{lang|es-MX|sándwich}} "sandwich", etc. Mexican Spanish also uses other anglicisms that are not used in all Spanish-speaking countries, including {{lang|es-MX|bye}}, {{lang|es-MX|ok}}, {{lang|es-MX|nice}}, {{lang|es-MX|cool}}, {{lang|es-MX|checar}} "to check", {{lang|es-MX|fólder}} "folder", {{lang|es-MX|overol}} "overalls", {{lang|es-MX|réferi}} "referee", {{lang|es-MX|lonchera}} "lunch bag", {{lang|es-MX|clóset}} "closet", {{lang|es-MX|maple}} "maple syrup", {{lang|es-MX|baby shower}}, etc.<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Carrizales |first1=Katie Suzanne |last2=Tinoco |first2=Elsa Marisol Olmos |date=2016 |title=LA INFLUENCIA DEL INGLÉS EN EL ESPAÑOL DE MÉXICO |trans-title=THE INFLUENCE OF ENGLISH ON MEXICAN SPANISH |url=https://www.jovenesenlaciencia.ugto.mx/index.php/jovenesenlaciencia/article/view/1384 |journal=Jóvenes en la Ciencia |language=es |volume=2 |issue=1 |pages=1757–1762 |issn=2395-9797}}</ref><ref>{{Citation |last=de Alba |first=José G. Moreno |title=Observaciones sobre el español en la frontera norte de México |date=1981 |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/j.ctv26d8jg.8 |work=La frontera norte |pages=85–94 |editor-last=Salazar |editor-first=Roque González |series=integración y desarrollo |edition=1 |publisher=El Colegio de Mexico |doi=10.2307/j.ctv26d8jg.8 |jstor=j.ctv26d8jg.8 |isbn=978-968-12-0059-6 |access-date=2022-03-22}}</ref>

English influence, at least in border cities, may result in lower use of the [[Subjunctive mood in Spanish|subjunctive]], as indicated by a study finding that, among residents of [[Reynosa]], greater contact with the American side correlated with lower use of the subjunctive. This parallels a greater reduction in the use of the subjunctive among Mexican-Americans.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Martínez |first1=Glenn A. |title=Language Variation in a Borderland Environment A quantitative approach to mood simplification in the Spanish of Reynosa, Mexico |journal=Rio Bravo: A Journal of Borderlands |date=1997 |volume=V:2 & VI:1 |pages=1–16}}</ref>

The center of Hispanic Linguistics of [[UNAM]] carried out a number of surveys in the project of coordinated study of the cultured linguistic norms of major cities of Ibero-America and of the Iberian Peninsula. The total number of anglicisms was about 4% among Mexican speakers of urban norms.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Spitzova |first=Eva |date=1991 |title=Estudio coordinado de la norm lingüística culta de las principales ciudades de Iberoamérica y de la Península Ibérica: Proyecto y realización |trans-title=Coordinated study of the cultured linguistic norm of the main cities of Ibero-America and the Iberian Peninsula: Project and realization |url=https://digilib.phil.muni.cz/bitstream/handle/11222.digilib/113644/1_EtudesRomanesDeBrno_21-1991-1_7.pdf?sequence=1 |language=es |journal=Sborník Prací Filozofické Fakulty Brnenské Univerzity}}</ref> However, this figure includes anglicisms that permeated general Spanish long ago and which are not particular to Mexico, such as buffete, {{lang|es-MX|náilon}} "nylon", {{lang|es-MX|dólar}} "dollar", hockey, {{lang|es-MX|rimel}}, {{lang|es-MX|ron}} "rum", {{lang|es-MX|vagón}} "railroad car", {{lang|es-MX|búfer}} "buffer", and others.

The results of this research are summarized as follows:

* [[Nouns]] are more likely to be loaned from English than other parts of speech. 
* Anglicisms in general use: O.K. ({{lang|es-MX|oquéi}}), {{lang|es-MX|bistec}} "(beef) steak", bye ({{lang|es-MX|bai}}), {{lang|es-MX|chequera}} "checkbook", {{lang|es-MX|clic}} "click", {{lang|es-MX|basquetbol}} "basketball", {{lang|es-MX|bate}} "baseball bat", {{lang|es-MX|béisbol}} "baseball", {{lang|es-MX|box(eo)}} "boxing", {{lang|es-MX|cláxon}} "horn", clip, {{lang|es-MX|clóset}} "closet", clutch, {{lang|es-MX|coctel}} "cocktail", {{lang|es-MX|champú}} or shampoo ({{lang|es-MX|shampú}}), {{lang|es-MX|cheque}} "check", DJ ({{lang|es-MX|diyei}}, disk jockey), romance, smoking or {{lang|es-MX|esmoquin}}, {{lang|es-MX|exprés}} "express", football ({{lang|es-MX|futból}}), {{lang|es-MX|gol}} "goal", hit, {{lang|es-MX|jonrón}} (homerun), jeep, jet, van, {{lang|es-MX|nocaut}} or knockout, {{lang|es-MX|líder}} "leader", {{lang|es-MX|náilon}} or nylon, {{lang|es-MX|overol}} "overalls", {{lang|es-MX|panqué}} "poundcake", {{lang|es-MX|pay}} "pie", {{lang|es-MX|pudín}} "pudding", baby shower, rating or {{lang|es-MX|ráting}}, {{lang|es-MX|reversa}} "reverse", {{lang|es-MX|rin}} (rim),  round ({{lang|es-MX|raund}}), set, shorts, show, strike ({{lang|es-MX|stráik}} or {{lang|es-MX|estráik}}), {{lang|es-MX|suéter}} "sweater", pants, {{lang|es-MX|tenis}} (tennis shoes), thinner, {{lang|es-MX|super}} "super market", {{lang|es-MX|fólder}} "folder", {{lang|es-MX|tenis}} or tennis, {{lang|es-MX|vóleibol}} "volleyball", vallet parking, and {{lang|es-MX|güisqui}} or whisk(e)y.
* Frequent Anglicisms: bar, {{lang|es-MX|bermudas}} (for Bermuda shorts), {{lang|es-MX|birra}} "beer", sport (type of clothing), switch. 
* Moderately used Anglicisms: barman "waiter", King/Queen size, grill, manager, penthouse, pullman, strapless, {{lang|es-MX|ziper}} or zipper.

