Spanglish in the States

[ceri]

I've been learning Spanish for a while and spent almost all my life in Asia, so I really don't know much about this. I work part time in the fashion industry. So far I've travelled to the states twice (once to NYC, once to Los Angeles) for my biz trips. Most of people I socialise with during my staying are not local. I can't really say I've yet got the chance to get to know the real NYC or LA life.
Nevertheless when I went out dinning or shopping with friends, I picked up some interesting specimens of Spanglish here and there. People say "vamos!", "queso" for cheese, "con carne", also eat tacos and quesadillas. And words like hola, amigo, nada or que pasa? odds are they would understand(maybe unless they are more sheltered and void of social experiences?). And once or twice I even overheard someone doing the code-switching thing fluently between the two languages, on phone or conversing with their friends. Quite amazing!
Anyways I just wonder it is a common phenomenon around the whole country that people use Mexican expressions in their everyday English, or just in certain cities or counties bordering Mexico? Gracias!


Jess

[Rusty]

This is much more common in the larger cities, where the Hispanic population is large, and near the border of Mexico. Many Americans eat "Tex-Mex" food (tacos, quesadillas, enchiladas, burritos, etc.), so that is why we know those words. A lot of people have been exposed to some of the greetings.
Good familiarity with Spanish words is quite regional, I would say.

[chileno]

That's phenomenon given mainly in borderline cities between two countries of different languages or in very cosmopolitan cities, where different languages are spoken because of high migration. I am sure it even happens in your country where a cities that lies on the border with Russia might speak "weirder" Chinese... for example, beause people often travel between for trading. Unless there are political reasons of why not crossing the limits is not allowed, most likely there is a mix of the languages.

[poli]

Spanglish is more than commonly used food terms. It's really Spanish with
a lot (a mean a lot) of English incorporated into it. I think I may have
used this example before when the subject of Spanglish came up in previous threads, but el rufo tiene un liqueo (el techo tiene una gotera) is a typical example of second-generation Spanish in New York. No estoy bulshiteándote (en serio).

[HomoVulgaris]

I agree with Poli and Rusty - Spanish is common in culinary terms across the world. It is common to say here "čili con carne sriuba", "flanas" or "romesko padažas". Generally all supermarkets have one shelf dedicated for Tex-Mex foodstuffs, too.
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Estoy de acuerdo con Poli y Rusty - uso de español es común en culinaria en todos partes del mundo. Decimos aquí "čili con carne sriuba", "flanas" o "romesko padažas". Por regla general, mayoría de gran almacenes tiene una estantería dedicado para alimentos de "Tex-Mex" también.

[Chris]

I never thought it was Spanglish but a lot of people around here know some basic words and phrases. Even in other languages. I think it has a lot to do with the "Melting Pot" and television.

[poli]

Knowing words and phrases is definitely not Spanglish. Spanglish uses Spanish grammar but incorporates lots of English vocabulary. So in Spanish you may say el abrigo está en el armario, in Spanglish you may say el co está en el clóset, and in English you may say the coat is in the closet.

[El Teboso]

Ah, the infamous term around here, WÁTCHATE!

You'll here that a lot on the highway and in fender benders.

[Elaina]

Nevertheless when I went out dinning or shopping with friends, I picked up some interesting specimens of Spanglish here and there.

And words like hola, amigo, nada or que pasa? odds are they would understand(maybe unless they are more sheltered and void of social experiences?).

Anyways I just wonder it is a common phenomenon around the whole country that people use Mexican expressions in their everyday English, or just in certain cities or counties bordering Mexico? Gracias!

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Are you saying you picked up some expressions in Spanish? It is interesting how you refer to them... interesting specimens

I honestly don't know what you mean by this expression especially the "void of social experiences". Could you elaborate somewhat please.

I think it has already been explained that not all words are considered "Spanglish" unless the root of the word is English like Poli pointed out. And then there is a difference between Mexican Spanglish and Puerto Rican Spanglish. You might hear more Puerto Rican Spanglish in New York because there is a great number of Puerto Ricans that live there. Contrary to Los Angeles where a great number of Mexicans live there and they of course would be using Mexican Spanglish.

Also, it takes great talent to carry on a conversation in two languages at the same time. I am not saying it is proper but it is challenging when you try to do it.

BTW, welcome to the forums.

[Kalmetam]

Because I'm an American, I know that we include a variety of words from different languages in our everyday life. Why? Probably because saying the same English equivalents gets boring. All over the US we say "Hola" as an informal word for "Hello.". Americans pretty much use basic words of other languages if they feel like it.. People use Spanish basic words pretty much all over the US, probably French in Louisiana, oh and in New York, you HAVE to know how to curse in Italian. These words are not actually in the English language, and I'd consider all of them to be informal if spoken in an English conversation.

[chileno]

I guess it depends from the point of view.

In Chile, we use the word "franglish", as it became trendy to name restaurants and business in general with name in French or English.

Spanglish for Spanish speaking people living in the US, is the mix of the language in such a form which becomes a new word or verb in Spanish.

To Mop = mapear

Truck = troca (troka, trocka?) = camión

etc...

It isn't so much the fact of mixing English words with Spanish word when talking...

I'll be tocando the door = I'll be knocking on the door

or vice-versa

Voy a knocking la puerta

But the fusion of the word in the effort to make it more "Spanish"

To knock = noquear.

To me, the latter is Spanglish.

