Spanglish in Puerto Rican NYC

Spanglish in Puerto Rican NYC

The manner in which language changes when it comes into contact with a linguistically different language is frequently thought of as both a necessary function of transition as well as a corruption of both languages. Yet, independent of the judgments amalgamated language tends to be a linguistic phenomena all its own that can at least in theory be studied as a separate language if one so desires. Within the United States especially there is a language phenomena surrounding the amalgamation of Spanish and English, known as Spanglish, in which form and vocabulary from the two languages are melded together to help a presumably native Spanish speakers be understood by others who are either transitioning to the use of English or who are attempting to maintain some Spanish language through the mind of someone who has learned English as a native language, or at least while very young.

This phenomena is present in many largely Hispanic communities all over the United States but is of course concentrated in areas where there is a high concentration of Hispanic immigrants, such as Florida and on a smaller scale New York City. The concentration of Spanish speaking peoples in a given area, functioning through everyday life in an English speaking nation seems to be the determining factor as to whether anglicized Spanish or Spanglish in all its various forms is actually utilized to communicate on at least somewhat of a daily basis, as is noted by Ardila in his extensive study of the Spanglish phenomena in the Miami, Florida area. Ardila contends that the development of Spanglish is the most important linguistic phenomena in the modern U.S. And it should be studied as a separate linguistic phenomena.

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. (61)

Additionally it is very important to have a better understanding of Spanglish, as the Hispanic community continues to grow in the U.S., currently constituting the largest minority group in the nation, semantics of the definition of Hispanic aside. The U.S. is the fifth largest Spanish speaking country in the world, following Mexico, Columbia, Spain and Argentina, a fact that Ardila points out to translate to the fact that there are more Spanish speakers in the U.S. than there are in Venezuela, Peru, Chile or Guatemala. (62) Another important reason that Adila points out for a better overall understanding of Spanglish is the fact that it emerges as a manner in which people with varying degrees of Spanish mastery, living in the same community can functionally communicate. (62-63)

Like Latinos themselves, the language of Latinos in the United States presents a complicated picture. There are many dialects, intonations, and varieties of Spanish, "Spanglish," and English. For many Latinos Spanish is a lingua franca, but specific words, folk sayings, and accents often produce different meanings and values within the different Latino communities. Language varieties act as a way of signifying subethnic identifications and marking subgroup identities (Zentella, this volume)....Thus the Spanish language in all its varieties plays a central role in the construction and transformation of the Latino community in the United States.

Suarez-Orozco and Paez 8)

Spanglish is a frontier dialect of Spanish that incorporates some English verbiage, but most commonly English usage and phonological form. It can also be rather mutable, in any given Hispanic community, where two separate Spanglishes are seen if one seriously looks at a comparative study. Puerto Rican immigrants speaking Spanglish are of particular interest because their migration to the U.S., in mass occurred long enough ago that three generations of Puerto Ricans can easily be represented in a given social community, as the largest migrations of Puerto Rican immigrants began arriving in the 1950s and 60s and many of them settled in little enclaves in New York City, the focal location of this work. (62)

Context of Puerto Rican Spanglish in NYC:

It can be argued by some that the length of time that Puerto Rican immigrants have been in the U.S. would facilitate the adherence to the learning of English, secondary to Spanish but proper English nonetheless. Yet, as many point out the immigration experience for many Latino communities, and especially those in NYC, including the two most dormant the Puerto Rican and Dominican constitute a fluid migration, a migration some would call circular in that they experience migration, not as a permanent state of national dislocation but as a fluid representation, with individuals and family members coming and going from the U.S. As economics allow.

Suarez-Orozco and Paez 10) for this reason the linguistic utilization of a secondary dialect, in this case Spanglish is crucial and unique to the communities, as people of varying degrees of both English and Spanish proficiency often live together in the Puerto Rican communities of NYC. Therefore the static emergence or linear form of understanding of the amalgamation of language does not apply, almost regardless of the length of time one has been in the U.S. And considered him or herself a New Yorker/American.

This circular form is of coarse owing to the unique position of Puerto Rico as a protectorate of the United States as well as its proximity in political and geographic terms.

