momik? mimik? (Insane, crazy, or kook customer?)

[Richard Haly]

I dunno. Back when I worked at Chez Panisse, we called such people Los
Angelinos. But maybe the Nahuatlahto said something like "miquic" (a dead
person) implying that he did not belong in this world.

Where is your Nahuatl-speaking employee from?

Why are you put off by the Spanish spelling conventions. It's as much a part
of the language as the Norman conquest impacted spelling (and other things)
in English. I have a running argument with friends in the Sierra Norte de
Puebla who want to rid Nahuatl from anything that looks like Spanish
spelling (as an act of indigenous pride) and use the spelling of some
linguists, i.e. ki for qui, wi for hui, etc. This revisionism seems
short-sighted. Moreover, they go out of their way to create neologisms in
Nahuatl for things that are plainly of Spanish origin, eg, the Holy Trinity
etc.

Best,

Richard Haly

----------
>From: Matthew Montchalin <mmontcha at OregonVOS.net>
>To: Multiple recipients of list <nahuat-l at server.umt.edu>
>Subject: momik? mimik?  (Insane, crazy, or kook customer?)
>Date: Sun, Oct 17, 1999, 18:14
>

> and am put off a little
> bit by the Spanish spelling conventions