Cuban Slang Term Stirs Curse Controversy
MIAMI (CBS4) - It's a word you've probably heard around South Florida whether you speak Spanish or not, and in local Hispanic culture, it's considered a mild epithet, like 'hell' or 'damn'. But in other parts of the country, the same word is considered vulgar, offensive, and has even sparked a court battle.
Based on the worldwide reach of the internet, we won't use the word here, but "co*o" is a four-letter word that has huge disagreements over the current meaning and has even sparked a court battle.
Some say its literal transition is a derogatory word for a woman's private parts You'd never know that by the way it's used in South Florida.
"It's a word that you hear in Cuban conversation maybe 3 or 4 times in a 5-minute conversation," said Serafin Blanco, owner of "Nyooo Que Barato."
Serafin named his clothing stores, including a baby store after the abbreviation for the word.
"The Cubans would come in here and say, 'Nyooo que barato! Nyooo,'" Blanco said. "So we said, 'whoa, might as well use the 'Nyooo que barato' as the name of the store."
FIU Spanish professor Dr. Erik Camayd-Freixas says the word is an expletive, but it's also a linguistic chameleon.
"I would describe that word like the joker in the deck of cards," Camayd-Freixas said. "You can use it for anything, it can mean anything."
Camayd-Freixas trains court translators, and in South Florida, the word poses a challenge.
"They have to find not a literal translation, but a situational translation," said Camayd-Freixas. "What would they say in English in the same type of situation."
The disagreement over the usage and meaning of the word came to a head recently in New York City. A high school teacher was fined and suspended for using the word in his classes. He's now suing the district saying use of the word is not misconduct.
Students were split over the usage of the word in a classroom setting.
"I don't think it's that bad at all," said Ana Lucil. "It's exaggerating to suspend him for that."
Other students said it doesn't pass the mom test and it's a good reminder for us all to be careful with what we say.
"I'm not gonna try to test it when I get home," said Sterling Battle.
CBS4 Natalia Zea contributed to this report.
