No problemo
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
No problemo is a phrase used in North American English to indicate that a given situation does not pose a problem. It has roughly the same meaning as the expression "no problem", but is rarely heard as a response to prompts such as "thank you" and "I'm sorry".
The phrase is evidence of the influence of the Spanish language on North American English and the popular misconception that many words in the language can be formed by simply taking the English equivalent word and adding the letter "o". Problemo is not actually a Spanish word, however; the Spanish word for problem is actually problema,[1] and the Spanish equivalent of "no problem" is ningún problema or no hay problema.
Although considered by some to be derogatory and even racist,[2][3] it is considered by most to be a light-hearted expression and can be seen in newspapers and other works, especially when discussing Hispanic-related topics.[4]
The word "problemo" is literally a word in Esperanto.
This character Alf uses this phrase. In the Latin American version of the show, the phrase is translated as "no hay problema".
[edit] External links
[edit] References
- ^ Problem - English-Spanish Dictionary. WordReference. Retrieved on 2007-08-16.
- ^ J. H. Hill. "Is it really «No Problemo»? Junk Spanish and Anglo Racism". Retrieved on 2007-08-16.
- ^ Jane H. Hill. Mock Spanish: A Site For The Indexical Reproduction Of Racism In American English. Retrieved on 2007-12-03.
- ^ M.L. Lyke. "No Crowds? No Rush? In Mexico, No Problemo", December 3, 2006, p. P01. Retrieved on 2007-08-16.
