I’m about two-thirds of the way through Bless Me, Ultima now and I love it. It’s a fantastic book, misleading in it’s simplicity, far deeper than one might initially perceive. Having grown up in New Mexico, I am familiar with many of the words used in the book. I love that Anaya mixes English and Spanish dialogue. I can understand most of the Spanish, but I admit that I keep my University of Chicago Spanish dictionary close at hand for emergencies.

I am, however, struggling internally with a pronunciation issue right now. In New Mexico, Mexicans, Hispanics and Anglos alike, for the most part, all pronounce Spanish words as the Spanish would. For example, Jemez is generally pronounced HEH-mez, not JAY-mez. Also, picante is pronounced peeee-KAHN-teh, not puh-CAN-teeee. In Texas, however, those rules do not apply. In Texas, Spanish words are pronounced as the Texans would. The Tejanos, the Mexicans, the Hispanics, the Spaniards, the Anglos … everyone pronounces them like Texans. For example, Llano, which is a town just north-west of here, is pronounced LAHN-oh, and Guadalupe is pronounced GWAH-duh-loop. I use these two words as examples because they are both used in Bless Me, Ultima. Anaya’s Guadalupe is a town and the llano is the vast prairieland that surrounds Las Pasturas, Antonio’s village. I try as hard as I can to pronounce them they way I would if I were still in New Mexico. There, Llano is pronounced YAWN-oh. The double L in Spanish has an EH-YUH sound, remember? And Guadalupe does not end at the LOOP. In New Mexico, it would be pronounced gwah-dah-LOOOO-peh. There’s an ‘e’ at the end, see? I’ve even heard native Spanish-speaking New Mexicans pronounce the ‘d’ in that word as ‘th’. So the word then becomes gwah-thah-LOOOO-peh.

There is an automotive shop in San Antonio called Salazar & Sons. The owners pronounce it suh-LAY-zher. I can’t argue with them, it’s their name. But in New Mexico, that name would be pronounced SAL-uh-zhar. (My mom, it should be noted, would likely call them and correct them if given the opportunity. Once while working at South Plains College in Levelland, Texas, my mom helped a student named Joseph Quintana. He pronounced his name kwin-TAHN-uh. In New Mexico, the Quintanas typically pronounce their name keen-TAAAH-nah. My mother made it known to poor Joseph that he was mispronouncing his name. He argued unsuccessfully that he was pronouncing it correctly. He was, unfortunately, pitted against my linguistically superior mother, so he was destined to lose.)

Anyway, last night, reading about the blizzard and Narciso (pronounced nahr-SEEEEE-so), I accidentally pronounced the word llano as LAHN-oh. Have I been in Texas too long? I had to stop reading for a bit, clear my head, get myself together. I certainly wouldn’t condescend to correct anyone on how one’s name should or shouldn’t be pronounced, but I really feel I must start putting my foot down about place names around here. What’s the worst that could happen? I could pronounce Guadalupe as I was brought up to pronounce it and people would look at me funny. Heck, I’m already used to that!