I was always taught that it is an onomatopoeia -- like a "taptap" in Haiti -- guagua being the sound of a twice-blown horn. This has been debated before here on DR1, with no definitive answer provided as to date.Lesley D said:Guagua has different meanings throughout the Spanish speaking world. For example in some South American countries specifically Ecuador, Bolivia and Chile it means baby.
Porfio_Rubirosa said:I was always taught that it is an onomatopoeia -- like a "taptap" in Haiti -- guagua being the sound of a twice-blown horn. This has been debated before here on DR1, with no definitive answer provided as to date.
Hey, Rob and Dolores, this is post 1,500 for me. When do I get my gold watch? If not for 1,500 posts, then how about for spelling onomatopoeia correctly?
Speculate, no. Paint with too broad a brush, perhaps. I would say still no definitive answer for the caribbean bus. It makes no sense to call a bus a "ni?o de pecho", unless the RAE can provide further explanation. Odd that the RAE ignores the caribbean useage origin entirely, don't you think? It sort of confirms the anti-caribbean bias that I see in your posts and have always suspected of the RAE. Seems quite possible that the andean word and the caribbean word are not just of different meaning, but of different origin as well.Lesley D said:Porfio_Rubirosa,
With languages I never speculate. I just checked the RAE and the South American origin is from quechua which is the indigenous language of Peru.
Here it is:
guagua(2).
(Del quechua w?wa).
1. f. ?. Andes. Ni?o de pecho. En Ecuador, u. c. com.
What I heard was that it was the name the Taino Indians used to call the bigger canoes that was used as a form of transportation to transfer people from one village to another.Anna Coniglio said:I know what it means but how did it originate and is it used in any other Spanish speaking country besides the DR?
For those that don't know, it's a small type van used as a bus. I've heard people refer to the big carebi tour bus as a "gua gua" as well.
Porfio_Rubirosa said:Odd that the RAE ignores the caribbean useage origin entirely, don't you think? It sort of confirms the anti-caribbean bias that I see in your posts and have always suspected of the RAE. Seems quite possible that the andean word and the caribbean word are not just of different meaning, but of different origin as well.
For example, according to the Oxford English Dictionary, a "gyro" is an abbreviation for a "gyroscope". Yet every American knows that a "gyro" is a greek sandwich of shaved lamb or beef served with onions and yogurt sauce in pita bread. When's that greek guy who posted going to open his restaurant, anyway?
or indeed, vice-versa.boca chica dave said:May have migrated from the Philipines via the Spaniards.
Stodgord said:La voladora is the name given to minibuses, because they are jam packed and ride very fast. Have any of you have had the "voladora" experience.
stewart said:I have spent many miles on the voladoras. I love it. My understanding is that they are not only the mini-buses. But all the buses that make frequent stops or pick people up on the road side.