[Peace-discuss] What does it mean to be called a “gringo?”

[Phil Stinard]

Hi,

Here's an essay I recently wrote for vheadline.com.  The original is at:

http://www.vheadline.com/readnews.asp?id=18136

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What does it mean to be called a “gringo?”

As a translator, and one of the recent additions to the VHeadline.com team, 
I have as my job the true pleasure of taking news articles and opinions that 
have never been expressed in the English language, and giving them a voice 
in English so that English-speaking readers can understand the views and 
culture of the Venezuelan people.

There is an Italian expression “traduttore, traditore” which means 
“translator, traitor” and expresses the concern that a translator can alter 
the meaning of the original text during the translation process, and thereby 
“betray” the original writer.  In doing my job, I strive never to alter the 
meaning or the emotional content of what I am translating. Should anyone 
feel misquoted, let me know, and I will do my best to correct it.

Two of my recent articles, Alberto Muller Rojas: Here come the gringos! and 
CNE director Rodriguez: ES&S director John Groh is a deceitful gringo, have 
the word “gringo” in their titles, and since this word can be used in either 
a descriptive or an insulting way, an explanation of the origin and use of 
the word “gringo” in Latin America is in order.

There are several urban legends surrounding the origin of the word “gringo.” 
The most common versions are that it arose during the Mexican American War 
(1846-1848). One story relates that Mexicans, upon seeing the green uniforms 
of the US military, shouted, “Green, go!” which was later shortened to 
“gringo.” A second version is that Mexicans, hearing the US soldiers singing 
the songs “Green Grow the Rushes O” or “Green Grow the Lilacs,” started 
calling the invaders “Green Grow,” or “gringo.”

However, usage of the word “gringo” predates the Mexican American War by at 
least 100 years. As early as 1750, "gringo" was widely established as a 
nickname for foreigners in Malaga and Madrid who spoke Spanish with an 
accent. It was later used to refer to foreigners in general, and is now 
often used to refer to estadounidenses (people from the United States) in 
particular. The word “gringo” is thought to be derived from the Spanish word 
“griego,” which means Greek, as in “it’s all Greek to me.” (See Maggie Van 
Ostrand’s Where did the word ‘gringo’ come from anyway? for an excellent 
etymological account.)

As used in Latin America today, “gringo” can be either be a neutral 
description, something quicker and easier to say than estadounidense, or it 
can be an insult-the meaning depends on the context and the behavior of the 
person being referred to. In my personal experience, I almost never feel 
insulted when I’m called a gringo because it is usually used in a 
descriptive sense; and if it is used as an insult, I try to find out the 
reason for the insult, and apologize or modify my behavior if warranted, 
something that every reasonable person should do, especially when traveling 
in a foreign country. If the person calling me a gringo doesn’t know me and 
is just doing it out of prejudice or spite, I ignore the insult.

However, there are estadounidenses for whom the insulting connotation of 
gringo is appropriate, and those are the so-called Ugly Americans: people, 
especially government and business officials, from the United States who 
feel that Latin America is their back yard to play in, who insult and 
ridicule Latin American peoples, and who try to interfere in the internal 
affairs of Latin States. These are the people who should feel offended, and 
who should modify their behavior as a result.

Philip Stinard
pstinard at hotmail.com

NOTE:
I translate estadounidense as “person from the United States” rather than 
“American.” This is because all peoples of Central and South America 
consider themselves American too, and therefore the US-centered view that 
“American” means “person from the United States” is incorrect.

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