UNIVERSIDAD AUTONOMA DE TAMAULIPAS UNIDAD ACADMICA MULTIDISCIPLINARIA DE CIENCIAS, EDUCACIN Y HUMANIDADES CENTRO DE LENGUAS Y LINGSTICA APLICADA B.A.

IN APPLIED LINGUISTICS

Linguistic Anthropology
Torreon, Coahuila A general overview

Instructor: Evelyn Limn Students:

Barrn Hernndez Karem Mariel Morones Chvez Jessica Yessenia

April, 2010
1

TORREON COAHUILA
Introduction
Torreon is a city belonging to the northern Mexican state of Coahuila, a part of the La Laguna region. Founded in 1893, it is the largest city in the state. Torreon is a modern and industrial city which chief tourist attraction is the people. Friendly and rugged, "norteos" have contributed much to the nation's history, traditions and folklore. The city has more than 550,000 inhabitants. Although the countryside is quite dry, it is a rich agrarian region owing to artificial irrigation. This favors cotton production and makes Torreon an important industrial city. The following research covers the most important aspects of the city of Torreon, Coahuila. First of all, we are going to present the historical events, economical aspects, political conditions, religion and beliefs, technology, education and the language of Torreon. Then we will discuss the importance of language in the culture of Torreon, and finally an ethnographic method will be presented and the importance it has for Anthropology.

A Brief History
The Spanish explored the north of Mexico some decades after their victory in the capital of the Aztecs. Such exploration was delayed because the northern climate was harsher and there was no gold. The first Spanish settlement in the region now called Coahuila was at Minas de la Trinidad (now Monclova) in 1577. Saltillo was settled in 1586, when it formed part of the province of Nueva Vizcaya of the viceroyalty of New Spain. Later it became the province of Nueva Extremadura. Francisco Cano was one of the earliest Europeans to explore Nueva Extremadura. Coahuila y Tejas ("Coahuila and Texas") was one of the constituent states of the newly independent United Mexican States under its 1824 Constitution, and included Texas, Coahuila, and Nuevo Leon. Later in the same year Nuevo Leon was detached, but Texas remained a part of the state until 1835, when it seceded to form the Republic of Texas. Monclova was the capital of the state from 1833 to 1835. In 1840 Coahuila briefly became a member of the short lived Republic of the Rio Grande. On February 19, 1856, Santiago Vidaurri annexed Coahuila to his state, Nuevo Len, but it regained its separate status in 1868.During the Mexican Revolution, Francisco Villa attacked the city of Torren. On April 4, 2004, the border city of Piedras Negras was flooded. More than 30 people died and more than 4000 lost their homes. In 2007, Coahuila became the first state in Mexico to offer civil unions (Pacto Civil de Solidaridad) to same-sex couples.

Economic Aspects
Automotive In the automotive sector, Torren La Laguna area boasts some of the most productive plants in the world.

Metal Mechanics This activity is one of the strongest in Torren La Laguna, and it is supported by training centers and technical schools.

Electronics Torren La Laguna is an important producer of TV, flat screens and cinescopies. This sector offers great opportunities for manufacturing facilities.

Textile and Apparel Torren La Laguna area is one of the world's leading producers of denim and other textiles.

Food and Beverages Torren La Laguna is famous for food production, including diverse fruits and vegetables as well as poultry, beef and pork.

Business Opportunities The Torren La Laguna area offers some of the most attractive opportunities for business in the Americas today. Joint ventures, tax incentives and other economic advantages are available.

Political Conditions
Today, the municipality of Torren extends over nearly 1950 square kilometers on a semi-desert and arid surface. Despite representing little more than 2% of the States territory, it concentrates nearly 24% of its population, having more than 557 thousand residents according to the II Conteo de Poblacin y Vivienda 2005, of which 52% are women and 48% are men. Also, currently the coverage of public services is vast, 97% of the houses have potable water, 92% sewer system and 78% electricity. Finally, we can say that the development of this pearl in the middle of the desert is based on diverse economic activities, mostly represented by commerce and services, agricultural production, bovine livestock production, a diversified industry and mining, where the number one mining metallurgic center of Latin America operates, Met-Mex Peoles; so 71% of its economically active population is employed in the tertiary sector.

