Náhuatl or the “language of pleasant sounds” has been spoken in Mexico since the 5th century and was rapidly widespread to regions and countries of steady commerce during Pre-Hispanic times and well into the Spanish Conquest of Mexico, to ease communication between the native peoples of Mexico and the Spanish conquerors.
It is estimated that there are 1,376, 026 speakers of Náhuatl in Mexico to this day; these are bilingual and can easily communicate in Spanish too.
Furthermore, there are some Náhuatl words that have found their way into other cultures and which are frequently used by speakers of other languages to represent their intended Náhuatl meaning.
Which of these Náhuatl-based words do you recognize as part of your everyday speech?
Chile, the spicy pepper, comes from chilli
Chocolate, comes from xocolatl which means “bitter water”
Coyote, or “prairie wolf” comes from cóyotl
Guacamole, comes from ahuacamolli, which means “avocado sauce”
Jalapeño, a popular green chilli pepper, literally means “native of Xalapa”, a city in Veracruz, which means “sand by the water”
Mezquite or mesquite, a small shrub, comes from mizquitl
Mezcal, the popular distilled alcoholic beverage comes from mexcalli, which means “oven-cooked agave”
Ocelote or ocelot, a wild cat also know as the “dwarf leopard”, comes from tlalocelotl, which means “jaguar in the field”
Tomate, the edible fruit, comes from tomatl, which means “swelling fruit”
Shack, a simple small wooden construction, comes from xacalli, which means “wooden hut”
