Nahuatlismo

Nahuatlism is the term used to refer to words in the Spanish language that originate from Nahuatl.^[1] It is also known in Spanish by the name “aztequismo” (or “Aztec-ism”) Many nahuatlisms are only known in Mexican Spanish, since the majority of Nahuatl speakers are concentrated in the country. Other nahuatlisms have entered a wide variety of languages, including English, almost always as loan words drawn from Spanish.

The use of nahuatlisms in the Spanish language is one of the distinctive characteristics of Mexican Spanish. With nahuatlisms being a subject of cultural importance, there exists a large number of studies regarding the frequency of their use and their prevalence among different layers of the Mexican population. These topics tend to be a point of contention among researchers.