[HomoVulgaris]

Originally Posted by Kalmetam

Because I'm an American, I know that we include a variety of words from different languages in our everyday life. Why? Probably because saying the same English equivalents gets boring. All over the US we say "Hola" as an informal word for "Hello.". Americans pretty much use basic words of other languages if they feel like it.. People use Spanish basic words pretty much all over the US, probably French in Louisiana, oh and in New York, you HAVE to know how to curse in Italian. These words are not actually in the English language, and I'd consider all of them to be informal if spoken in an English conversation.

You can call me an old fart, but mixing words from other languages just comes and goes. I remember myself playing with foreign at school but not so in the university.

My current stance is, that if there are equivalent words in one language and synonyms are abundant, there is no need to introduce new words from other languages. And if person is substituting perfectly acceptable words with something foreign, I find it as an expression of one's bad taste or as a lack of confidence.

Our ideas are making our speech interesting, not words we are using to decorate the language.

[JPablo]

I agree... with some flexibility, of course...
Ideas, not battles, mark the forward progress of a civilization... (Quoted by memory... but you get the idea... ¿verdad?)

[Chris]

But people have no problems when writers or whatnot enter Latin words ergo we should use other idiomas as well. badumching

[Kalmetam]

I also find actual spanglish really annoying.. because people think that they're actually speaking spanish when they say "No Problemo" or "uno momento por favor"

And

Originally Posted by HomoVulgaris

You can call me an old fart, but mixing words from other languages just comes and goes. I remember myself playing with foreign at school but not so in the university.

My current stance is, that if there are equivalent words in one language and synonyms are abundant, there is no need to introduce new words from other languages. And if person is substituting perfectly acceptable words with something foreign, I find it as an expression of one's bad taste or as a lack of confidence.

Our ideas are making our speech interesting, not words we are using to decorate the language.

Hmm... and I am pretty young haha
Maybe it depends on the person as well
My dad mixes italian in his english all the time..
A lot of people I know mix spanish into their english
And most of my new yorker friends curse in italian as well
Here in Hawaii, a lot of people mix Tagalog and Hawaiian into their English (people call this "Pidgin)

just from my personal experiences... and living on the opposite ends of the US (New York, now Hawaii).

[Chris]

Originally Posted by Kalmetam

I also find actual spanglish really annoying.. because people think that they're actually speaking spanish when they say "No Problemo" or "uno momento por favor"

They are just uneducated. More than likely repeating what they have heard. Sometimes they heard it wrong and sometimes they just didn't hear it right.

[HomoVulgaris]

Originally Posted by Chris

But people have no problems when writers or whatnot enter Latin words ergo we should use other idiomas as well. badumching

Maybe I am cynic, but I have a feeling, that in most cases people overuse and misuse Latin. I have seen very few correct and in place usages of Latin, most of them serving as useless text decorations in italic. Latin itself is very special language made of brevities, traditions and unsaid ideas hidden in history and context.

All this leads me to this: most of writers using Latin use it to give a more "intelligent" or "mysterious" appearance to their works. With no proper education in Latin many utterly fail. Other gullible people give higher evaluations for these works. The army of imitators repeats the same ad nauseam.

The result: tons of hardly comprehensible texts and books with passages difficult to understand because of Latin phrases which make no sense.

Ba-dum-ching!

Originally Posted by Kalmetam

Maybe it depends on the person as well
My dad mixes italian in his english all the time..
A lot of people I know mix spanish into their english
And most of my new yorker friends curse in italian as well
Here in Hawaii, a lot of people mix Tagalog and Hawaiian into their English (people call this "Pidgin)

Sometimes we compromise using slang, professional or intimate family language. But communicating ideas effectively and being understood are the primary language functions. So concocting languages rarely serves the purpose.

Assimilation is a natural process in families with foreign ancestry. Your father is an example of it. I am trying not to mix my languages (unless I am very, very upset and I have an urge to curse badly ).

From my experience, well educated people rarely mix languages. This behaviour is common with people with not so stellar one. Maybe they have a need to tell everyone how "smart" and "educated" they are. Oh, really?

If you need to impress other people with your language skills to boost your motivation, try to do it in a smart way. Not by sticking foreign words everywhere and baffling people, but by taking your phone in public and having a call in Spanish with your study partner: ba-dum-ching! (I foresee the eyebrows flying high in the faces of your friends).

[vita32]

In trying to communicate in a language (Spanish) that I'm trying to learn, I'm tempted to use Spanglish when I fail to remember the Spanish word that I need to finish the sentence. I think this is a better option than not even trying which is what I usually do but then I don't advance in learning Spanish.

I understand that there are people who may mix languages intentionally as had been discussed in the thread but in my case if I do it, it is because I'm desperate to learn and communicate my meaning clearly.

I think Spanglish should be a stepping stone on the way to mastering the Spanish language or vice versa but not the end in itself.

[pjt33]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Code-switching

Yo suelo elegir en cuál idioma hablar, pero ha pasado algunas veces que cambio de uno al otro sin darme cuenta. No es raro que alguien medio-bilingüe lo haga al pronunciar un nombre "bien".

[JPablo]

Well, I tend to agree with you. You can have "Spanglish" due to ignorance (probably the most common?) and/or you can have "Spanglish" due to "over-scholarlyness" (if such a word exists...?)

At any rate, it is always better to try to say things, and be willing to be corrected...
When I was starting to learn English (as I am right now...) I'd get really flustered if I had to talk to an audience of more than 20... something that would not happen to me when talking in Spanish... (I can tell you about feeling "retarded" in a big way...) And to one degree or another one may sound "retarded" or simply "foreign" or "uneducated" or whatever... The bottom line is that if you don't practice you are not going to develop the skill... any skill for that matter.

So, there you have my 2 Euros... (cents are getting cheaper every day...)