Spanglish
Uploaded by swandawg11 on Oct 26, 2011
This paper discusses whether or not there are efforts underway to preserve Spanish in the United States, as opposed to Spanglish. (11 pages; 5 sources; MLA citation style)
I Introduction
“Spanglish” is the name given to a language that is currently developing: a blend of Spanish and English that is not truly one or the other, but consists of using English words and phrases in conversation that is otherwise conducted in Spanish.
This paper asks “is there any effort underway to preserve Spanish against Spanglish in USA?” I’m quoting directly because the phrasing of the question is pejorative: it implies that preserving “pure” Spanish is preferable to using Spanglish; this means that part of our investigation should focus on whether the pure language is preferable to the hybrid. We’ll also consider efforts (if such exist) to “preserve” Spanish; and what the effect of the development of Spanglish is having on Latino culture in the United States.
II Spanglish
Oddly enough, just yesterday I ran across an advertisement in my neighborhood paper that appears to be printed in Spanglish. It’s for a room for rent, and says: “Cuarto extra largo. Incluye utilidades, area tranquila. $440/mes. +100 deposito.” The translation is obvious: “Extra large room. Utilities included, quiet area. $440/month plus $100 deposit.” I’m not a Spanish speaker, but a quick check with an on-line Spanish-English dictionary reveals that the word for “large” is not “largo” but “grande”; and the word for “include” is not “incluye” but “contener.” The other words (“cuarto”, “extra”, and “tranquila”) are all correct Spanish, but “largo” and “incluye” are Spanglish.
Spanglish speakers, according to most sources, are usually people who know some Spanish but are not fluent speakers of the language. They may be second-generation immigrants, whose parents speak pure Spanish but who are themselves not experts. Such people are often found in homes where the older generation wanted to “assimilate” into American culture quickly and didn’t speak Spanish to the children. The result is that the younger people use Spanish vocabulary until they cannot think of the word they need, then they use an English word. The result: Spanglish.
My research reveals that there is no general consensus yet as to whether or not Spanglish is good or bad, in the sense that speaking it somehow “degrades” or “harms” Spanish itself; but battle...