Word Smiths

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Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador this week defended the insertion of phrases and words in grade-school textbooks that many teachers have long considered to be ungrammatical, the Associated Press reported.

His comments came after copies of new textbooks posted on social media showed a number of terms that are commonly used in vernacular or “street speech,” but not used in written Spanish. These included words such as “dijistes,” long considered an incorrect or uneducated way of saying “dijiste,” meaning “you said.”

Another textbook also featured the use of redundant phrases that repeat themselves, such as “súbate para arriba,” – meaning, “come up, up here.”

Parent groups and educators expressed concern about the changes, noting that Mexico’s Public Education Department should promote proper language.

But López Obrador – who frequently accuses his critics of being “racist” or “classist” – dismissed the concerns, saying that Mexico is “a cultural mosaic and language has to do with the roots of ancient cultures.”

Despite efforts by teachers and grammarians, such expressions and verb forms sometimes persist in Mexico, although they are not tied to any particular region or ethnic group.