Talk:Gringo/Archive 2011

Refering to all foreigners?
"used in some countries of Latin America to refer to foreigners from different cultures (from the United States especially, but also from Canada, the United Kingdom, Australia and elsewhere, including sometimes other countries of Latin America itself)."

This is completely wrong. The term "Gringo" is used specifically for people from the USA, at least, in the context used in all latinamerica.


 * No, its definitely can be used to cover British people and doubtless other Europeans who arent Spanish. It can refer specifically to US people or it can have a wider meaning. On the other hand Latinos from one country would never refer to Gringo's from another country as Gringos, SqueakBox 21:00, 17 January 2007 (UTC)

See Thaddeus Blanchette's article, at the bottom of the page. By the way: read carefully. The Wikipedia article does not say the word is used for all foreigners. FilipeS 21:09, 17 January 2007 (UTC)


 * Cant see it it, it isnt online. What exactly does it say. We need more refs that gringo can be used to describe Latinos as it sounds contrived to me, SqueakBox 21:44, 17 January 2007 (UTC)

Odd, I can see it fine. Try again. (It may take a while to load. The website is not very user-friendly.)

P.S. Oh, and here's the relevant quote:

I suspect this comes as a bit of a surprise to any latinos who might be reading this, but in Brazil, "gringo" is even applied to foreigners hailing from other parts of Latin America.

The Rio daily newspaper O Povo recently ran a front page item detailing an attempted mugging of an American by three Ecuadorians in Tom Jobim airport. The headline? "Gringo rouba gringo" ("Gringos steal from gringo"). FilipeS 22:00, 17 January 2007 (UTC)

Well that specifically relates to Brazilians and their relation to Hispanic Latinos. This specific info would be great to include somewhere in the article that isnt the opening, it certainly sounds credible (because of the different languages), SqueakBox 22:14, 17 January 2007 (UTC)

I have have something to add. Its also used by Hispanics (both citizen and non-citizens) in the United States, and I've only heard it used to refer to whites. So I'm not sure how it can be used to describe foreigners when these "foreigners" are in their own country.--Craigboy (talk) 00:27, 27 May 2011 (UTC)

Dictionary Reference
I noted, with perculiarity that the following sentence was structured thusly:


 * The American Heritage Dictionary classifies gringo as "offensive slang," "usually disparaging," and "often disparaging."[1] However, the term can also be used to simply identify a foreigner and does not carry a negative connotation according to the definition in the dictionary of the Spanish Royal Academy which defines the Spanish language.[2]

Why would we cite the SRA as the authority of Spanish language by name, and not use the Oxford which is the authority on English language? Or is the Oxford's definition not colorful enough, specifically that it isn't compounding sensationalised adjectives of "offensive slang," "usually disparaging," and "often disparaging?" 60.228.56.223 (talk) 21:40, 27 March 2011 (UTC)

comments
The word Gringo comes from the the (green coats) the soldiers wore during the Mexican-American War. The mexican soldiers spaniarized phonetically what they heard. "gringos" That is why the word Gringo does not appear in anywhere before the war. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 206.17.226.3 (talk • contribs)
 * This is a mistake, a common misconception that falls apart upon any examination at all. US troops did not wear green coats, or green uniforms of any sort, during the Mexican-American War--their uniforms at the time were blue, and didn't start being green until the twentieth century, well after the war (and, incidentally, after the publication of the book whose cover we're using to illustrate this article).  Heather (talk) 03:23, 27 May 2010 (UTC)

Actually the Jeff Davis legion wore a green uniform. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 96.229.166.24 (talk) 02:02, 12 August 2010 (UTC) What are you talking about? The word "gringo" is sourced a few CENTURIES before then, and as Heather said, the army didn't even wear green uniforms then. They were, in fact, blue. Look at any picture from the era. Where you get your information is beyond me, as it all demonstrably false within 30 seconds of checking it out. heh — Preceding unsigned comment added by 174.101.204.248 (talk) 05:35, 16 August 2011 (UTC)

What are you talking about? The word "gringo" is sourced a few CENTURIES before then, and as Heather said, the army didn't even wear green uniforms then. They were, in fact, blue. Look at any picture from the era. Where you get your information is beyond me, as it all demonstrably false within 30 seconds of checking it out. heh — Preceding unsigned comment added by 174.101.204.248 (talk) 05:42, 16 August 2011 (UTC)

I deleted and refrased one paragraph since it was full of personal non-objective opinions and insulted one of the two parties involved (mexicans) —Preceding unsigned comment added by 81.219.196.254 (talk) 15:52, 13 February 2010 (UTC)

Extension of the word
Gringo is not used "principally in latin america", Gringo is used ONLY in latin america. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 95.16.155.213 (talk) 01:14, 12 May 2011 (UTC)
 * Except say, in the United States where it is used by immigrant communities far, far more than it is said in their native countries? Sure then, I guess that's kinda right. Or not even remotely. I've also heard the odd Spaniard use it, but they tend not to because they know it's considered a racial slur in some parts of the world. And if they didn't speak Spanish themselves, and there wasn't a culture of idealizing the culture of those from Spain, that the word would be applied to them based on physical appearance alone. I can say, for certain, that the feeling is not shared by Spaniards, as very few Latin Americans actually have much Spanish ancestry, and are considered "Native Americans" largely in Spain, having abandoned their native cultures and languages, and adopted the identity and culture of Spaniards wholesale.
 * — Preceding unsigned comment added by 174.101.204.248 (talk) 04:58, 16 August 2011 (UTC)