Naco (slang)

Naco (fmn. naca) is a pejorative word often used in Mexican Spanish to describe the bad-mannered and poorly educated people of lower social classes. It is equivalent to 'white trash' in American English and culture. While in Nahuatl language the word "naka" means "flesh" or "people", the Aztecs preferred the word "tlaca" to refer to people and "naka" is almost confined to refer to meat. It is erroneous to believe that "Naco" and "naka" are related. "Naco" is an apocope derived from the nahuatl word "nacayote", "najayote" or "nejayote", waste water derived from corn processing (nixtamal) which was sarcastically compared by Aztecs to drool. Therefore, a "nacayote" was originally a slobbering (i.e., stupid) person. During the 20th century the word became shortened to "naco" and shifted its meaning from stupidity to ignorance. A naco is usually associated with lower socio-economic classes and/or the indigenous, but it also includes the nouveau-riche.

Definition and usage

The term naco is generally used to describe people, behaviors or aesthetic choices seen as unrefined or unsophisticated, often in a comic way. As a person, the "naco" may display a general lack of refinement by adopting the worst aspects of African American Hip-Hop culture or Country Music, adopting a "gangster mentality", unrefined verbal expressions or slang, peculiar accents, lack of social manners, or comically bad taste. The term is often associated to lower social classes, but it is also used as an elitist expression from the educated to describe the uneducated, and among the middle and upper classes as a synonym of bad taste. In many situations, the word may have no derogatory intention and may even demonstrate familiarity.^[1]

The Mexican definition of a naco may be analogous to the American modern-day definition of redneck, the British chav or the French beauf. However, the usage and derogatory tones vary.

Sociolinguistic use

In the last decades, the middle and upper classes in Mexico have experienced a rapid expansion due to, among other things, economic development and urbanization. The new middle class and "nouveau riche" have entered the competition on status symbols such as cars, houses, and jewelry, which have given rise to the term "naco" as a form of cultural or economic elitism. Mexicans of higher status often see extravagant displays of wealth as making a person more naco, in that they make spectacles of themselves by overcompensating for lower social status.

See also

• Bogan
• Chav
• Cholo
• Dres
• Fresa
• Lumpenproletariat
• Mexican Spanish
• NaCo
• Redneck
• White trash
• Anti-intellectualism

References

1. ^ EQUIS magazine. Cultura y Sociedad. Braulio Peralta (ed). México, Ulises Ediciones, No. 1, May, 1998, pp. XVII-XX. (Dossier: Autonomías en el mundo)