I'm starting a boycott.

Doritos has come up with a new product called Dippos. Well, promoting this product apparently they thought it was cute to try to come up with a new verb and call dipping in Spanish, 'Dipear'.

I'm all for globalization. However, I do believe that companies, upon entering a country, should hold true to the environment that they are selling to and not to disrespect it by coming up with ways to damage the host country.

I say ENOUGH! I don't want to see Spanglish made common or accepted! Not only does it hurt the countries youth in that each year that passes they get lazier with their speech, but also the foreigners that are trying to learn the language. No wonder there's that popular joke/misconception that to speak spanish just add an 'o' or an 'a' at the end of the word and people will understand you! Sad thing is, that the 'dipear' word is becoming mainstream with young people and not necessarily refer to dipping sauce!

So I'm going to write a rather forward letter to Doritos, and in the meantime, until they can learn the language, I'M NOT EATING THEIR PRODUCTS! I'll miss my cool ranch doritos, but its a small sacrifice to save my language!

Doritos is a part of Frito Lay. So that means, Doritos, lays, and Ruffles. I'm not saying boycott all products (although this would not be hard for me) but mainly the Dorito brand, so a sting there can send the message. Just change the word! :p They're from Texas, which may explain the Spanglish...but it won't kill them to learn the right words!

If anyone would like to join me on my campaign,
their phone number is from 9am-4pm.(CST) 1-800-352-4477, ask for operator 100.
Or write:
Consumer Affairs
P.O. Box 660634
Dallas TX
75266-0634

So what is the proper way to say it then if it isn´t "dipear"?

Mojar en salsa...
or even the latin american 'mojo' could be used and adapted... I think their problem is they didn't know what to call dip, and therefore didn't know how to say to dip!

In any event, when you have a dip, in spanish, its Salsa (in Spain that is not exclusive to the Salsa as known in the united states- the tomato and veggie made sauce) and if you're dipping something into it, your mojando it.

I just refuse to accept a garbage word made up because of lack of effort.

Some people do well with garbage words. Look at Las Ketchup... or should that be "Las Salsa Hecho de Tomate"?

When I have my biscuits with a cup of tea, should I say that I am going to immerse my biscuit in the hot tea in order to soften it and flavour it and then let it dissolve on my tongue after making sure it doesn't collapse in a soggy mess in the liquid if it stays in there too long, or shall I continue to say I will dunk it instead?

Sorry Espe, I take your point, but I think dipear is a fun word. And besides, foregoing my Lays or Doritos is not an option.

Espe3 writes: Apparently you haven't spent much time in Texas. Words like 'dipear' (i.e., hispanicization of the English 'dip') are quite common in Tex-Mex. There are thousands of them!

What irritates me is Computador commonly used in Mexico - the former name was Ordenador. I don't have a current version of the dictionary published by Academia del Idioma Castellano so I don't know if it has become an accepted word.
BTW
What word do you use in referring to your desktop computer in Spanish??

ESPE3, where does Doritos use dipear? In Spanish or English language materials? In the US, Latin America or Spain?

The Spanish spoken in Spain and in other countries differs greatly.

As for computer, I have only seen "Ordenador" in Spain. In Latin America, "computadora" seems to be the norm. One is not more correct than the other.

The differences can be quite humorous - as with the verb coger. I saw the movie "Y tu mama tambien" this weekend and it contained quite a few linguistic clarifications needed between the Spanish spoken in Mexico and Spain.

Anchovy- Dunk is an actual word. Dipear is not.

Eddie, no I haven't spent ANY time in Texas. My reference to Texas is that the word, made up by the folks from frito lay who are BASED in TEXAS, and I know about the mexican/texas mix that it would explain using a spanglish word- although I still think they should have put some effort for using it on their materials in Spain insteading of trying to further bastardize Spain spanish. Not only that, but when these kids from Texas for example (I studied linguistics- so I know where I'm pulling this from) go to talk to their relatives in their home countries, or even just their parents who do not speak english, its been found that they CANNOT COMMUNICATE! They don't know enough spanish to carry a conversation, so they mix it with the english, which, to a certain extent, yes, you can get the jist, but Spanglish-something all bilinguals use at some point, is NOT a language! In the 80's when they were trying to standardize it (kind of like ebonics) they found that they couldn't, because it doesn't follow a regular pattern. More than that, depending on the area or even the person, the way they expressed themselves was different. So on a word by word basis, and with limited use, yes, you can understand, but you need to be familiar with both languages. But as everyday for people on either side- just english vs just spanish... it doesn't and won't work.

