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Madre: Perilous Journeys with a Spanish Noun
Contributor(s): Bakewell, Liza (Author)

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ISBN: 082635176X     ISBN-13: 9780826351760
Publisher: University of New Mexico Press
OUR PRICE: $19.90  

Binding Type: Paperback - See All Available Formats & Editions
Published: February 2012
* Out of Print *
Additional Information
BISAC Categories:
- Language Arts & Disciplines | Linguistics - Sociolinguistics
- History | Latin America - Mexico
- Social Science | Ethnic Studies - Hispanic American Studies
Dewey: 465.54
LCCN: 2011038094
Physical Information: 0.7" H x 5.5" W x 8.1" L (0.65 lbs) 224 pages
Themes:
- Ethnic Orientation - Hispanic
- Cultural Region - Latin America
- Cultural Region - Mexican
Features: Bibliography, Index
Review Citations: Reference and Research Bk News 04/01/2012 pg. 172
 
Descriptions, Reviews, Etc.
Publisher Description:

It began with some graffiti on a wall: A toda madre o un desmadre. Liza Bakewell was in Mexico doing research for her PhD, and although she thought her Spanish was fluent, she had never seen the expression before. When she asked what it meant, she was told that it wasn't proper for a woman to use those words.

Intrigued with the way Mexicans shape their language and how language in turn shapes them, Bakewell developed a long list of madre expressions over the years. How can me vale madre mean worthless and que padre mean marvelous? Why does madre mean whore as much as virgin?

Her study is part memoir, part travelogue, and part investigation into a culture and its language.

Padr simo No sooner does Liza Bakewell take the helm than it becomes obvious how much joy and enlightenment might come from the study of language.--Ilan Stavans, author of Spanglish and general editor of The Norton Anthology of Latino Literature


Contributor Bio(s): Bakewell, Liza: - Liza Bakewell is a linguistic anthropologist at Brown University.
 
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