Preguntas

1. Preguntas • Get into groups of two. • Ask each other to answer the following questions: • Have you tried jícama with chile? • Describe a coyote. • Do you like spicy jalapeños? • Have you ever been to México?

2. Recognition • Did you recognize any of the underlined words? • Were any of the words in your daily vocabulary? • Do you know where these words come from? • Let’s watch a quick video.

3. Elaboráremos • Can you think about some reasons Spaniards adopted or borrowed Nahuatl words?

4. Borrowed Words • Definition: loan word, a word adopted from another language and completely or partially naturalized. • We are familiar with most of the words we discussed at the beginning of class; jícama, coyote, jalapeños, and México. • These words come from Nahuatl, the language used by the Aztecs.

5. Nahuatl • Those who speak the language refer to it as “mehcanohtlahtol” • The name “Nahuatl” comes from the root nahua which means “clear sound” or “command”. • There are about 1.5 million speakers • Let’s listen carefully to this tutorial. • Check out this quick Nahuatl presentation.

6. Who were the Aztecs? • The Aztecs were the Native Americans who had political and military control over the northern part of Mexico in the 14th, 15th and 16th centuries. • They were a nomadic culture that finally established themselves on several small islands in Lake Texcoco. • In 1325 they settled in Tenochtitlan, now Mexico City.

7. Aztec Empire • The Aztec Empire dominated Mesoamerica, area from central Mexico down through Central America, including Guatemala, Belize, Honduras, and El Salvador during the XV and XVI centuries for almost one hundred years. • The Aztec empire was made up of the native people who were called the Nahuatl-speakers and the Culhua-Mexico, who had come from the Pacific Northwest and settled in the area.

8. The People • The Aztecs were courageous warriors and practical builders who founded an empire in that was second only to the Incas in Peru. • The Aztecs began their reign in 1427 with the assistance of surrounding cities, defeated the local tribes and gained control of the Mexican basin. • They slowly became more powerful and skilled in warfare, so that other tribes in the area wanted to become allies with them due to the constant conflicts between the tribes. • Let’s watch an Aztec dance.

9. Sustainability • Agriculture was the main source of income. • Chinampas were made to help the growing population.

10. Family Life • Family was important • Men were hunters and gatherers, while women cooked and wove clothing. • Boys were educated by their fathers until they started school. Girls stayed at home with their mothers and learned household chores.

11. Foods • The Aztecs ate and enjoyed different types of food. • Popular meals included: tacos, tortillas, and tamales. • Some other foods were seeds from the sage plant, that were used as cereal; spicy peppers, eggs, turkey, rabbit, and dog. • To hydrate: they often drank water and on special occasions they drank beer. • Interesting fact: a delicacy for the Aztecs was green slime, that was scooped off the top of Lake Texococo. It was said to have tasted like cheese. • Nobles enjoyed chocolate sweetened with honey.

12. Encounter • The Spaniards arrived in Mexico in 1519. This marked the beginning of both a critical and influential time in Mexico’s history.

13. Conquest • The Conquistadores eagerness was fueled by victory, they left the Aztec empire a disaster, it was a fragment of its former majestic self. • The Spaniards tried to erase the remainders of the culture as best they could by leveling Tenochtitlán by fire. • The rubble would make up the foundations of a new world. • Cortes  had a singular mission: defeat the Aztecs and take their gold. • The Spaniards settled in Mexico and co-existed with the indigenous, formerly the Aztecs.

14. Hypothetically… • What if the Aztecs had gone to Spain would they still have borrowed Spanish words like the Spaniards did with Nahuatl words? • Why or why not?

15. Influences • What are some similarities? Nahualt Modern Day Spanish XVI Century Spanish

16. Aclaración • Does the meaning of a word change when it is used in another language? (Hint: think about the words from the first slide.)

17. Word Definition Presentation • Individual project • Definition of the word. • Use it in a sentence. • 1-2 minute presentation. • Submit a summary of what you learned on the same day you present.

18. Presentation • Technology is your friend! • There is a list of safe and useful websites that will be helpful. • Blog about it! • You will be expected to share one interesting fact about what you have learned today. This blog will be on our class unit website.

19. List of words • Aguacate • Atole • Ayotl • Cacao • Cajeta • Chapulín • Chayote • Chicle • Chipotle • Chocolate • Comal • Ejote • Elote • Guacamole • Guajolote • Huitzilin • Hule • Jitomate • Mazatlán • Mole • Nanche • Nopal • Popote • Pozole • Tabasco • Tamal • Tecolote • Tlacoyo • Tlacuache • Tlaxcala • Xicohtli