Mande'?

[Viva Terlingua]

I live on the US-Mexico border. When Spanish speakers are conversing and they didn't catch what the other person said, they say mande'? It has no direct translation but it means "what?" or "repeat please". I know that this phrase/term is not used anywhere else. What do you say in Spain when you didn't catch what the speaker said?

 

[LynnT]

¿Cómo?

 

[Jeff Crawley]

Mas despacio por favor!

 

[Peregrina 2013]

¿Cómo? should suffice and it's perfectly understandable in Spain - and elsewhere, for that matter. Plus it's very polite and works with anyone regardless of whether you are using the formal usted, informal tú or the plural vosotros(as) forms of address And, of course ¿Perdón? - which politely says "Excuse me?"

 

[JLV]

Como se dice por favor

 

[ivar]

Perdón?

 

[Peregrina 2013]

Como se dice por favor

Well, this expression actually means: How do you say (__________), please? For example: How do you say "chair" in Spanish, please? or How do you say "silla" in English, please?

 

[DoughnutANZ]

Eh?

 

[HaveringRob]

A long time ago, I was chastened by a Spanish student that saying "mande" made me sound like a farmworker. It means something like "at your service" or "command me," emphasizing the inequality between the classes.

 

[Peregrina 2013]

Yes, indeed. But know that it is widely used and accepted - by all classes, in Mexico, and understood to only mean "What did you just say?".

 

[HaveringRob]

Yes, indeed. But know that it is widely used and accepted - by all classes, in Mexico, and understood to only mean "What did you just say?".

True. I use it when I am not in Spain. It is just interesting to see the roots.

 

[Peregrina 2013]

True. I use it when I am not in Spain. It is just interesting to see the roots.

It definitely shows servitude, doesn't it? That's what colonialism did!

 

[annakappa]

Eh?

That’s what I say to my grandchildren
In Costa Rica, we do sometimes use mandé. Also como and qué. It depends who you are taking to!

 

[annangulo]

I live on the US-Mexico border. When Spanish speakers are conversing and they didn't catch what the other person said, they say mande'? It has no direct translation but it means "what?" or "repeat please". I know that this phrase/term is not used anywhere else. What do you say in Spain when you didn't catch what the speaker said?

This past August, Mande just automatically came out of my mouth most times. And that didn't seem to be a problem. When I remembered, I'd ask como or que.

 

[MariaSP]

I live on the US-Mexico border. When Spanish speakers are conversing and they didn't catch what the other person said, they say mande'? It has no direct translation but it means "what?" or "repeat please". I know that this phrase/term is not used anywhere else. What do you say in Spain when you didn't catch what the speaker said?

'Mande' is not exclusive to Mexico; it's used in other countries too. In fact, it was used in Spanish too, but it has now gone out of fashion. It became very popular decades ago thanks to puppet 'Doña Rogelia', who used to say it a lot.

She says it here around minute 1.30

Despite the popular belief that this expression appeared in the Americas during colonial times, there is no evidence to support this theory. Apparently, the expression is actually older than that and it comes from Catalan. It was used among equals, especially older people. So, no submission or servitude in the origins of this word.

 

[Peregrina 2013]

'Mande' is not exclusive to Mexico; it's used in other countries too. In fact, it was used in Spanish too, but it has now gone out of fashion. It became very popular decades ago thanks to puppet 'Doña Rogelia', who used to say it a lot.

She says it here around minute 1.30

Despite the popular belief that this expression appeared in the Americas during colonial times, there is no evidence to support this theory. Apparently, the expression is actually older than that and it comes from Catalan. It was used among equals, especially older people. So, no submission or servitude in the origins of this word.

According to some research (https://algarabia.com/de-donde-viene-la-costumbre-de-responder-mande/): Al parecer, esta expresión se usa desde los tiempos del Virreinato, y era la manera en que las castas inferiores —mestizos, indios— mostraban su sumisión a las personas de castas superiores —blancos, criollos—; también hay quien afirma que esta habla ceremoniosa es heredada de las maneras del náhuatl. Lo que sí es que, aunque mucha gente asegura que implica una actitud servil, es más bien una manera de cortesía que matiza una respuesta directa como «¿qué?».

Also: https://www.bbc.com/mundo/noticias-45291338

El diccionario de la Real Academia Española (RAE) no tiene alguna acepción particular para esta forma del verbo mandar.
Pero la AML (Academia Mexicana de la Lengua) sí lo reconoce como una expresión usada en el español de México, la cual, señala, se usa "para responder al llamamiento de alguien".

"Que se percibe como sumisión, sí. Los extranjeros lo perciben como sumisión efectivamente, pero porque es un verbo de mandato, es un causativo de mandato y obviamente es muy fuerte", indica Company.
En algunas regiones rurales de la propia España, bien entrado el siglo XX, aún se escuchaba el "¿Mande?" como se usa en México. Y en el catalán se dice "mani'm" (mándeme) o su forma más simple, "mana?" (¿Mande?)".
Y entre ellos no tiene nada que ver con sumisión, pues se usa entre iguales, sobre todo entre personas mayores.
Por eso Company apunta: "No creo que los mexicanos lo digan por sumisión, lo dicen por respeto, que son cosas muy distintas".

 

[Excursionista]

Interesting -- thanks for sharing! A good example of how etomology isn't always linear and multiple factors can influence common usage.

 

[Peregrina 2013]

Interesting -- thanks for sharing! A good example of how etomology isn't always linear and multiple factors can influence common usage.

Indeed!