Caminante- this is a word they've put on their packaging for their new product in Spain. I'm from there and yes, am very well aware that our Spanish is different than that of Latin and Central America- I have friends from these different areas and we discuss often the different words used where and what they mean. But DIPEAR is NOT a real word- its Spanglish and its LAZY!

Computadora was used when they were relatively new, and mainstream, eventually in Spain at least, we came up with Ordenador to have a spanish word for it, as Computadora was derivitive of an english word, they wanted something more spanish. Because of the whole international thing, many words when discussing technology, is just left at that (software, is software, hardware is hardware etc.) however, some things ARE changed to the best alternative possible in Spanish hard drive is disco duro...there are some words I guess that don't make much sense to translate or adapt... and others that do, but to invent a new word when we already have vocabulary for it just because some idiot in the Marketing department convinced his/her boss that they knew Spanish! I've worked in marketing and made effort to find out what words in spanish are used in latin america for some of the things I had to translate. Its not that hard, really! Why they can't show the same courtesy I don't understand! I'm not trying to change them, why are they going to impose on me?!

Remember the Ford NOVA anyone?!?! They changed the name because in spanish speaking countries it didn't sell because it was understood as No va=doesn't go! This is called cultural marketing. It goes not just for country to country, but from group to group. The way things are marketed in the north is different than from the west, as they way things are marketed to the cubans in Miami is different than the African Americans in Queens. Some of these super companies have paid closer attention to because of these problems, but we let them slack off because for whatever stupid reason, Spain accepts dipear, they understand what it means so its not going to affect sales, but its just one more instance where we loose a little more of our language.

And sorry, but that BUGS me!

The academy only accepts forgein terms when there doesn't exist an equivalent word in spanish. I'm with Espe in that "dipear" seems quite unnecessary. I see it more like a marketing resource to cause more impact.

There are some words in spanish accepted by the academy which come from english and enrich our language, others just harm the language since they are unnecessary.

Both "computador" (or computadora) and "ordenador" are correct terms. One comes from the english computer, but also from the spanish "cómputo" (makes reference to a device which makes computation). The other comes from the french ordenateur (if that is the correct spelling).

Usually the terms taken from other languages are modified to suit with the phonetic rules. As an example the verb "escaner" (scanner) or güisqui (for whisky).

Spanglish is an aberration to me. One thing is to enrich a language, and the other is to corrupt it (no matter if it is spanish or english).

Fernando

Gracias Fernando!
I think some people don't understand why I'm so bothered by it because its totally different looking at it from a foreigners point of view, to someone who is Spanish.

To explain it better, maybe I should say, its like forcing Americans to HAVE to learn Spanish to be accepted in certain areas, like Miami for instance. I don't think that's right either. English shouldn't become secondary anywhere in the US- but you have groups that insist on just that. Its great that I can hear so much spanish in certain areas, but there is no reason, being in the US, that someone who doesn't speak Spanish should have a hard time communicating!

Right on Espe3!

I cringe every time I hear spanglish. This mix debases both Spanish and English. I get quite upset when I read about the further dispersion of this cacophonous rubbage.

I see daily in Los Angeles marketing campaigns that intertwine the two language in the same fashion Doritos has. Sadly, many of the "native" speakers of Spanish who live in the Southwest have to rely upon spanglish. There are countless words that have become widely excepted here by the Hispanic community that are not real Spanish words [e.g. checkear(comprobar), parkear(aparcar,estacionar), troka (camión)]These and many others examples have created a lexicon that would not be understood by a speaker of the pure "castellano" as advocated by the guardians of the language, the RAE.

I refuse to diffuse such garbage when speaking in Spanish. If the other person in my conversation does not understand the proper word, then I shall repeat the same sentence in English so as to avoid contributing to such ignorance. I accept regional variations of the language, so does the RAE, but spanglish's only claim is that it encourages people to speak two wonderful languages poorly at the same time.