The lexeme chino in Mexican Spanish

Abstract

In accordance with the affirmation expressed by the British linguist David Crystal that «language is the primary index, or symbol, or register of identity», this article examines the meaning of the word chino in Mexico as «curly hair» which, unlike all Spanish-speaking countries, has a private and peculiar meaning to this nation, being the hallmark of its identity. Different sources, both lexicographical and theoretical, are analyzed regarding this meaning and it is concluded that this meaning has to do with the miscegenation that occurred in New Spain, particularly among Indian women with black men, who, according to different names of the castes, derived in the so-called «chino» due to the predominance of the black gene in the blood, which gave them the African physical characteristics, among which is, precisely, the curly hair, and, based on this distinctive feature, the meaning of «curly hair» became general and began to be used to name all people with curly hair without necessarily having African features, a designation that is still actively used among Mexicans.