1 Spanish: Vocabulario Para La Comida

How This Section Reimagines Approaches to Teaching Vocabulary

Language textbooks typically contain vocabulary lists around various themes, presumably teaching the most useful vocabulary students would need to know around that theme. This OER example is a vocabulary list for a unit on food.

Textbooks traditionally have focused on “universal” approaches to language, which often defaults to teaching dominant forms of knowledge. Spanish language textbooks have often defaulted to Castilian Spanish from Spain or attempt to teach a neutral Latin American Spanish. However, the Spanish language is incredibly diverse across regions across Latin America, Equatorial Guinea, and the United States.

Moreover, Spanish outside of Spain is a language of colonization. These forms of Spanish have evolved to unique regional variations that often integrate Indigenous words, whose etymologies are important context for understanding language variation and local culture. Unfortunately, many heritage speakers of Spanish have been told that their forms of Spanish are “wrong,” “too ‘Mexican,'” or otherwise invalidating their culture and their linguistic capital. What would a Spanish language textbook that rather celebrates students’ linguistic knowledges look like?

At ELAC, students most often speak or know variations of Mexican and Central American Spanish. For this example, I’ve created a basic vocabulary list for fruits and vegetables that includes foods that are common in the United States but also fruits that are less common locally but widely available in parts of Latin America. I draw inspiration here from having studied Nahuatl and Quechua, in which I learned a lot of vocabulary for fruits, vegetables, and other foods that I have never tried nor even seen in my life. These Indigenous language programs also emphasize the importance of certain crops to a community, the ways in which these crops are cultivated, the various preparations of these foods, and other culturally rich context that enable students to better connect with Indigenous culture, perhaps even their own Indigenous cultures. I also included vocabulary variations from the Caribbean and South America to also provide some additional Latin American variation in language.


Reimagined OER for Spanish

Vocabulario de la unidad

Las frutas

Inglés / English Español / Spanish Etimología / Etymology
banana la banana

el plátano

el banano

el guineo

From the Wolof[1] word banaana[2]

From Latin platanus, originally from Ancient Greek πλάτανος (plátanos)[3]

chilli el chile From Nahuatl chīlli[4]
guava la guayaba From Taíno/Arawak guayabo[5]
inga edulis
(ice cream-bean)
el chalahuite

la paterna

From Nahuatl chalahuihtli
lemon el limón From Arabicلَيْمُون‎ (laymūn), from Persian لیمو‎ (līmū), لیمون‎ (līmūn), from Sanskrit निम्बू (nimbū)[6]
lime la lima From Andalusian Arabic لِيمَة‎ (lima), from Arabicلَيْمُون‎ (laymūn, “lemon, lime”)[7]
orange la naranja From Arabic نَارَنْج‎ (nāranj), from Persianنارنگ‎ (nârang), from Sanskritनारङ्ग (nāraṅga)[8]
papaya la papaya From Cariban/Arawak papáia[9]
pineapple la piña

el ananá

From Latin pīnea[10]

From Guaraní naná[11]

prickly pear la tuna From Taíno[12]
sapote el zapote From Nahuatl tzapotl
strawberry la fresa From French fraise[13]
watermelon la sandía From Arabic سِنْدِيَّة‎ (sindiyya), from Sanskritसिन्धु (sindhu)[14]

Las verduras

Inglés / English Español / Spanish Etimología / Etymology
avocado el aguacate From Nahuatl āhuacatl[15]
beans el frijol

el poroto

From Latin phaseolus[16]

From Quechua purutu[17]

cactus el nopal From Nahuatl nohpalli[18]
corn (dry); maize el maíz From Taíno mahís[19]
corn (fresh) el elote

el choclo

From Nahuatl ēlōtl[20]

From Quechua choklo[21]

green beans la habichuela

el ejote

la chaucha

From Latin faba combined with the diminutive -ichuela[22]

From Nahuatl exōtl[23]

jicama la jícama From Nahuatl xīcama[24]
mushroom el champiñón

el hongo

la seta

From French champignon[25]

From Old Spanish fongo, from Latin fungus[26]

squash el ayote

la calabaza

el chayote

el güisquil

From Nahuatl ayohtli[27]

From Old Spanish calabaça[28]

From Nahuatl chayohtli[29]

sweet potato la batata

el camote

From Taíno batata[30]

From Nahuatl camohtli[31]

tomato el jitomate

el tomate

From Nahuatl xītomatl[32]

From Nahuatl tomatl[33]

yam la batata

el camote

el ñame

From Taíno batata

From Nahuatl camohtli

Likely from Wolof ñàmbi[34]

yuca/cassava la yuca From Galibi Carib yuca[35]

(Regional foods)

Español / Spanish Descripción / Description Etimología / Etymology
atol, atole From Nahuatl ātōlli[36]
arepa From Cumanagoto erepa (“corn”)[37]
casamiento

gallo pinto

moros y cristianos

Various terms for rice and beans.

