Axcan quemah

[Richard Haly]

> Karen, I think your'e wrong.  Im sure that "axcan Quemah" is Nahuatl for
> "today, yes"

Maybe that wasn't too clear, but I'm sure Dr. Dakin meant that as a joke on
her husband's part as one isn't as likely to learn Greek or Russian in
Morelos as Nahuatl. She knows her Nahuatl.

Moreover, axcan quemah doesn't mean "Today, yes" but is a translation of
"ahora, si" which isn't so much "literally" translatable into words as it is
primarily a sign of strong assent. Thus, "translation" means to note when a
speaker says it because then you're on the right track with whatever
prompted it. When I am working and interviewing in Nahuatl and wanting to
question whether I've understood something, I will propose an if/then
question based on the logic of what I've been told. If I receive an axcan
quemah as a reply (as opposed to no reply or a confused look), then I'm
pretty sure that I can go further. Japanese "hai" is similar. People
translate it as "yes" meaning agreement, when it often means "I hear what
your saying, I follow you" just as "unhuh" does in English. If I'm telling
you a story and you interject "unhuh" every so often, that doesn't mean you
agree with what I'm saying, but means that you are following what I'm
saying. By the way, interviews conducted without this sort of feedback tend
to be 30% shorter than those with such interactivity.

Best,

Richard