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Vocabulario vaquero/Cowboy Talk: A Dictionary of Spanish Terms from the American West (review)

2006; Linguistic Society of America; Volume: 82; Issue: 4 Linguagem: Inglês

10.1353/lan.2006.0210

1535-0665

Don R. McCreary,

Spanish Linguistics and Language Studies

Reviewed by: Vocabulario vaquero/Cowboy talk: A dictionary of Spanish terms from the American West by Robert N. Smead Don R. McCreary Vocabulario vaquero/Cowboy talk: A dictionary of Spanish terms from the American West. By Robert N. Smead. Norman: University of Oklahoma Press, 2004. Pp. xxxiv, 197. ISBN 0806136316. $20. This scholarly lexicographical work in southwestern US dialectology emphasizes the etymology of ranching expressions with careful references to material from English and Hispanic reference works. From the introduction we read: ‘Both the origins (etymology) and usage in English as well as Spanish have been carefully documented for each term or expression … a scholarly linguistic treatment of its subject matter—a treatment often found lacking in other sources’ (xxi). In addition to explaining borrowing as a linguistic process, Smead’s introduction gives ample sources ranging from the Oxford English Dictionary to little known glossaries of ranch terms. The illustrations by Ronald Kil that show details of the bridle reins, types of saddles, and types of characters that populated the southwest are beautifully drawn. This reference work, 763 terms organized from A–Z in 197 pages, is well written, covering Spanish and Native American loanwords, for example, California and its seventeen collocations, including California bible ‘a pack of playing cards’, tequila (Nahuatl tequillan) ‘place where tributes are paid’, and Mexican and its sixteen collocations, including Mexican breakfast ‘a cigarette and a glass of water’. The foreword by Richard W. Slatta considers historical arguments about the place of Hispanics in ranching culture in the American southwest, changing perspectives, and revisionism in historical circles. The macrostructure has easy-to-read typography with boldfaced headwords, generally making guide-words in the headers unnecessary. Vocabulary coverage is limited to ranching terminology, flora and fauna, pejoratives, and other culturally relevant expressions. Run-ons follow each main term; for example, bronco is followed by bronca and fourteen more. These run-ons occasionally violate alphabetical order because S decided to list all of the run-ons in one semantically related list; for example, following Mexican, we see Mex, Mex livin, Mexicanized, and Mexican standoff (127–28). As a result, some expressions may not be as readily findable as they might be. Otherwise, given the moderate length and the reasonable number of three to seven entries per page, the macrostructure is well constructed. As for microstructure, the organization of the information inside the entries for the headwords, the terms are translated into English and sources are provided. A full sentence proposing a likely etymology is given, the first appearance of the term in English and Spanish reference works is cited, and encyclopedic cultural information is added. Regarding the pronunciation in each entry, it is occasionally inadequate for the English-speaking reader, since one wonders how twentieth-century cowboys pronounced the term. This occurred for me with maguey, the plant that produces tequila, arriero, a muleteer, arroyo, a streambed, and fofarraw, trinkets or baubles. The encyclopedic information may go beyond the scope of a typical dictionary, as in the following: ‘cigarro … Among his vices, the cowboy often demonstrated a fondness for (if not an addiction to) tobacco in its various forms. Smoking was associated with the tough hombre and was depicted in commercials (Marlboro Man), western literature, and film’ (62). This may strike the reader as overly wordy from time [End Page 960] to time. In a few entries, however, the wordiness is welcome; for example, for gringo, which is of disputed origin, S lists five potential etymologies: US army green coats, ‘green grow’ in a lyric, the name Ringgold, Irish brigades’ green coats, and griego (Greek) as in ‘it’s all Greek to me’. Don R. McCreary University of Georgia Copyright © 2006 Linguistic Society of America