Pride in one’s own culture and language is understandable and admirable, provided it is kept in proper perspective. Unfortunately, lack of knowledge about the relationship between languages or between language and culture sometimes results in misunderstanding and gross misinterpretations.
Mexicans sometimes have the mistaken impression that the Spanish language is in imminent danger of losing its distinctive character by the invasion of English. Nothing could be further from the truth. A language that does not incorporate new words and forms ceases to develop as a viable means of communication.
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The Mexican in Me
Sunday, 01 January 2006 00:00
Tom Bridges
I went driving the other day, along the south shore up towards the mountains. I was overwhelmed by the color. I first noticed it while driving through sunflowers on both sides of the road. It seemed I was driving through a tunnel of yellow. In a moment I came out to a brief glimpse of the blue waters of the lake then a flash of bougainvillea. Then there was a swath of lavender which seemed to be an island in the midst of some red-leafed, low growing plant. A white baby's breath appeared here and there. Under the sunflower, leading up to a field of blue agaves, framing another field of burnt red, ripening sorghum, echoing the white flowers of groves of white blooming trees. All this visual stimulation got me to thinking about why I like Mexico.
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True and False in Mexico
Sunday, 01 January 2006 00:00
Tom Bridges
Truth is a strange critter. Like beauty, it must be in the eye of the beholder. Truth is one of the first things we learn about as children so we should be rather adept at understanding all there is to know about it by the time we become adults, shouldn’t we? But then, it could be that because we tend to learn about truth by what it is not, we grow up with a jaded view of it.
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Culture, Custom & Tradition 
