'Espanglish es una jerga'

[Lesley D]

It seems like all the good language and literature articles are published on Sundays. This is the second one I found today. This is about Spanglish or Espanglish. What is it? Is it a real language, slang, broken Spanish, a hybrid form of two predominant languages-English and Spanish? Who speaks it and why do people speak it?

There are many threads on this topic in the forum however, it continues to be one of interest among the academics and academies of Spanish because of its impact on Spanish especially in the USA. I have posted my opinion in many threads and thought this was an interesting article because this is the first one that I have read in which the issue is addressed by la Academia Norteamericana de la Lengua Española. If anyone is interested in attending the lecture refer to the details in the article.

Piña Rosales vendrá a hablarnos sobre ese tema del ''Espanglish'' el viernes 27 de junio al Centro Cultural Español de Coral Gables, para la presentación de la tercera edición revisada y aumentada de Español o Espanglish, basada en una serie de seis diálogos que fueron coordinados y luego editados en libro por la escritora Maricel Mayor Marsán, directora de Ediciones Baquiana.

Some interesting points have been raised all of which I mentioned numerous times in the past:

El trabajo de Piña Rosales en la Academia es voluntario, los únicos fondos que obtienen son de la venta de Don Quijote y del Diccionario de la Academia. ''Claro que en otros países hay el apoyo del gobierno, ahora es posible que el gobierno español empiece a ayudarnos también'', comenta. Pero es un trabajo arduo, sobre todo en Estados Unidos, donde el español por fuerza cambia, no sólo en el significado de las palabras, sino hasta en la sintaxis, debido a la influencia del inglés.

-the statement I highlighted is what I keep reiterating over the years. Anyone who does not recognize the influence of English in Spanish in the USA really does not have a command of the language or has become very used to the spoken Spanish of the USA .

'La Academia no condena, porque no es policía, pero no está de acuerdo con que se coloque al `Espanglish' como una lengua más, lo vemos como algo híbrido, una jerga, como un encuentro entre dos lenguas, y creemos que sucede porque no se sabe usar el español bien. La mayoría de las personas que hablan el 'Espanglish' no tienen un nivel de educación alto, necesitan eso para defenderse''.

Here’s the link for those who wish to read the article (the link will only be good for a few days):

'Espanglish es una jerga', opina Gerardo Piña RosalesDirector de la Academia Norteamericana - 06/22/2008 - El Nuevo Herald


-LDG.

[2LeftFeet]

Thanks Lesley..... just printed it out. I'm excited to read it.

[Theforceinme]

La mayoría de las personas que hablan el 'Espanglish' no tienen un nivel de educación alto, necesitan eso para defenderse''.

Very much have to agree. Most Spanish people I know in the DR would fail a Spanish grammar test, nevermind those in gringolandia. I include myself there too

But at least I am taking the baby steps to rectify this.

I'm not a very loyalist type of guy. I like to think I am practical. I don't really mind if one language dies and another takes its place. They are just tools to get ideas across. One day we shall have a universal tongue... but the fact is that Espanglish has no control and no fixed rules, and that is a problem.

[Norma Rosa]

Originally Posted by Theforceinme

Very much have to agree. Most Spanish people I know in the DR would fail a Spanish grammar test, nevermind those in gringolandia. I include myself there too

You missed the point.

[Theforceinme]

Originally Posted by Norma Rosa

You missed the point.

Oh. What do you mean? I was just agreeing with her, that we don't know our own Spanish very well. What point did I miss?

[Lesley D]

IMO, Spanglish, as a concept, not a language is a form of speech predominant among English speakers of Latin descent who don’t speak Spanish well and use English words as fillers for the lack of vocabulary. As well Spanglish is predominant among Latino immigrants who don’t have a command of English but use English words when speaking Spanish. In my observation these are the two predominant speech dynamics at play with Spanglish. Those who defend it usually are those who speak it without realizing the lack of uniformity of their own speech not to mention it shows a weak of command of Spanish. For some it may be truly the only way of communicating until they have better command of either language.

One needs to keep in mind at present Spanglish impacts Spanish and not English. The English language is not being changed because of Spanglish; however, the opposite is true because of the co-existence of these two languages in the USA. Changed to the point where the various Spanish language academies have to examine, assess and analyze its impact and what will happen to Spanish in the near future. As mentioned before, I have many posts in the forum on this topic; therefore I see no need to repeat myself. The author of the article classifies Spanglish as slang. However, this form of speech impacts Spanish negatively (IMO) especially since the syntax and vocabulary of language is affected. To ensure uniform communication across a vast number of speakers, the rules of grammar need to remain standardized. One has to keep in mind Spanglish is common where the two languages co-exist. What does this mean for the majority population of Spanish speakers who have no exposure or desire to speak this way?

