sheetrockero

n. a person who hangs drywall, also known as gypsum board or sheet rock. Also sheetroquero. Subjects: Spanglish, Construction & Buildings

Editorial Note: The book Learning Construction Spanglish includes the Spanglish verb shiroquear, meaning to “to hang drywall or sheetrock,” but the term rarely occurs in print. Etymological Note: English “sheet rock” + Spanish “-ero,” a masculine suffix used in forming agentive nominals, that is, nouns that indicate a person who does, or is supposed to do, a particular task.

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Citations: 2003 Committee on Earth Resources National Research Council of the National Academies Safety is Seguridad: A Workshop Summary (Washington, D.C.) p. 27: It may be necessary to use spanglish if that is what workers use (e.g., sheetrockero, for a person who works with sheetrock). 2005 Alexis Charbonnier Summit Daily News (Frisco, Colorado) (Dec. 31) “North to Colorado: Independencia”: Everyone has a place in the Colorado job market, he explains. Men from Chihuahua have a reputation as good construction workers: they do sheetrock installation, taping and house framing. Sheetrock layers are known by a Spanglish word: “sheetrockeros.” *2006 La Prensa (San Antonio, Texas) (July 26) “Classifieds”: Sheetroquero/Frameadores. Aceptamos solicitudes. Mínimo 3 años de experiencia. 2006 Presidencia Muncipal Allende, Coahuila (Mexico) (Nov. 6) “Promueven empleo temporal en el estado de Texas” (in Texas): Al informar lo anterior, el director de la dependencia municipal, Ing. Salvador Flores Cantú, señaló que son aproximadamente cien plazas laborales las que se ofertan en las especialidades de: “sheetrockeros”, soldadores, operadores de maquinaria pesada, construcción, tablajeros, ingenieros civiles, mecánicos en diesel, trabajadores para ranchos, entre otras. 2006 [lorito_chris] Yagua.com (Paraguay) (Dec. 14) “Carnaval de Rio de Janeiro quien va?”: Yotoy college point, cerca de flushing, sheetrockero soy. 2007 Craigslist (Apr. 16) “Floteador y Sheetrockero” (in Houston, Texas): Necesito un floteador y un sheetroquero. Soy contratista y necesito alguien que trabaje con calidad y limpieza.

Posted 7 May 07 | Permalink | Tell a Friend

Reader comments:

While I agree that the Spanglish word has its origins in the English word “Sheetrock”, there are pronunciation changes that do not lend themselves to the spelling “Sheetrockero” . Native Spanish speakers do not hear distinct English sounds such as those of a “tr” combination in a word like this—they simply do not hear nor enunciate the t in this combination. Additionally, the letter k rarely if ever appears in Spanish words; the sound is achieved through the combination of the letters que. The more appropriate spelling of the Spanglish word is shiroquero, and the accompanying verb shiroquear, if one has any hope of pronouncing it correctly.

by Terry Eddy 08 Nov 07, 1255 GMT

The word arises out of a bilingual situation, so perhaps we can assume a sufficient grasp of English phonetics. Plus, “sheetrockero” was the most common spelling at the time I did this entry.

by Grant Barrett 08 Nov 07, 0103 GMT