Probably an old word that's fallen from use. Chile was colonized in the
1600's and the town was likely founded 300-400 years ago. In New Mexico,
where I used to live, many of the Hispanics were of more or less pure
Spanish ancestry. They were decended from the original Spanish colonists who
founded Santa Fe in 1610, and they still speak an old form of Spanish that
fell out of use in the rest of the Hispanic world in the late 1600's. Many
of them still call the language Castillano (Castillian) rather than Espanol
(Spanish). The language is still called Castillian in Spain, because there
are several languages spoken in Spain even today. Castillian is the language
that became Spanish in Latin America.
Most New Mexican Hispanos look down on Mexican immigrants for speaking a
form of Spanish that the New Mexican Spanish people have trouble
understanding. Mexicans speak a modern form of Spanish that people in modern
Spain have no trouble understanding, but the people in New Mexico speak 400
yr old Castillian! If I were still there I would ask my Ex if the word
you're looking up is still used there.
Chris <--who speaks little Spanish despite his Spanish ancestry :(
--
Chris Crawford
Photography & Graphic Design
Fort Wayne, Indiana
http://www.chriscrawfordphoto.com My portfolio
http://blog.chriscrawfordphoto.com My latest work!
http://www.plumpatrin.com Something the world NEEDS.
On 12/13/07 1:01 AM, "Moose" <olymoose@xxxxxxxxx> wrote:
> Andrew Fildes wrote:
>> Valparaiso ain't French, I'm fairly certain.
>>
> It means 'vale of paradise' in Spanish, according to their web site.
> Paraiso I know, but "val" isn't a current Spanish word according to my
> diccionairos, it means valley in French.
>
> The one in Indiana is named after the one in Chile.
> http://www.ci.valparaiso.in.us/cityhistory/cityhistory/CHShort/cityhistory.htm
>
> Moose
>
> ==============================================
> List usage info: http://www.zuikoholic.com
> List nannies: olympusadmin@xxxxxxxxxx
> ==============================================
==============================================
List usage info: http://www.zuikoholic.com
List nannies: olympusadmin@xxxxxxxxxx
==============================================
|