13 Words You’ll Only Understand If You’re From Arizona
By Monica Spencer|Published September 04, 2015
×
Monica Spencer
Author
Monica is a Diné (Navajo) freelance writer and photographer based in the Southwest. Born in Gallup and raised in Phoenix, she is Tódich'ii'nii (Bitter Water People) and Tsi'naajinii (Black Streak Wood People). Monica is a staff writer for Only In Your State, photo editor for The Mesa Legend, and previously a staff writer for The Navajo Post. You can reach her at monica.d.spencer@gmail.com.
With Southwest’s rich heritage, we have a lot of unique words that you would be hard pressed to find in other parts of the country. There are a few that come from Spanish or Indigenous languages that were around before present-day borders were drawn, so keep that in mind if you happen to encounter a word outside of Arizona. However, I think these words are certainly more common here than in New Mexico or California
Without further ado, here are thirteen words you have probably encountered once or twice if you’re a Zonie.