Casamiento is found in El Salvador and Honduras and refers to the “marriage” between rice and beans. It is often eaten with fried or scrambled eggs, cheese, fried plantains, avocado, cream, tortillas, or bread or even with carne asada[38].

Gallo pinto is found in Nicaragua, Costa Rica, Guatemala, and Panama. Rice and beans are often prepared with rice, as well as bell peppers, onions, and/or garlic[39].

Moros y Cristianos is a traditional Cuban dish. Moros refer to the black beans and Cristianos to the white rice. A sofrito of onions, garlic, and bell pepper are added to the white rice and boiled black beans with additional seasonings, like oregano and bay leaf[40].

Casamiento is “marriage” in Spanish, from the verb casar (“to marry)[41]

Gallo pinto means “spotted rooster” in Spanish, from Latin pictus (“having been painted”) and gallus (“rooster”)[42]

Moros y Cristianos means “Moors and Christians” in Spanish, from Latin maurus and Christiānus[43]

chilaquiles From Nahuatl chīlātl (“chili pepper water”), a combination of chīlli (“chilli), ātl (“water), and quilitl (“edible plant or vegetable”)[44]
cochinita pibil From Yucatec Maya pibil kʼéekʼen, a combination of píib (“cooking pit”) and kʼéekʼen (“pig”)[45]
mangú From Bantu or West African mangusi (“boiled vegetable turned into a purée)[46]
mofongo From Bantu mofongo, specifically from the Angolan Kikongo term mfwenge-mfwenge (“amount of anything at all”)[47]
mole From Nahuatl mōlli (“sauce, something ground”)[48]
nacatamal From Nahuatl nacatamalli (“meat tamale), a combination of nacatl (“meat”) and tamalli (something wrapped)[49]
pozole From Nahuatl pozolli (“stew of maize kernels”)[50]
pupusa From Pipil Nawat pupusawa[51]
tamal, tamale From Nahuatl tamalli[52]
Note Regarding the Classification of Fruits and Vegetables

The lists here conform to a more colloquial understanding of the differentiation between fruit and vegetable. However, these categories are not fixed and can differ greatly in various contexts. For example, a tomato is often thought of as a vegetable but can also be classified as a fruit. This can be a difference in definition by field or profession, such as botany and culinary arts. It can also be a cultural difference. Or perhaps, they are one in the same; for example, the Nahuatl word cuatlācquētl can refer to both fruits and vegetables.


  1. Wolof is an Indigenous language of the Wolof people in Senegal, Mauritania, and the Gambia.
  2. "banana," Wiktionary
  3. "plátano," Wiktionary
  4. "chile," Wiktionary
  5. "guayaba," Wiktionary
  6. "limón," Wiktionary
  7. "lima," Wiktionary
  8. "naranja," Wiktionary
  9. "papaya," Wiktionary
  10. "piña," Wiktionary
  11. "ananás," Wiktionary
  12. "tuna," Wiktionary
  13. "fresa," Wiktionary
  14. "sandía," Wiktionary
  15. "aguacate," Wiktionary
  16. "frijol," Wiktionary
  17. "poroto," Wiktionary
  18. "nopal," Wiktionary
  19. "maíz," Wiktionary
  20. "elote," Wiktionary
  21. "choclo," Wiktionary
  22. "habichuela," Wiktionary
  23. "ejote," Wiktionary
  24. "jícama," Wiktionary
  25. "champiñón," Wiktionary
  26. "hongo," Wiktionary
  27. "ayote," Wiktionary
  28. "calabaza," Wiktionary
  29. "chayote," Wiktionary
  30. "batata," Wiktionary
  31. "camote," Wiktionary
  32. "jitomate," Wiktionary
  33. "tomate," Wiktionary
  34. "ñame," Wiktionary
  35. "yuca," Wiktionary
  36. "atole," Wiktionary
  37. "arepa," Wiktionary
  38. "Casamieno, una versión salvadoreña," Recetas de El Salvador
  39. "Gallo pinto," Wikipedia
  40. "Moros y Cristianos (dish)," Wikipedia
  41. "casamiento," Wiktionary
  42. "gallo pinto," Wiktionary
  43. "moros y cristianos," Wiktionary
  44. "chilaquiles," Wiktionary
  45. "cochinita pibil," Wiktionary
  46. "mangú," Wiktionary
  47. "mofongo," Wiktionary
  48. "mole," Wiktionary
  49. "nacatamal," Wiktionary
  50. "pozole," Wiktionary
  51. "pupusa," Wiktionary
  52. "tamale," Wiktionary

License

Icon for the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License

More Than Free Copyright © 2022 by Cynthia Mari Orozco is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License, except where otherwise noted.

Share This Book