Religion(s) / Beliefs
Religion: According to the Instituto Nacional de Estadstica, Geografa e Informtica (INEGI), 76% of the population in Torreon is Roman Catholic and 6% is Protestant. The rest of the percentage is divided into more religious groups such as Seventh-Day Adventists, Mormons, and Jehovahs Witnesses. Although most of the population in the city of Torreon is Christian- Catholic, there is a small Muslim community that practices the Islam religion, the belief of this Muslim mezquita is chiita. Beliefs: Within the beliefs and traditions that catholic people (the biggest religious group in the city) in Torreon have, we can find El Dia de Muertos as one of their most popular ceremomies, the lines are long to enter the cemeteries, people take a basket of fruta (mangos, guava, tuna, tamarindo), flowers, pan de muertos which is a simple recipe (main ingredients: milk, butter, flour, sugar and anise seeds). Everyone goes. People offer all this food and presents to death people and they believe that these people will come and eat all what have been offered.

Technology
Access Torreon is the crossroads of 40 & 49 federal highways connecting Ciudad Jurez El Paso with Mexico City and Southeast Texas with the port of Mazatlan, on the Pacific. Table 1 shows the cities connected to Torreon for the highways:
From Eagle Pass, TX McAllen or Laredo, TX El Paso, TX Lanes 2 and 4 4 4

Houston, TX Austin, TX Monterrey, N.L. Mxico City Guadalajara, Jal. Mazatln, Sin.

4 4 4 2 and 4 2 and 4 2 and 4

Table 1. Cities connected to Torreon

Railways Torreon`s railway network offers the connections to the north, south, sea ports and the most important Mexican cities. The Ferropuerto rail port has the most sophisticated facilities to handle intermodal cargo as well as custom inspection and storage services. Air Connection The city of Torreon has one of the most important international airports in Mexico, which offers around 30 daily departures with a national-wide coverage as well as non stop international flights to several cities in the U.S. This combination offers all travelers the best connections to and from one city to another in the same day with the best services. Telecommunications Internet and digital services are provided by: AOL, Prodigy, Terra, MegaCable, Axtel and AT&T. There are 60,000 commercial telephone lines and close to 170,000 residential telephone lines. These telephone lines are provided by: Telmex, Axtel and AT&T. Satellite dishes, cable, T.V. and radio stations provide a wide broadcasting range. Local TV channels and Radio Stations such as: Stereo Hits and Multimedios Estrellas de Oro.
7

There are three important local newspapers: El Siglo de Torren, La Opinin Milenio, Noticias del Sol de la Laguna. Torreon also has some local magazines.

Education
Universities and Technical Schools. In the area of Education, Torreon Coahuila has one of the best positions, not only in the State but also nationally. Nowadays this metropolis has increased the number of educational institutions. An interesting aspect of the city is its welath of universities. There are a number of well-recognized and established institutions with campuses in the municipality. Higher education includes a variety of choices, at university level, Torreon has 23 universities and 23 technical schools which tell the strong educative platform of the Laguna Region. In 2006, the total number of University graduates was 5,227 and technical school graduates 8,558. This information is presented in Tables 1 and 2.

Universities 23

Programs 53

Population 30,070

Graduates 5,227

Table 1. Universities in Torreon

Torren and the surrounding comarca are served by several public and private universities. Some of the most recognized institutions in the area are:

Schools 23

Assignments 29

Population 21,099

Graduates 8,558

Table 2. Technical Schools in Torreon

The city of Torreon belongs to the Comarca Lagunera, which is one of the most important industrial areas in Mexico; as a result there is a strong link between education and productive sector. Elementary, Junior High Schools and High Schools. Torreon, has some of the finest schools in the country, including elementary, junior and high school. As an important fact, this region has more educational entities than some states in Mexico. In the area of bilingual education, the bilingual schools in Torreon are known for the quality of their teaching staff, curriculum and success of their graduates. Table 3 shows the total populations and schools from Elementary to High School.
Total population and Schools from Elementary to High School Schools Elementary Junior School High School 1,082 322 133 Population 184,403 74,536 33,451

Language (dialects)
Spanish is the official language in the region of the Laguna, however According to the Instituto Nacional de Estadstica, Geografa e Informtica (INEGI), the municipality of Torreon Coahuila has two predominant dialects: the Mazahua and the Tarahumara which during the last years have been immigrating from other states of Mexico to the city of Torreon.

