200 MEXICAN PRONUNCIATION. 



grammatical rules {which is so common among 

 the illiterate who use the English language), 

 is extremely rare. In pronunciation, the only- 

 material difTerence between them and the 

 Castihan race, consists in the adoption of cer- 

 tain provincialisms, which can hardly be rank- 

 ed as defects. Thus, instead of giving c before 

 € and i, and z in aU cases, the Castilian hsp of 

 th as in thin, they sound both like 5 in sin; 

 and instead of pronouncing // as the ItaUan 

 Hquid gl in seraglio, they sound this double 

 letter precisely like y in i/es ; and in writing, 

 frequently confound the // and y indiscrimi- 

 nately together. These may be considered as 

 their only pecuharities of pronunciation, and 

 they prevail through most sections of the re- 

 pubhc. In fact, this pouit of difference is 

 looked upon by many with national pride, as 

 distinguishing their language from that of 

 their former oppressors. They have also adopt- 

 ed many significant Indian words from their 

 aboriginal predecessors and neighbors, which 

 serve to embellish and amphfy this aheady 

 beautiful and copious language. 



In nothing is the deplorable state of things 

 already noticed made more clearly manifest, 

 than in the absence of a public press. There 

 has never been a single newspaper or periodi- 

 cal of any kind pubhshed in New Mexico, 

 except in the year 1834, when a little foolscap 

 sheet (entitled M Crepusculo) was issued 

 weekly, for about a month, to the tune of fifty 

 subscribers, and was then abandoned, partial- 

 ly for want of patronage and partially because 