Thoughts to consider regarding Spanglish:

- it's not a dialect (please research the linguistic definition(s) of dialect)- a regional speech variety of a language within a country or region of a country. Spanish has very few 'official dialects'. Once again this can be researched if you wish to know more. El cibaeño is one of the few true Spanish dialects.

- it's not a language because it does not have its own grammatical rules.

Whatever it is, one aspect that is certain is it's causing linguistic havoc and the academies of language have just cause to be concerned. IMO, it's even perceived less favorably than a dialect and dialects are often looked down upon in many languages by those who do not speak the regional or local dialect of a country.


-LDG.

[isabelle13]

Lesley

No to change the subject but would you say this is the same kind of effect that English has had on the French spoken in Canada for example. I am not talking only about using english word when speaking French but on the syntax of how phrases are spoken.

[Lesley D]

isabelle13,

Your question is valid and I don't mind the comparison as long as the posts to the follow don't force the discussion to go South.

To answer your question, yes, the dynamic is the same in Quebec, I would not say the whole country because French is not really spoken in most of Canada to make a wide scale comparison across country. However, using Montreal as an example, there's no question about it. The English influence over French has a longer history than Spanglish. The key difference as I see it with these two languages is the impact. Spanglish does have and will increasingly have an impact on the Spanish language as a whole. The primary reason why (and I mentioned this in another post recently) is Spanish as a language is tied to the US economy and the US economy is tied to big global markets. Spanish is a vital part of the economy of certain states and as a result the economy of the country.

The French spoken in Quebec does not have an impact on the French-speaking world. It's a fact and in linguistic analysis it has been considered an isolated French speaking region for decades. Up until the 1960's Quebec's ties to France and other French-speaking nations was very limited, in the meantime, French was evolving in Europe and Africa i.e. vocabulary, expressions, colloquialisms etc. but the grammar as usual remains standardized. French in Quebec began to have English linguistic influences many decades ago which is an inevitable phenomenon when two languages co-exist in addition to its own archaisms, expressions and that ever so unique accent. It's really amazing how French speakers in Montreal, a super cosmopolitan city even communicate at times. The amalgam of the spoken variety is incredible. French is French just like Spanish is Spanish and speakers should be able to communicate. However, French speakers from other lands are always amazed at the spoken French in Quebec and this ties back to the history and the English influence is another dynamic.

In short, Spanglish has a much more critical impact on the language as a whole. The USA is the fifth largest Spanish-speaking country in the world and the official language is not Spanish. That's a statistic that can not be overlooked.The spoken French in Quebec is no threat to the French spoken in other lands which is much closer to the standard. The Quebec vernacular remains isolated to Quebec.



-LDG.

[isabelle13]

Thanks Lesley

[Lesley D]

As a comparison here is an example of a reverse usage of language that’s not considered Spanglish although an English term is used in Spanish. This usually happens when there is no equivalent term that would convey the equivalent meaning of the English word. When this happens in language it does not constitute a threat to the target language in question. I see this in English to Spanish and English to French regularly. However, I was bit surprised that it’s an ad from Spain. One will see the usage of English terms in the USA and Latin America to certain extent but Spain, IMO seems much less likely.

Here is an ad I saw in today’s newspaper- adn.es

Sácale más jugo a tu dinero- 'a good enticing ad'. When you click on the link it takes you iBanesto’s website.

There’s another ad that says:

Bienvenido al Low Cost Banking- then when you click further on it gives an explanation of 'low cost banking' in Spanish.

- gastar menos para que tú ganes más

To reiterate my point above, one will see English terms used in business; the financial industry etc. usually for the lack of an equivalent term in Spanish other than simply giving a description of the term in question or phrase in question, the English equivalent is used. Another example of an English term used in Spanish in the financial services industry/ investments is Blue chip. Here is the definition from iBanesto’s glossary of financial terms:

Blue chip:

Término anglosajón que se aplica a las acciones más prestigiosas del mercado bursátil. Se trata de valores emitidos por compañías solventes, que actúan en importantes sectores económicos, con gran capacidad de creación de beneficios y dividendos. Son valores que siempre están incluidos en las carteras modelo.


-These types of examples of English usage in Spanish need to be differentiated from Spanglish. Examples of Spanglish words are those derived from English (and there's a true Spanish word that already exists in the language). See link for examples Spanglish, A New American Language : NPR



-LDG.