[Ads-l] Ese (Mexican Spanish)

[Z S]

I just read the following regarding the Mexican Spanish *ese* 'a male form
of address in Mexican Spanish':


(via Dictionary.com)

"Ese originates in *Mexican Spanish*. Ese literally means "that" or "that
one," and likely extended to "fellow man" as shortened from expressions
like *ese vato*, "that guy."


(via Oxford Dictionary)

*ese* (also ése)

noun US English informal

(in Spanish-speaking regions) used as a form of address for a man: I told
him all about you, ese.

Origin: Mexican Spanish.


Since there is no *esa* (i.e., the feminine "that', as in *esa morra* 'that
girl') that is used in Mexican Spanish as a female form of address (which
would be consistent with Dictionary.com's proposed etymology of *ese
'*masculine
form of "that"'), I suggest the Kikongo *ese* 'father' as a potential point
of origin of the Mexican Spanish *ese *'male form of address'. The Kikongo
*ese* 'father' appears in early Kikongo dictionaries, and Laman states the
following of the Kikongo term: *un esclave congolais peut également appeler
son maître 'se' *(Gloss: An enslaved Congolese can equally (i.e. also) call
his enslaver 'se'); he compares the Kikongo *se* with the Kikongo (and
pan-Bantu languages) *tata* 'father', which is also a male form of address
in Kikongo and other Bantu languages.


Interestingly, Spain's national dictionary points to the Americas use of
*tata* 'father', 'form of address', as specific to the Americas. However,
it does not mention Kikongo, and only posits a Latin point of origin.


The Mexican *ese '*male form of address' does not appear in the
aforementioned Spanish dictionary (unless I missed it).


Considering Mexico's history, the Kikongo *ese* and *se* should be
considered in the discussion of the Mexican Spanish *ese*.

Regards,

Zola Sohna

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