This is my research paper for my ENC class. had a bad group so i ended up doing it alone
please leave ANY feedback it has to be a argument paper of why Spanglish contaminates or enriches english or spanish or both
Do you believe in Spanglish? Around the United States, millions of citizens in major cities are speaking what some are calling a third language. Even around the world where Mass populations who utilize both Spanish and English have come across Spanglish. Some consider Spanglish a language disease, slang that should be taken care of immediately. A threat to the purity of both language as a whole. To others they seek to develop their Spanglish speaking skills. It is encouraged and should be practice daily. Spanglish does not contaminate English and Spanish but it is transforming them into something much more. It enriches both languages adding flavor from both worlds. It should not be feared. Good or bad, Spanglish is here and it is changing the way we speak.
What exactly is Spanglish? Some call Spanglish a slang or the bastard child of English and Spanish. The definition of Spanglish in the Oxford dictionary is "informal, a hybrid language combining words and idioms from both Spanish and English, especially Spanish speech that uses many English words and expressions. "
"Spanglish is the way that we, native Spanish speakers, have come to communicate in the United States."
As an informal language Spanglish has no set of rules. Instead it is more of "in the moment" language, where the speaker decides to switch back and forth from English to Spanish or Spanish to English due to limitation of his/her language proficiency; this is called Code-Switching. "The emergence of such forms of communication is involuntary... They appear because it's easier to express something in one language than in another or because the speakers do not know some Spanish words and replace them with English words." Another way Spanglish is spoken is saying an English word and using the phonology of Spanish to emulate the word into an "English-sounding Spanish" word.
To further familiarize you with Spanglish we take an example from the Spanglish dictionary: In English we use the phrase "To park the car", in Spanish it is translated "Aparcar el coche", finally in Spanglish it is slanged into "Parquear el carro." Using the same order we take the word "Lunch," translation in Spanish is "Almuerzo," and finally slanged into Spanglish "Lonche." This process is used to break the language differences and communicate between both Hispanic and American cultures.
"Spanglish is a creative way also of saying, 'I am an American and I have my own style, my own taste, and my own tongue.'"
Etymologically (the study of origin of words), the origin of the term Spanglish can be traced as far back to 1940s. A Puerto Rican linguist by the name of Salvador Tio "coined the term" Spanglish. Another name for Spanglish is Inglanol, which for some reason did not catch on. Spanglish is not a scientific term; it is only a popular term. The term itself is relatively new. The concept behind Spanglish has been practiced for over 100 years before the term was thought up of by Salvador.
Back in the mid 1800's, the United States was forced to confront Mexico. Both countries were seeking control of the land that bordered their individual countries. "They were two radically different countries in terms of social conditions, economics, politics and culture." One barrier that lead to their indifference was language. Mexico's language is Spanish and the United States spoke English. During the war of 1846 through 1848, both sides had to quickly learn each other languages; intercepting intelligence was crucial. Aside from the battlefield, politics resorted to use Code-switching in order to communicate with one another. Eventually a peace was made which lead to a border being set between the two great countries and trade routes was allowed between villages. Soon after colonies would form because of these trade routes mixing both cultures and both languages; Spanglish. Another key moment that furthered pushed Spanglish is 1881; during the construction of the Panama Canal until its completion in 1914. During these years American's ventured deeper into South America where code-switching was a daily practice and developed Spanglish further.
Today Spanish has grown into the United States second most spoken language right behind English. As a result Spanglish is commonly practiced without thought. It is has become the tongue of the people. Spanglish now resides throughout the United States in major Hispanic influence cities such as Miami, New York, California, and Chicago.
There are those who seek to abolish Spanglish. These groups are called purist. To these groups Spanglish is a nightmare, Purist condemned Spanglish. They argue that it weakens both English and Spanish. They point out that Spanglish is a lazy way to speak either language. They blame the uneducated Hispanic groups for Spanglish. "Hispanic's see it as a corrupting form of American linguistic imperialism" The worry is that Spanglish is a linguistic trap slowing the progress of Hispanic-Americans. Spanglish is viewed to them as a degenerate Spanish. "The sad reality is Spanglish is the language of the poor" says Roberto Gonzales a Yale Professor, "They lack the vocabulary and education in Spanish to adapt to the changing culture around them."
Purist argue that if we accept Spanglish then we are encouraging improper grammar. Miami Herald columnist Ana Veciana-Suarez says, "If we formally sanction Spanglish, are we allowing proper grammar to take a back seat to convenience... giving the approval to linguistic laziness." La Real Academia Espanola (RAE) are a language purist defending the Spanish Language. "To encourage proper Spanish, it has a website with an interactive service to answer questions about correct Spanish use." RAE claims that Spanglish is no threat to Spanish. "As long as schools and US media hold up proper grammar, there is no danger" says Lopez Morales. Enforcing the use of proper grammar in schools is the only way to secure the future for both languages.
Among all the questions when seeking answers about Spanglish many turn to Ilan Stavans. Stavans is a Mexican- American Latin professor of Spanish culture and is the world authority on Spanglish. Stavans view on Spanglish is that it is a language Phenomenon. When interviewed by PBS Journalist R. Suarez what exactly is Spanglish? Stavans quotes, "Spanglish is the encounter... of English and Spanish... not only in the United States, but in the entire continent. It is the way of communication where one starts in one language, switches to the other back and forth ... or thinks in one language and reacts in another one." Stavans points out that Spanglish is not new and that it has been slowly evolving into a language for some time. When is asked Is Spanglish a language? Stavans states "Not yet, not quite. Perhaps we're in the process of becoming one. We are closer to being a dialect." Stavans argues that this is not the first time we have seen and adapted to this language phenomenon. Stavans says that when every time a group of immigrants come to a new country, they attempt to assimilate to the new culture, during that period of time the immigrants language start to degrade when the immigrates have children. Black English is another type of language evolution in the United States. The phenomenon can be found throughout history. A favorite example used to describe Spanglish is comparing it to the Yiddish language. Stavans states that Yiddish originally was "considered the language of children, of the illiterate, of women." Eventually when trying to communicate to the population they found it easier to speak Yiddish than the original Hebrew language. Stavans says that Spanglish enriches not only both languages but the culture behind both languages, unifying them to make a universal. Spanglish is not restricted by any laws or rules, or to anyone.
Spanglish is here to stay. Yes, Spanglish is a disease language/dialect that contaminates both English and Spanish languages. Is the contamination good or bad? Only time can really tell, but with unintentional misuse of our languages both languages will continue to evolve. Spanglish is just the start. Can Spanglish be stopped? Probably not, best we can do is let evolution take its place. Spanglish has bloomed rapidly, having its own classes at universities taught by Stavans and a dictionary Stavans published with the help of his students. Putting Spanglish in black and white has "changed its essence". It has grown some authority in the world. "Corporations have discovered it. It is on television, it is in radio. Novels are being written in Spanglish. Rap, rock -- this is kind of a utopian dream or an anti-utopian dream." When asked Will it become the language of the continent? Stavans answer is "we don't need to wait for the future to come." Overall what is Spanglish? Stavans says "It is a very creative jazzy way of being Latino in the U.S. today."
