Lupe Ramos-Montigny Show: Slang and Cultural Expressions
Click on an expression in the table below to be taken to the part of the show that it is used.
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Expression |
Explanation |
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person who organizes everyday people to take action in their community (the roots of the grass implies from the ground up, not from the top down) |
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brothers and sisters |
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composition of people’s racial backgrounds |
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border city in northeast Mexico: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nuevo_Laredo |
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English-speaking children |
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Kindergarten through 6th grade (elementary school) |
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speaking just one language |
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had announced what it would be |
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cities are sometimes divided by a railroad track, with poor people on one side and rich people on the other (this has become an idiom in English, so Lupe wanted us to know that there was really an actual railroad track dividing the Latinos and the Anglos in her hometown) |
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didn’t go with other groups, stayed with Mexican Americans |
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mixing, being together (with people from different cultures and backgrounds) |
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Leave the classroom (to be punished in the school office). |
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comes out loudly, forcefully |
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certainly, as predicted, that’s what happened |
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person who is chosen to represent the group by speaking for them |
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U.S. states which include North and South Dakota, Minnesota, Wisconsin, and Michigan |
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harvesting fruit and vegetables |
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possessions, things you own |
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a root vegetable |
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region of northwest Michigan: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Old_Mission_Peninsula_AVA |
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(lasting history of) the Mexican American who organized migrant farm workers and pressed farmers and legislators for better working conditions |
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received unfair treatment |
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look out (onto uncertain scene) |
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There were nine of us. |
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gas station (where people fill their tanks) |
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fixing the bodies of cars |
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family that is very close, that sticks together |
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cooking style from the Texas-Mexico border region |
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very important, significant |
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type of restaurant where you are served in your car |
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a lug is a container holding freshly picked produce |
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leading (the head of a spear goes through the air first) |
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worker who travels from one work site to another |
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insisting, having a strong opinion |
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That’s why… |
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basic nature, foundation of our country |
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unkind, cruel, uncaring, mean |
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mocked, made fun of, laughed at |
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a tax created by some states to discourage poor people from voting |
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non-white citizens |
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Lupe refers to God (who in her religion created the earth and all its people) |
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scheduled meetings where parents go to the school to meet teachers and talk about the progress of their children |
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cautious, shy, reluctant to join in |
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deal with that, handle it |
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group of people who surround you with friendship |