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Órale, we’re continuing with words in Caló that come from the language spoken by the Kalé or Romaní from Spain, Portugal and France, who also call their language Kaló. The word for this episode is chompa. It means the top of your head in Caló. It comes from the word the Kalé use for the same, chola. There is another similarly-pronounced word in Caló, cholo, which means a gang member (chola for woman). This particular word isn’t related to chompa, however. It comes from the Nahuatl (Aztec) and means dog. We’ll cover that word in a future episode. In the Caló spoken on the Rio Grande, like all languages, references to the head can convey many entendre, depending on the context. A chompón, for example, is a lump on the heat and a head-plant in the proverbial immovable wall. And a chompazo is a hit to the head.

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