The Spanish Language

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Joel Millman, Polyglot Stew. Wall Street Journal, May 11, 2013
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB ... 70871906335176.html
(book review on Jean-Benoît Nadeau and Julie Barlow, The Story of Spanish St Martin's, 2013)

Note:
(1) polyglot (adj; Greek poly- + glōtta language):
"speaking or writing several languages : MULTILINGUAL"
http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/polyglot

(2) "In 30 years of reporting on Latin America, I've learned that the proper name for the language most Americans call 'Spanish' is 'Castilian.'"
(a) Castile (historical region)
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Castile_(historical_region)

Quote:

"Castile's name is thought to mean "land of castles", in reference to the castles built in the area to consolidate the Christian Reconquest from the Moors. The Spanish word for castle is actually castillo.

"The dynastic union of Castile and Aragon in 1469, when Ferdinand II of Aragon wed Isabella I of Castile, would eventually lead to the formal creation of Spain as a single entity in 1516 when their grandson Charles V assumed both thrones.
(b) Which is moder days is

Castile and León
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Castile_and_Le%C3%B3n

Aragon and Madrid are on the eastern and southeastern borders, respectively, of Castile and León.

(3) Ebro
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ebro
(the biggest river by discharge volume in Spain; section 2 Name)
(4) Zaragoza
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zaragoza
(capital of Aragon)
(5) "mostly-forgotten kings and the scholars who filled their courts creating a formal grammar and syntax from 'vulgar' Latin"

Vulgar Latin
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vulgar_Latin
(from which the Romance languages developed; The word vulgar in this usage comes from the Latin word for common, as Vulgar Latin was the spoken language, and not from the English word meaning disgusting or objectionable' Works written in Latin during classical times used Classical Latin rather than Vulgar Latin)

(6) "The Arabic 'al-qutn' became 'cotone' in Italian and 'coton' in French"
(i) cotton (n; Middle English coton, from Anglo-French cotun, from Old Italian cotone, from Arabic quṭun, quṭn; First Known Use  14th century)
http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/cotton
(ii) cotton
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cotton
(The plant is a shrub native to tropical and subtropical regions around the world, including the Americas, Africa, and India; Cotton was independently domesticated in the Old and New Worlds)
(iii) al-
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Al-
(also transliterated as el- as pronounced in varieties of Arabic)

(7) For "Moorish rule (700-1492)," see Al-Andalus
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Al-Andalus
(711-1492; The etymology of "Al-Andalus" is disputed; Berber commander Tariq ibn-Ziyad led a small force that landed at Gibraltar on April 30, 711)
(8)
"'ten gallon' cowboy hat [is] a corruption of the Spanish phrase 'tan galán,' or 'how spiffy'"
(a) Oxford Spanish to English dictionary:
(i) tan (adv): "so" (very)
(ii) galán (noun masculin): "handsome man"
(b) cowboy hat
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cowboy_hat
(section 4 "Ten-gallon" hat)

(9) Cinco de Mayo
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cinco_de_Mayo
(celebrated in the United States)

Quote: "It originated with Mexican-American communities in the American West as a way to commemorate the cause of freedom and democracy during the first years of the American Civil War, and today the date is observed in the United States as a celebration of Mexican heritage and pride.