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Can I challenge you a bit, Lumia, on the idea that the use of "y" as a vowel or double ss's are a "misspelling" in Latin America? Why do Spanish speakers in the Western hemisphere have to abide by the spelling conventions of Spain any more than English speakers have to abide by the spelling conventions of England? As an American, I would find it quite humorous to be told by someone from England that I was "misspelling" words like color, dialog, criticize, and center. It seems to me that England and Spain both gave up the right to control how the rest of the world uses their language when they became colonial powers. :)

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I also don't think that the use of "y" as a vowel in names necessarily indicates working class origin in Latin America. Certainly the name Mayra seems to be found regularly among educated persons, as shown by the following examples:

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http://www.bombsite.com/montero/montero.html

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http://www.psr.edu/page.cfm?l=301

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http://www.nyif.com/courses/instructors/100001441.html

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http://web.worldbank.org/WBSITE/EXTERNAL/NEWS/0,,contentMDK:20625607~pagePK:64257043~piPK:437376~theSitePK:4607,00.html

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This message was edited 8/22/2007, 1:12 PM