Are you a cocktail lover? Do you know the words Daiquiri, Mojito, and Tequila are all Spanish words adapted to English? Unsurprisingly, many more Spanish words are hidden in English, requiring no Spanish translation.
Spanish is a Romance language derived from the 9th-century dialects of Iberia. It developed into a separate language as it expanded through Spain during the Middle Ages. Today, Spanish is one of the official languages of the United Nations, the European Union, and Mercosur; as a result, translation services and interpreting services for Spanish are in high demand.
The following lists are Spanish words that have been assimilated into English. Moreover, most of them retain the spelling and even (more or less) the pronunciation of Spanish!
State & City Names In Spanish Translation
The following names don’t require translation or localization services:
- California — a mythical island from the 1510 Spanish novel Las sergas de Esplandián by Garci Rodríguez de Montalvo.
- Colorado — “red-colored” (referring to the color of the river that is the state’s namesake).
- Montana — from montaña (“mountain”)
- Nevada — “snowy”
- Texas — the Spanish adopted the word tejas from the language of the indigenous Cado people. It means “friends” or “allies.”
- Utah — derived from the name of the indigenous Ute people, by way of Spanish yuta.
- Las Vegas — “the meadows”
- Los Angeles — a shortened version of the older name, El Pueblo de Nuestra Señora la Reina de los Ángeles del Río de Porciúncula, “The Town of Our Lady the Queen of Angels of the Porciúncula River”
- San Antonio — “Saint Anthony”
- San Francisco — “Saint Francis”
- Santa Cruz — “holy cross”
Food & Drink and Spanish Translation
- avocado — (originally a Nahuatl word, ahuacatl)
- burrito — “little donkey”
- banana — (word, originally of African origin, entered English via either Spanish or Portuguese)
- barbecue — (from barbacoa, a word of Caribbean origin)
- chorizo — “spiced pork sausage”
- cilantro — “coriander”
- daiquiri — named after Daiquiri, a port city in eastern Cuba
- habanero — “from Havana”
- jalapeño — “from Jalapa”
- mojito — diminutive form of Cuban Spanish mojo (“sauce”)
- nacho — named after Ignacio “Nacho” Anaya, who is purported to have invented the dish in 1943
- oregano — from orégano
- piña colada — from piña (“pineapple”) and colada (“strained”)
- salsa — “sauce”
- sherry — from Old Spanish Xerés, modern Spanish Jerez
- taco — “plug”
- tequila – named after Tequila, the Mexican district where the spirit originated
- tuna – from Spanish atún
- vanilla — from Spanish vainilla
Geography & Weather Words
- arroyo — “stream”
- breeze — from brisa (“cold northeast wind”)
- caldera — “cauldron”
- canyon — cañón
- mesa — “table”
- playa — “beach”
- sierra — “mountain range”
- tornado — from tronada (thunderstorm)
Spanish is undoubtedly one of the most dominant spoken languages in the U.S. There are more than 37 million Spanish speakers. Therefore, Spanish translation services are always in high demand.
As one of the largest Spanish translation services provider, Language Connections offers specialized linguistic solutions to meet your needs, including Spanish legal translation, Spanish interpreting services, and Spanish document translation services.
About Language Connections:
Language Connections is one of the top language service companies in the US. Over the last 30 years, we’ve focused on providing the best business translation, interpreting services, as well as interpreter training and customized language training programs. In addition to top-tier corporate language training, we offer certified corporate interpreters and professional business translation in 200+ languages. Our network includes linguists with backgrounds in all major industries. They’re ready to meet your needs, whether they’re for technical translation, legal translation, government translation, international development translation, education translation, life sciences translation, or something else. Reach out to us today for a free quote on our cost-efficient and timely translation, interpreters, or other linguistic services.
Language Connections Inc.
2001 Beacon Street, Suite 105,
Boston, MA 02135
Phone: +1-617-731-3510
Email: service@languageconnections.com