And ...what is the exact meaning of a Gringo? sorry guys im just curious....and i am trying to prove something to a person who's never been lol
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Meaning of gringo
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Gringo
here's one thread about it. I was looking for a more indeepth thread but can't find it.
http://dr1.com/forums/showthread.php?t=38967&highlight=gringo
here's one thread about it. I was looking for a more indeepth thread but can't find it.
http://dr1.com/forums/showthread.php?t=38967&highlight=gringo
Lesley D will undoubtedly know better than I.
That said, here is what I have heard.
Some of the first foreign visitors to the Iberian peninsula were seen to be "Greeks" and refered to as "griegos" which morphed over time to sound like "gringo".
Others say it was coined by folks wanting the US forces OUT of their countries, "Greens Go".
Either way, it usually is used by Spanish speakers to refer to pale foreigners.
Sometimes it is nice, sometimes it is an insult.
Here is a link to a good article.
Enjoy the controversy..............Sam
That said, here is what I have heard.
Some of the first foreign visitors to the Iberian peninsula were seen to be "Greeks" and refered to as "griegos" which morphed over time to sound like "gringo".
Others say it was coined by folks wanting the US forces OUT of their countries, "Greens Go".
Either way, it usually is used by Spanish speakers to refer to pale foreigners.
Sometimes it is nice, sometimes it is an insult.
Here is a link to a good article.
Enjoy the controversy..............Sam
Dear God, not again!
...again :tired:
This is the can of worms I was referring to in the thread Anna listed above:
http://www.dr1.com/forums/showthread.php?t=37263
Bring some snacks...
...again :tired:
This is the can of worms I was referring to in the thread Anna listed above:
http://www.dr1.com/forums/showthread.php?t=37263
Bring some snacks...
When I hear ginga/gringo I take it as an issult.
( I don't usually get called this)
What I do get called that I don't find as insulting is another word that starts with a G- it kind of sounds like guerra(which means war) but isn't spelt the same....and I forget how to spell it. If anyone wants to spell it properly feel free. It means pale skin, light hair, blue/green eyes.
Also wanted to add, when I was working in the hotel, when locals used the word gring/gringa they usually were talking trash about the person, and more often then not the person was american, but it has been used for anyone with light skin. Hence why I find it insulting.
( I don't usually get called this)
What I do get called that I don't find as insulting is another word that starts with a G- it kind of sounds like guerra(which means war) but isn't spelt the same....and I forget how to spell it. If anyone wants to spell it properly feel free. It means pale skin, light hair, blue/green eyes.
Also wanted to add, when I was working in the hotel, when locals used the word gring/gringa they usually were talking trash about the person, and more often then not the person was american, but it has been used for anyone with light skin. Hence why I find it insulting.
last year someone called me "gringo shamu" when i was swimming...made me lose wait before i travelled again 
Even tho i am half mex...i still get called gringo cuz of my white skin. Very rarely do i find it as a true insult tho. I usualy rattle back some quick retort in spanish and their mouths drop...and all is ok.
but i THINK it originates from mexico and the spanish american war
Even tho i am half mex...i still get called gringo cuz of my white skin. Very rarely do i find it as a true insult tho. I usualy rattle back some quick retort in spanish and their mouths drop...and all is ok.
but i THINK it originates from mexico and the spanish american war
I think the term implied, on a negative basis is mostly due.... because of lack of education from the individual and uses it in a derogatory manner.
Uneducated in the US will say something like.... gringo greenside up.
But yet in Brazil it is not mentioned to be derogatory at all..... just that you are and not from Brazil. No harm done, nor should you take it that way.
Uneducated in the US will say something like.... gringo greenside up.
But yet in Brazil it is not mentioned to be derogatory at all..... just that you are and not from Brazil. No harm done, nor should you take it that way.
easygoin said:
that is EXACTLY how i have interpreted it to mean. Just another word for tourist. even when that guy called me "gringo shamu"...it was sort of a joke...we ended up...oh never mind
Do white dominicans (i am talking red hair w/freckles...yes i have met some)..do they every get mistaken for tourists and called gringo?
jrzyguy said:
My husband hasn't got red hair with freckles - although some of his family members fit that description - but he goes through this every single day of his life here. It drives him mental - and he calls it racism.
'!?Dominicano?! ?Como puede ser?' He gets charged gringo prices, asked where he's from, and offered taxis and trinkets on El Conde. People speak to him slowly and clearly, even after having heard him speak in a perfect DR accent. He has a line of patter for these situations, something like: 'Mire, hermano, soy de un maldito campo de Moca'.
It doesn't help that he dresses 'like a gringo'.
jrzyguy- from my experience, people who get called gringo-gringa usually don't speak spanish and if they do, its with a huge accent- you know pronounciation on the wrong part of the word, r's and n's pronounced akwardly so that you know they don't really know what they are doing.
it's really funny
How people can categorize you as far as not being homegrown... and put you on a pedestal, do to there uneducated outlook on a person which they don't even know.
jrzyguy said:that is EXACTLY how i have interpreted it to mean. Just another word for tourist. even when that guy called me "gringo shamu"...it was sort of a joke...we ended up...oh never mind
Do white dominicans (i am talking red hair w/freckles...yes i have met some)..do they every get mistaken for tourists and called gringo?
How people can categorize you as far as not being homegrown... and put you on a pedestal, do to there uneducated outlook on a person which they don't even know.
well in my 9 trips to the dr , I would say , from what I have heard is that if you are called a gringo, it is usually a put down of some form....if you are called an americano, then they is used more as a positive or nuetral remark..
when I have taken my GF to the resort areas, and have passed groups of guys hanging out, we usually get some remark, and the word gringo is involved...I gather it is because she is attractive and they arent happy she is with an american.
but when we drive down the back roads close to her house, i hear more, "hey americano!!"... and I see it is in a friendly manner....
bob
when I have taken my GF to the resort areas, and have passed groups of guys hanging out, we usually get some remark, and the word gringo is involved...I gather it is because she is attractive and they arent happy she is with an american.
but when we drive down the back roads close to her house, i hear more, "hey americano!!"... and I see it is in a friendly manner....
bob
And like Gringo the 'Hey Americaaaano' is used for all whities; I'm called Americano all the time.
The use of 'American' in this way is also interesting with regard to the discussion about the origin and scope of the term 'American' going on in another thread. It appears a lot of Dominicans mean (white) North Americans/US citizens with 'American'; I bet a Brazilian or Chilean visitor would not be addressed with Americano.
The use of 'American' in this way is also interesting with regard to the discussion about the origin and scope of the term 'American' going on in another thread. It appears a lot of Dominicans mean (white) North Americans/US citizens with 'American'; I bet a Brazilian or Chilean visitor would not be addressed with Americano.
Texans hold by one defintion directly from history of the Mexican American War first hand accounts.
US troops had green uniforms.
Mexicans following the war shouted at US troops- Green Go.
The term Gringo was born.
Original definition- occupation troops go home.
second definition- derogatory term for Americans
current usage- US citizens, with or with out derogatory meaning
US troops had green uniforms.
Mexicans following the war shouted at US troops- Green Go.
The term Gringo was born.
Original definition- occupation troops go home.
second definition- derogatory term for Americans
current usage- US citizens, with or with out derogatory meaning
(Whatever) this palabra is used to decribe a persons color and cread,the maner IN WHICH it is said,can be taken,friendly/abusive;IVE experienced both here in the dr.It was good to know where the word started from!!
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