Some examples of syntactic anglicisms, which coexist with the common variants, are:

* Using the verb apply/applying. ({{lang|es-MX|"Apliqué a esa universidad"}}, I applied to that university, instead of {{lang|es-MX|"Postulé a esta universidad"}}, I applied to this university) 
* Using the verb to assume with suppose. ({{lang|es-MX|"Asumo que sí va a ir a la fiesta"}}, I assume he is going to the party, instead of {{lang|es-MX|"Supongo que sí va a ir a la fiesta"}}, I guess he will go to the party)
* Using the verb access with access to. ({{lang|es-MX|"Accesa a nuestra página de internet"}}, Access our website, instead of {{lang|es-MX|"Accede a nuestra página de internet"}}, Access our website).

== See also ==

{{Portal|Society|Mexico|Language}}
* [[Languages of Mexico]]
* [[Standard Spanish]]
* [[List of colloquial expressions in Honduras]]

== Notes ==

{{reflist|30em}}

== References ==
{{refbegin|40em}}
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* {{cite book
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|archive-date=17 June 2018
}}
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*{{citation
|last= Malmberg
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|year= 1964
|title= Presente y futuro de la lengua española
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|place= Madrid
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*{{citation
|last= Malmberg
|first= Bertil
|chapter= Tradición hispánica e influencia indígena en la fonética hispanoamericana
|year= 1965
|title= Estudios de fonética hispánica
|publisher= Consejo Superior de Investicagión Científica
|place= Madrid
|pages= 99–126
|language=es
}}
*{{citation
|last= Malmberg
|first= Bertil
|chapter= Tradición hispánica e influencia indígena en la fonética hispanoamericana
|year= 1971
|title= Phonétique général et romane: Études en allemand, anglais, espagnol et français
|publisher= Mouton
|place= The Hague
|pages= 421–438
|language=es
}}
* {{cite journal |last1=Marden |first1=Charles Carroll |title=The Phonology of the Spanish Dialect of Mexico City |journal=PMLA |date=1896 |volume=11 |issue=1 |pages=85–150 |doi=10.2307/456218 |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/456218 |publisher=Modern Language Association|jstor=456218 |s2cid=163344894 }}
* {{cite book|last=Moreno De Alba|first=José G|year=2003|title=Suma De Minucias Del Lenguaje|place=Mexico|language=es|publisher=editorial Fondo De Cultura Económica}}
{{refend}}

==Further reading==
* {{cite journal
|last=Avelino
|first=Heriberto
|year=2018
|title=Mexico City Spanish
|journal=Journal of the International Phonetic Association
|volume=48
|issue=2
|pages=223–230
|doi=10.1017/S0025100316000232
|s2cid=151617898
|url=https://www.cambridge.org/core/services/aop-cambridge-core/content/view/C35C97AE9A19C9C222FD614D2D4125AA/S0025100316000232a.pdf/mexico_city_spanish.pdf
|doi-access=free
}}
*{{Cite book |last=Sánchez Somoano |first=José |url=https://archive.org/details/modismoslocucion00snuoft |title=Modismos, locuciones y términos mexicanos |publisher=M. Minuesa de los Ríos |year=1892 |location=Madrid |language=es}}

== External links ==
* [http://www.jergasdehablahispana.org/?pais=M%E9xico&tipobusqueda=1 Jergas de habla hispana]—A Spanish dictionary specializing in dialectal and colloquial variants of Spanish, featuring all Spanish-language countries including Mexico.
* [http://www.spanish-translator-services.com/articles/latin-american-spanish.htm Latin American Spanish]—This is the universal and somewhat arbitrary name that is given to idiomatic and native expressions and to the specific vocabulary of the Spanish language in Latin America.
* [http://www.gueyspanish.com/ Güey Spanish]—Mexican slang dictionary and flashcards.
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20090905142628/http://espadiamapas.t35.com/mexicanslangtoenglish.html Mexican Spanish slang]—Several hundred words of Mexican slang and English meanings.

{{Languages of Mexico}}
{{Mexico topics}}
{{Spanish variants by continent}}
{{authority control}}

[[Category:Mexican Spanish| ]]
[[Category:Spanish dialects of North America]]