Culture
Culture in the city of Torreon has become a pillar, is something that is present in the citizen`s lives in different ways. The following are very important features that mark the culture (traditions, customs, and beliefs) of the city of Torreon, Coahuila:

Christ of the Noas, the second largest in Latin America, which not only symbolize the catholic faith but also the strong, will of the people at Torreon. This Christ is a great architectural work, which measures 22 meters high.

The Regional Museum of Laguna, which preserves ethnographic, historic, and Mayan archaeological collections. The historic museum known as "La casa del cerro" was built in the 19th century by the architect Federico Wolff, who was part german and part spanish.

The Perla Canal, built at the end of the 19th century, is an artificial waterway with a series of underground tunnels originally used for irrigation. The tunnels have recently been restored and turned into an art gallery, displaying many interesting works of art. It is easily accessible from the Plaza de Armas (Armory), downtown.

10

The main festival in Torreon is La Feria del Algodon y La Uva (the Cotton and Grape Fair), and is celebrated in September. Another significant tradition in the Laguna is the celebration of the the covadonga, and viacrusis for the holly week, that takes place at the Cerro de las Noas. Finally we have the Laguna DrumFest, which place in the month of October, and includes some of the best drummers in Mexico and abroad

In terms of Sports, the city has a baseball team which is called the Vaqueros; the city soccer team, Santos, is a nationally famous and very talented team, which has become an important tradition of the city.

Another important topic in Torreon is the food, which is varied. Due the different foraging groups the Comarca is very rich in plates from: Spanish cuisine, Lebanese cuisine and Chinese cuisine, however there are also two popular plates that are very popular in the Laguna region: las tortas de carnitas de puerco con aguacate, and gorditas de harinas rellenas de diferentes guisos.

The Music is another important element of the culture of Torreon. Although the Polka and the Chotis are popular songs in the Comarca Lagunera, the typical music in the Laguna is the cardenche song.

Relationship between Language and Culture

The term Culture is a central point for Anthropology which involves human capacity to classify and represent peoples experiences with symbols. The main feature that characterizes a Culture is the language (the main symbol in any culture). As we mentioned at the beginning of this paper, Culture is an essential pillar in the city of Torreon, however it could not be possible without the usage of Language, which is the main via of communication among people in the Laguna area. As it has been mentioned before, the Spanish is the official language of the city of Torreon. Additionally the city also has indigenous languages, in other words dialects, and the most important are the following: Tarahumara and Masahua

11

which are spoken by very few people who have moved from other states of Mexico to the city of Torreon.

Analysis of the usage of the Spanish language in the city of Torreon Coahuila.
All the regions in Mexico have their own way to use the language (Spanish), but there are some special features that make every variety unique. To defferentiate a person from Chihuahua or Monterrey from a Torreon citizen, it will not be because of the accent used, it will be because of the typical words of the area that are used in the spoken discourse. For instance, words like "moyote" or "tabaret are symbols of that region because they are hardly used in any other state in Mexico. Another word very popular in Torreon is Asquel which refers to a very little ant. According many analysts, this term is correct because it typical of the region. Throughout the language use, we can identify the cultural level, social status and level of education. Expressions like gey, o sea, nada que ver, super nice, del nabo, buensima onda, are considered phrases from the high society, better known as phrases fresas, while chido, carnal, machin, vato, varo, are words that belong to one social group called cholos. The previous words

(phrases) are used, mainly among young people and they allow identifying the social group they belong to.

