Making pajaritas de papel in the Spanish language : between origami and papiroflexia

Abstract

This article analyzes the history of three concepts pertaining to paper folding: pajaritas de papel, origami and papiroflexia. We will use all the information available both in different lexicographic works and the first textual documentations in the Spanish corpora and the Hemeroteca digital de la Biblioteca Nacional de España to describe the process of adoption of an internationalism coming from Japanese, origami (documented since 1964), which rivals in today's Spanish with the neologism papiroflexia (since 1938). Before both landed in our language in the 20th century, Spanish language had another expression hacer pájaras/ pajaritas de papel (in texts from the middle of the 18th century).

Keywords

• origami
• papiroflexia
• paper-folding
• pajaritas
• Japanese loanwords
• lexicography