In an area that was once a part of Mexico, it’s no surprise cities along the Southwestern United States carry Spanish names.
From San Antonio to El Paso to Santa Fe, the pronunciation of those cities have become Anglicized. While some people stay true to the authentic Spanish pronunciation, others have adapted to saying the words in the “American” way.
The pronunciation of these names — and the broader implications of language loss — is often explored in essayist and novelist Oscar Cásares’ works.
In his Texas Monthly article, “What We Say When We Say ‘San Antonio,’ ” Cásares details his experience with pronunciation, language and culture as he recounts a personal story as a teenager.
“I was reminded of that story … (and) I decided to sort of, in a way, marry these two ideas: The idea of how we said the name San Antonio and a trip to San Antonio,” he said.
Cásares, who also teaches creative writing at the University of Texas at Austin, discussed the stylistic dilemmas he and other writers face when trying to portray Spanish inflection on the page.
Many writers and publishers may decide to italicize Spanish words in print to reflect native accentuations. Cásares said he has debated back and forth with publishers about the use of italics to portray the Spanish language.
“Spanish is not a foreign language,” he said. “To say it’s a foreign language would be to ignore the history of the region, to ignore that people are very much in a bilingual world.”
