This document is a Linguistics research about some generalities of Spanglish.

1. Is Spanglish a
new American
language?
Diana L. Portillo Rodríguez
August 2013

2. “We are not as Mexican people living in
the rest of Mexican territory; however,
we are not American.” Chicano people

3. Is Spanglish a pidgin, a creole or a
language?
• Pidgin is “a simple form
of a language,
especially English,
Portuguese or Dutch,
with a limited number of
words that are used
together with words
from a local language.
It is used when people
who do not speak the
same language need to
talk to each other”.
• Oxford Dictionary.

4. • Pidgin is an auxiliary language which
arises to build certain limited
communication needs among people who
have no common language. The majority
of pidgins around the world originated as
trade languages. (Geoffrey Finch, 2000).

5. Creole
• Creole is “a language
formed when a
mixture of a European
language with a local
language (especially
an African language
spoken by slaves in
the West Indies) is
spoken as a first
language”.
• Oxford Dictionary.

6. • A pidgin is a creole which has become the
mother tongue of a community. For this to
happen it needs to acquire native
speakers. (Geoffrey Finch, 2000).

7. “The language is a formal system with
different elements such as the linguistic
sign, which consists of two elements:
the signifier and the signified”.
Ferdinand de Saussure

8. The sign (Saussure:1916,1982) is constructed by
society and it reflexes it in different daily life
activities such as religion rites, meal preparations,
and literature and leisure activities, for example.

9. Spanglish speakers
• Hispano-phones who
are not part of the
United States show
different cultural
characteristics which
are different from those
who speak Spanish or
English.
• Their language use,
traditions, and customs
acquisition are the
result of the two
cultures lifestyles.

10. They practice in the same way American and
Mexican traditions; for instance, they
celebrate Thanksgiving Day eating tamales
as well as roasted turkey.

11. In language use …
• It is very common to
hear expressions
such as: “la librería de
la city”, “la vacuum
cleaner”, “la
washatería”, “la
marketa”, “el toilet”, or
“el parqueadero”.

12. “Language is not only a means of
communication but also a brand of identity
and membership to certain groups”
Ilan Stavans

13. • The sense of
belonging to a social
group has a special
importance for its
members.
• This can be one of
the causes that
originated this mixture
of two languages.

14. Eugene Coseriu
• He considered there
was an intermediate
stage between
language and speech:
the social standard
which is implied in the
daily use of the
language in a special
group.
• The speakers take what
they need to
communicate from their
environment.

15. • Spanglish speakers use
both codes, English
and Spanish
languages, to
communicate their
thoughts.
• For example: Pagué la
aseguranza de mi
carro.

16. “Language is strongly attached to culture; it
is not biologically determined, it is a function
acquired by culture”
Edward Sapir

17. Linguistic variations
• There are three
variations:
1. Variation associated
with geographical area.
2. Variation associated
with age and
economical level.
3. Variation associated
with context.

18. Variation associated with geographical
area
• It is constituted by the
linguistic use in a
determined
geographical area.
• Spanglish is spoken in
certain areas in the
USA; those areas
where there is a
considerable amount of
Hispanics, such as
California, Texas, and
Florida among other
states.

19. Variation associated with age and
economical level
• It is defined by social
characteristics such
as the age and
economical level.
• Spanglish speakers
generally are laborers
who work in fields of
plantations or in
factories.
• Migrants children.

20. Variation associated with context
• This variation is
determined by context;
specifically it is the
linguistic use given by
the speakers in
communication
concrete situations.
• Spanglish speakers use
this language while
they are with their
families or group of
Hispanic friends.

21. Linguistic phenomena
•
•
•
•
Diglossia.
Calque or loan translation.
Loan words.
Code-switching.

22. Diglossia
• A community speaks
two languages, one for
domestic use and the
other for official use.
• For instance: young
people speak English
when they are at
school; however, when
they are with family or
friends, they talk
Spanglish.

23. Calque or loan translation
• A word or phrase is
borrowed from
another language
word by word or root
for root translation.
• For instance: perro
caliente.

24. Loan Words
• They are words
borrowed from a
donor language and
incorporated into a
recipient language.
• These words are
adapted to Spanish
phonology. E.g.:
parqueadero.

25. Code-switching
• People begin a
sentence in one
language and at a
certain point they will
begin speaking in
another language.

26. Acculturation
• People who migrate
to the United States
do not want to be
different and they
speak similarly to
what they hear. E.g.:
“cora” instead of
“quarter” (25 cents
coin).

27. Spanglish has literature. “Don Quijote de la
Mancha” was translated into Spanglish.

28. Ilan Stavans
• Language and culture
professor in Amherst
University in
Massachusetts. He wrote
the introduction for this
book.
• He also published in
2003 “Spanglish, The
Making of a New
American Language” in
which he considers
Spanglish as a linguistic
system which is the result
of its speakers needs”.

29. Cyberspace: speakers need more
vocabulary

30. My hypothesis
• Spanglish is a
language since it is a
mixture of English
and Spanish due to
the different featuring
involved in this
language.

31. Conclusions
• Spanglish is an agreement made by
people who have in common not only
native language, but also traditions and
lifestyle they brought from different origin
places and they have mixed with North
American culture.

32. • Spanglish has speakers who belong to a
different social group, not to mention only
the linguistic aspect but also the cultural
aspect.
• They belong to a new culture since they
have a new language which has modified
not only their thought but also their
lifestyle.
• There are Spanglish native speakers.

33. Sources
•
•
•
•
•
•
Diccionario de Spanglish : http://nelson_g.tripod.com/spanglish.html
Retrieved on March 4th, 2013.
Finch, Geoffrey (2000). Linguistic terms and concepts. Great Britain:
Palgrave.
Hispanic PR Wire: The Fashion Rocks Awards Speak Spanglish:
http://www.hispanicprwire.com/News/in/7068/1/the-2006-fashion-rocksawards-speak-spanglish/ Retrieved on March 31st, 2013.
La Toupie Dictionnaire : http://www.toupie.org/Dictionnaire/Acculturation.htm
Retrieved on March 31st, 2013.
Le Dictionnaire : http://www.le-dictionnaire.com Retrieved on March 4th,
2013.
Living and writing in Spanglish by Anne Schulock :
http://open.salon.com/blog/anne_shulock/2010/04/12/living_and_writing_in_
spanglish Retrieved on March 31st, 2013.

34. • Mamitalks blog :
http://www.mamitalks.com/2009_03_01_archive.html Retrieved on
March 31st, 2013.
• Oxford Advanced Learners Dictionary:
http://oald8.oxfordlearnersdictionaries.com/ Retrieved on August
18th, 2013.
• Quarterly Americas: South by Southwest Revolucionado:
http://www.americasquarterly.org/content/south-southwestrevolucionado Retrieved on March 31st, 2013.
• Saussare, Ferdinand de (1916, 1982): Curso de Lingüística
General. México: Ediciones Nuevo Mar, S.A de C.V.
• Wikipedia Spanglish : http://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spanglish Retrieved
on March 4th, 2013.
• Wikispaces : Spanglish :
http://spanishdialects2.wikispaces.com/Spanglish Retrieved on
March 31st, 2013.

35. d.portillo91@yahoo.com.mx