Spanglish in Puerto Rican NYC

Paper Summary:

The paper discusses the manner in which language changes when it comes into contact with a different language. The paper relates that this change is frequently thought of as both a necessary function of transition as well as a corruption of both languages. The paper then relates that in the U.S. there is a language phenomena surrounding the amalgamation of Spanish and English, known as Spanglish, in which vocabulary from the two languages are melded together to help native Spanish speakers to be understood by others. The paper then discusses the origins and applications of this phenomena which is present in many largely Hispanic communities all over the United States.

From the Paper:

"Ardila also points out that Spanglish is not a true amalgamation but a manner in which English actually influences the Spanish that is spoken. In a sense the way it is described by Ardila would leave one to believe that it is truly a corruption of the Spanish rather than the English language. Many speakers utilize English forms, not just vocabulary to express him or herself among a broader community of secondary English speakers. The phenomena may be specific to the community, where members speak a respectable form of Spanish at home and speak Spanglish to be understood by the broader community. Either way, the speaker is rarely understood well by a classical Spanish speaker, with little if any knowledge of English, as form changes dramatically enough to create conflict in usage and understanding. (60-61) Similarly, Ardila contends that Spanglish might well be best understood as a very far reaching Spanish dialect, as it is barely understood by those in a Spanish speaking culture and rarely at all by a completely English speaking culture."

Sample of Sources Used:

• Arado, Matt. "Spanglish in the Suburbs People Are Split on a Trendy, Slangy Blend of Spanish and English." Daily Herald (Arlington Heights, IL) 17 Oct. 2004: 1.
• Ardila, Alfredo. "Spanglish; An Anglicized Spanish Dialect" Hispanic Journal of Behavioral Sciences. 27 (2005): 60-81.
• Callahan, Laura. "The Role of Register in Spanish-English Codeswitching in Prose." Bilingual Review 27.1 (2003): 12.
• Duany, Jorge. The Puerto Rican Nation on the Move: Identities on the Island & in the United States. Chapel Hill, NC: University of North Carolina Press, 2002.
• Esterrich, Carmelo. "Home and the Ruins of Language: Victor Hernandez Cruz and Miguel Algarin's Nuyorican Poetry." MELUS 23.3 (1998): 43.

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