What is spanglish - Case Study Example

SPANGLISH Languages are alive and they are constantly changing. Incorporating new words that are generally used is part of the logical evolution of a language. But languages are also part of the cultural heritage of a country that must be respected. Language is part of a country's identity. The major values of a nation are expressed by its language. The first thing people identify with is the language of their country and it is the means by which they express their ideas, their values and their feelings. Language is very powerful in that sense, as well as the accents of each region, but this is a characteristic that Spanglish will never have. Spanglish first appeared near the border of America and Mexico, where both languages lived together. The term Spanglish was coined by Salvador Ti' in 1940. Although the number of people speaking Spanish in English-speaking countries is increasingly high, this does not mean that English can disappear. Learning a language must be an enriching experience, which promotes diversity as well as nationality. Both English and Spanish are languages with a historic root, but Spanglish is just a mixture of two languages, which uses both in the same sentence, combining words from one and other or creating new words from the fusion of the two. A result of the collision of two languages, Spanglish takes different forms. The most basic form is "code-switching," where words are substituted or inserted from one language into the other. For example, Spanglish might sound like "Vamos a la store para comprar milk" to mean, "Let's go to the store to buy milk." A bit more complicated form is the making up of words, or basically switching between languages within a word, by translating a word or phrase literally. In all cases, the resulting language or product does not bear the generally acceptable correctness of grammar rules and word usage. Spanglish is completely random. This will only lead to the bad use and the degradation of both languages. Moreover, countries influenced by English and Spanish have the big advantage of being bilingual, and it makes no sense renouncing it to this. Mexicans usually see Spanish as a symbol of colonization. But, does Spanglish have something to do with rejecting domination, or is it more like a trendy use of language' In some cases, Spanglish is the language of poor illiterate population trying to adapt to the changing situation. In other cases it is a matter of being part of the majority and using the same words as the major part of the population but, in fact, they are submitting to this majority instead of enriching their differences. The proliferation of a hybrid street language like Spanglish in dominantly English-speaking United States poses a serious threat not only to the socio-cultural aspect of the country's development, but also to its economic and political growth. Why is Spanglish a threat to the overall development of the U.S.' Foremost, the language of politics and commerce is English. In a highly globalized economy of nations, there is only one language used: English. It is in no way, therefore, that a mangled and fake English in the form of Spanglish can help facilitate the nation's coping and rising above the challenges brought about by globalization. Secondly, it is culturally unwell for any nation, much less the U.S., to uphold and encourage the proliferation of "languages" like Spanglish as doing so would show the people and the world as a whole a lack of healthy cultural identity. While it is understandably necessary to allow Spanglish to be used in places and in instances where it is the most convenient to use, given the growing diversity of communities in the United States, it is very important that the long-term benefits and losses from allowing it to prosper be considered over and above everything else. For instance, the use of Spanglish must be confined to the streets, where it actually originated and developed. It can also be used by people in their multicultural homes and neighborhoods. The use of Spanglish in formal institutions like schools and public offices, especially in government agencies must not be allowed, much less tolerated. Its inclusion in school curriculum in the interest of studying it as a social phenomenon is acceptable but only with the purpose of understanding today's society. The backers of English-Only movement greatly motivate the life of language minority children and their families to learn English. I think to clarify my point I need to put this part which is taken from Eric's journal Crawford (1992) in his book, Language Loyalties, summarizes the opposing views on this topic, as follows: "The case is obvious: English has always been our common language, a means of resolving conflicts in a nation of diverse racial, ethnic, and religious groups." Supporters of |English only policy is threatening that bad strategy could "retard English acquisition." Everyone respects the diversities of languages with its due respect but English should be the tool for learning because it is the integral part of American society. All the students come from diverse backgrounds and English is the unifying force. The desire to learn English as a second language not only provides them with the opportunity to be mobile socially but also gives a way to economic development. According to Gardner (1989) Learner's goals are amalgamation of being professional along with a desire to become a member of English-speaking world. It becomes too difficult for the educators to put forward the genuine opportunities to those learners who come from different communities where they live, work and study in totally different situation. The support from their families also plays a crucial role and how much parents can actually help them with English language because learning is taking place in English. Educators strongly believe that for better results English should be the only language used by parents. Supposedly, parents should also learn English language but value both native and English language. The influence of a large social and cultural context of English is immense and makes it valuable for the learners to learn it. Most of the students from Spanish background don't even learn to write and read in Spanish because there is no need for it.Languages are cultural heritage and must be valued but the conduct of schooling remains English. Spanish can be taught as a foreign language and given its due respect but not Spanglish. The inclusion of Spanglish in the curriculum is questionable. It shall not be permissible. It is a language which is newly born and not more widely spoken then English. It can never be as useful as English to students. English is a proper language with grammatical rules and Spanglish on the other hand is a slang language . I am not against the teaching of Spanish but Spanglish is not a standardized form of language rather it is mainly a code switching. If it is started being taught as a language in schools and colleges, will harm both the languages, English and Spanish. Although, it has been so many years since Spanish has been taught as a foreign language but it has not given the kind of education it required. Well-developed and carefully designed courses consume a lot of money, time and energy. Recently in the year of 1972,(5 AATSP, 1972) the Executive Council of the American Association of Teachers of Spanish and Portuguese (AATSP) published a report that included a rationale and recommendations for teaching Spanish to native speakers (SNS) in schools and universities. The introduction of teaching of Spanglish in schools means starting it all again. It is not an easy task to develop good quality material for language learners and that too of a language which has no grammar. Spanglish is only a natural corollary of the social interactions between and among English-speaking and Spanish-speaking people who need to understand and be understood. Spanglish is unexpected and unwanted, yet has to be somehow accepted for what it is - a mere byproduct. As a mere byproduct, Spanglish can never substitute either English or Spanish as a new language for communication. There are a number of languages spoken in United States, but the language on the lips of majority people is English and it should be. The immigrants shall also try to learn it if they want new ways to be opened for them no matter where they are in the world. Nothing can be compared with the advancement of English language teaching. With so much effort and money being put in the research program to develop the know-how of its learning and teaching that we all should unite on this that English should be the official language and the conduct of teaching at schools. Spanglish blurs the limits of identity and linguistic richness of a country and if it prospers it will mean the end of both English and Spanish. We must find the balance between preserving the tradition and being permeable to new terms that deserve their incorporation because of the generalized use of them. Spanglish is not functional. People should learn languages in a proper way, because this knowledge will be much more useful than learning slang words in Spanglish. REFERENCES: Lu & Mei-Yu. 1998. English-Only Movement: Its Consequences on the Education of Language Minority Children. ERIC Digest. 06th December 2008. Roca, Ana. 1992. Spanish for U.S. Hispanic Bilinguals in Higher Education. ERIC Digest. 6th December 2008. Spanglish, A New American Language. September 23, 2003. Morning edition. 8th December 2008. Read More