SH$%ty First Drafts!

We all have a different way of behaving when we are around certain people. The same thing goes with the type of language and slang we use. There are words and phrases that we normally use in a certain group of friends and people. I, as a Hispanic person, would use the word “loca(o)” when in a group of friends that I know will not feel a certain way towards it. This word translates to “crazy” but we don’t use it in a way to call a person that. The word “loca(o)” has many uses it and is not said to just anyone at any time. This word is not always used to mean anything bad, it is just one of those words that you can use in almost any situation. It is one of those words that we use with certain people that can be used in many different ways with its own kind of meaning. There are times where it is used and when it gets translated it makes no sense to others but to a Hispanic or someone who speaks Spanish it does.

    The word “Loca(o)” can be used as a way to greet a close friend that you know really well. I use the word as to say hello, “hola mi loca/o” or “ dime a ver mi loco/a” which is what I would say to a friend when I see or communicate with them.  I would also use it on friends only because I know their possible reaction toward it. Calling someone “Loca(o)” to a person you are not that close to may be seen as disrespectful or just wrong. In high school, I would use this word with my small group of friends when we were able to talk during lunch or on our way home. We would call each other “mi loca” because it was one of those words that we said to or another that did not make us feel some type of way about how each other’s break was. When we came back from holidays and break we would ask each use this word to ask. 

As a Hispanic, we use this word to express our thoughts about something which can be used as “tu ta loca/o”, which translates to “ are you crazy”. This could either be said when someone has done something “stupid” or what they did was considered “crazy”. It could also be used as just calling someone “loco(a)” because of their personality and that they are a fun person. When considering someone to be a fun person who does weird things we usually say “ Tu eres un(a) loco(a)”.  Say “Tu ta loco(a)” can also be used in a way to say “are you crazy I ain’t doing that”. Which could mean that the idea that they brought up is too crazy or just something you won’t do. Another way that we would use the word to express that an idea is “crazy” or just too much is “Yo ni loco(a) hago eso”. Which would translate to “I would not do that, not even if I were crazy” that in other words can just mean that it is not something they would do.

    There are ways that this word can be used to talk about other people in a way of asking what they are doing when having a conversation. It could also be used when someone is doing something strange or out of the usual. It would typically be said “ ¿Y que lo que hace este(a) loco(a)?” when they see someone doing something questionable. This phrase would translate to “ and what is this crazy doing” which might not make sense of just sounds weird. When it is used in this way it could also just be someone asking “what is this guy doing?”. When it is used in “Tu parece un(a) loco(a)”, could mean that what you are wearing makes you look really crazy/weird or that you simply look crazy. It could also mean that what you are doing seems crazy either in an insane type of crazy or that you look hilariously crazy. These are just some of many ways that the word “loca(o)” can be used.

    When we use this word in a sentence it does not mean that we are calling others crazy for what they are wearing or doing. The word “loca(o)” is just one of those words that we Hispanics use sometimes just to add to what we are saying. We do not use this word to call people crazy without actually knowing them. It is one of those words that other people might not know how to use or what it means in one of many ways that we use it.