Hauberg 40) Though the status of Puerto Rico has frequently been challenged and debated politically it is what some would consider a close cousin to the U.S. state in that its people, though not given full citizenship and U.S. voting rights are still considered preferred immigrants in the U.S. who for the most part can come and go at will without the need to claim political exile status to do so or remain in the U.S. without the ability to return to Puerto Rico regularly. The Puerto Rican communities in New York City, more than many other immigrant communities can be considered transnational communities as can the people be considered transnational citizens, many of the best and the brightest of whom are proud of their transnational heritage.

Hauberg 65) Even the popular Puerto Rican name for the Lower East Side of the City is derived from a Spanglishization of lower east side, "Loisaida'" (Hassell 167)

It would therefore seem the most logical place to encounter the seeds of Spanglish, as the diversity of the historical environment of the community is evident and frequently celebrated. Therefore getting along in such a community, as is also true in the Miami Latino communities, for different reasons, requires at least some knowledge of Spanish, English and Spanglish to effectively communicate and function on a daily basis. This demographic of diversity creates a backdrop of colorful expression and linguistic development that proves Ardila's statement of Spanglish being a unique linguistic phenomenon worthy of careful study rather than dismissive exclusion from the body of research on bilingualism and linguistics in general.

Spanglish is even carving out a place in literature, as Spanish speaking writers, and especially Puerto Ricans in NYC communities are forming a new literary genre, including at least a few who point out the inconsistencies of each of the base languages in a manner that makes Spanglish seem appropriate and even logical as a formation of an independent language.

Hernandez Cruz admits in "Grafo-mundo" that the box ("la caja," that is, the TV) "era en Ingles se rebala mucho en ese idioma," but it seems to be that not only English, but Spanish and especially Spanglish are equally slippery. This is a poetry that takes advantage of that linguistic slip, to produce a language that does not stop. As Hernandez Cruz says in another instance: "This must be the Life of Skidsofrenos without breaks" ("Airoplain" 77), a slippery schizophrenia out of control. (Esterrich 43)

The message of the poet is that turning one's nose up to Spanglish is at the very least a hypocritical thing to do as all language is living and changing.

First, Second an Third generation Puerto Rican immigrants in New York City each have a different view and usage pattern of Spanglish, again adding to the diverse manner in which it is utilized. For many first generation immigrants, Spanglish is a necessary evil that corrupts their native language but allows them to assimilate into the diverse community in which they live. To second generation immigrants tend to think of Spanglish as a way in which they can communicate in the language of the home, to some degree but still do so in an manner that translates into the diverse community. To first and second generation immigrants Spanglish is a tool. Third generation immigrants on the other hand are increasingly seeing Spanglish as a way to express their transnational heritage. This is despite the fact that they are at least to some degree fully capable of being truly bilingual, speaking and writing in both English and Spanish, if Spanish is spoken in the home or monolingual in English, owing to their birth and education being primarily English.

Spanglish' Speakers Mix Home" A01) Though this issue is as hotly debated as the ibonics issue was several years ago, especially given that Spanglish has even begun to become pervasive in the non-Latino community as a youth language, or a sort of much more complicated form of pig Latin that is not so easy for adults (hence authority) to understand.

Spanglish' Speakers Mix Home" A01) Academians seem to be split on the subject as som, e argue that Spanglish should be celebrated as a right of heratige while others believe that Spanglish could hinder any individual seeking a future in a proper English speaking nation (some might even argue that proper is the least likely adjective to use when speaking of Americanized English)

Spanglish' Speakers Mix Home" A01)

One prominent Latino made a joke of the academic debate that is ensuing over the "appropriate" place of Spanglish in the U.S. "The president of Galan Entertainment, a Los Angeles-based television and film production company, declares: 'I think Spanglish is the future.... I speak English perfectly. I speak Spanish perfectly, and I choose to speak both simultaneously' (Alvarez 1997, 1).

Callahan 12) the future of Spanglish is of coarse unknown, but obviously mutable and as Latinos continue to reach greater numbers and levels of influence in the U.S. In general, not just in the Puerto Rican NYC communities there will be an increase in the debate and the acceptance of Spanglish. To some degree this can be seen in popular media as more and more "Spanglish" usage can be seen in television and the movies.