12

The Importance of Ethnography in Anthropology

Ethnography is the scientific study of human social phenomena and communities, through means such as fieldwork. It is considered a branch of cultural anthropology, the branch of anthropology which focuses on the study of human societies. Some people use ethnography and cultural anthropology

interchangeably, although cultural anthropology includes more research techniques than just ethnography. The practice of ethnography usually involves fieldwork in which the ethnographer lives among the population being studied. While trying to retain objectivity, the ethnographer lives an ordinary life among the people, working with informants who are particularly knowledgeable or well placed to collect information. This fieldwork may last for extended period of time; usually over a year, and sometimes much longer. Similarly, Anthropology studies all facets of society and culture that include traditions, language, beliefs, values, social institutions, and so on.

Ethnographic Method
A questionnaire is the ethnographic method that is going to be used as the data collection tools for this research to gather information about real interaction and social life in the area on Torreon Coahuila. This method will help in future

ethnographic investigations about the culture and usage of language of people from all over the city of Torreon.

13

UNIVERSIDAD AUTONOMA DE TAMAULIPAS

U. A. M. de Ciencias, Educacin y Humanidades
ENCUESTA

Objetivo: Esta encuesta ser utilizada como instrumento para obtener informacin acerca del uso de espaol en la ciudad de Torren, Coahuila, as como tambin conocer el nivel econmico de la misma.

Contexto
I. Completa los espacios en blanco utilizando la palabra o palabras que consideres apropiadas:

1. Anoche no pude dormir porque me picaron mucho los _____________. 2. El beb necesita que le cambies el/la __________________________. 3. La _____________ Corona es la mejor del mundo.

II.

Contesta las siguientes preguntas escribiendo la palabra o palabras que consideres necesarias:

4. Cmo le llamas a los pequeos insectos que se renen cuando dejamos residuos de comida, son negras(os), y casi siempre caminan en fila? _____________________________________________________________

5. Menciona algunas palabras o frases que utilizas para demostrar que algo te gusta. ___________________________________________________________________

References:
6. Escribe todos los sinnimos que conozcas para la palabra dinero____________ __________________________________________________________________

14

III.

Elija la palabra correcta para cada enunciado:

7. Solo tengo $15, comprar un refresco y una / un _______________ de jamn. a) Lonche b) Torta c) Taco

8. Mara traa muchos ____________ en el cabello. a) Broches b) Pasadores c) Chavetas

Conclusion
One of the main characteristics of the city of Torreon is the lexicon that people have which is special and different than the vocabulary used in any other region of Mexico. We considered that the language is the mirror of a culture; as a result, it is very essential to know how the natives of a place use a language in order to identify the culture they have. We decided to use a questionnaire as a tool to gather data about how people from Torreon, Coahuila use Spanish. We will apply this tool to ten people from different areas of the city, who are going to be the sample of this investigation, then we will analyze each of their answers and finally we are going to determine, from the result, the social status of the candidates, their approximate age, their cultural background and the different meaning that they have for a word through the examination of the written data. This ethnographic method will allow us to get the veridical information, because the responders are asked to write the words of phrases they use in every day life. For
15

this purpose, the questionnaire was divided in three sections: in the first part of the tool, surveyed people have to think in a word that fill in the blanks, the they are asked some questions about the meaning of words they have to write and finally, responders are given choices to select. This distribution permits the sample to enjoy the process and use the appropriate linguistics sign in each of the utterances.

16

Bibliography

http://www.state.gov/g/drl/rls/irf/2006/71467.htm http://www.oei.es/cultura2/mexico/c9b.htm#07 http://www.elocal.gob.mx/work/templates/enciclo/coahuila/mpios/05035a.ht m http://www.traveltorreon.com/english/cultureandhistorytorreon.php http://www.lagunet.info/habla.html http://www.investintorreon.com.mx/default.asp http://www.wisegeek.com/what-is-ethnography.htm http://www.cyberpursuits.com/anthro/ http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coahuila http://www.explorandomexico.com/city/18/Torreon/about/

17