17
Abs ac
The ollowing pape looks a how use s o Spanglish, a hyb id ha was bo n
om he in e ac ions o hose who li e in an English-speaking coun y like he US and
keep hei Hispanic linguis ic oo s, migh no be jus using i because i ’s only na u al,
bu hey migh be doing i in pu pose as a way o enac ing hei iden i ies. Special
a en ion is aken o he case o s uden s o Spanish as a He i age Language, since hey
a e he ones ha seem o be using his egis e he mos . In his case, i is discussed he
eaching o he s anda d a ie y o Spanish o He i age Language Lea ne s (HLLs),
and he inco po a ion and alue o o he o ms o Spanish, e en Spanglish.
Keywo ds: Spanglish, linguis ic iden i y, he i age speake s, Spanish in he Uni ed
S a es, o eign languages eaching, eaching he i age speake s.
Using Spanglish in he Uni ed S a es: A Va ie y o
Spanish o a Way o Building Iden i y?
The Case o He i age Language Lea ne s in he
Fo eign Languages Class oom
MARIELA ANDRADE
Ma iela And ade es Más e en Enseñanza de Lenguas Ex anje as de la Uni e sidad de Michigan S a e.
Ac ualmen e es doc o anda en el depa amen o de Lengua Española, Lingüís ica y Teo ía de la Li e a u a de la
Uni e sidad de Se illa. Su á ea de in es igación gi a en o no a los hablan es po he encia, iden idad lingüís ica y
el español de Es ados Unidos.
And ade, M. “Using Spanglish in he Uni ed S a es: A Va ie y o Spanish o a Way o Building Iden i y? The case
o He i age Language Lea ne s in he Fo eign Languages Class oom”. Camino Real, 11:14. Alcalá de Hena es:
Insi u o F anklin - UAH, 2019: 17-26. P in .
Recibido: 30 de no iemb e de 2018; 2ª e sión: 10 de ab il de 2019.
Camino Real 11: 14. (2019): 17-26
18
Camino Real
Resumen
El siguien e abajo se en oca en cómo los usua ios del spanglish, un híb ido
que nace de las in e acciones en e aquellos que i en en un país de habla inglesa como
es EE. UU. y man ienen sus aíces lingüís icas la inas, pod ían es a usándolo no solo
po que les esul a na u al, sino que es a ían haciéndolo pa a isibiliza su iden idad.
Se le p es a especial a ención al caso de los es udian es de español como lengua po
he encia, ya que son ellos los que pa ecen es a u ilizando es e egis o p incipalmen e.
En es e caso, se discu e el ema de la enseñanza de la a iedad es ánda del español a
es udian es de español po he encia, y la inco po ación y alo ización de o as o mas
de español, incluso de spanglish.
Palab as cla e: spanglish, iden idad lingüís ica, hablan es po he encia, español en los
Es ados Unidos, enseñanza de lenguas ex anje as, enseñanza de hablan es po he encia.
*****
1. INTRODUCTION
In oday’s media, i is no ha d o ind issues o policy and ideology ega ding
languages in gene al and o Spanish in pa icula . A he same ime, inding e idence
o he con o e sial coexis ence ha English and Spanish ha e in he Uni ed S a es is
jus a ma e o b owsing he news. I is no su p ising ha his language akes a big
po ion o he linguis ic discussion in he media since, acco ding o he Uni ed S a es
Census Bu eau, as o July 1, 2015, he e a e 56.6 million people o Hispanic o igin,
making i he la ges acial mino i y o he coun y. In Cali o nia alone, he e a e mo e
Spanish-language adio s a ions “ han in all o Cen al Ame ica oge he ” (S a ans
14). Uni ision and Telemundo, wo majo TV s a ions b oadcas ing in Spanish and
p oduced in he Uni ed S a es, a e he as es g owing ne wo ks in he o e all coun y.
This pape is ocused on he linguis ic a ie y ha is bo n om he in e ac ion
o bo h languages: Spanglish and why i is pa o his dispu e. In an a icle by he
Chicago Daily He ald, A ado desc ibes Spanglish as “a slangy hyb id o English and
Spanish ha is hugely popula and inc easingly con o e sial among Hispanics he e
in he subu bs and h oughou he Uni ed S a es”. Wha is i abou his o m o
communica ion ha p o okes a deba e among expe s and non-expe s?
Resis ing change is no some hing uncommon o humani y in any ield
and languages a e no excep ion. The popula pe spec i e ells us ha Spanglish is a
h ea o he pu e o ms o he language. Acco ding o S a ans, many in ellec uals
19
om he Spanish speaking wo ld ha e he iew ha Spanglish is an illegi ima e, e en
w ong ul language. A he same ime, when b owsing some o he li e a u e a ailable
on Spanglish i is easy o ge he imp ession ha many conside i simply a b oken
e sion o English and Spanish; i is no one o he o he . Gonzáles Eche e ía e en
claims, i is “ he language o poo Hispanics, many ba ely li e a e in ei he language.
On he o he side o his con o e sy, we ind schola s like Ilan S a ans, a
p o esso a Amhe s College, who ad oca es o Spanglish and p oposes ha we
a e on he e ge o he bi h o a new language. Many o he s sugges ha his is a
language ha has simply and na u ally eme ged om he ex ended con ac o Anglo
and Hispanic ci iliza ions and ha i should be emb aced as a pa o he cons uc ion
o a La ino iden i y.
2. SPANISH IN THE US
F om a his o ical backg ound, Spanish and English ha e a long his o y
o cohabi a ion o mo e han 400 yea s. As ea ly as he 16 h cen u y, he Spanish
conquis ado s es ablished a oo hold in he a ea ha is now Flo ida. E en hough he
Spanish e o s o se colonies in his a ea ailed o lou ish, s ill many Spanish speake s
made his land hei home, linking he language and i s cul u e o e e . A he beginning
o he 19 h cen u y, when Mexico gained independence om Spain, i o e ed “land o
Ame ican se le s willing o aise ca le in he ba en no he n egions o he coun y
(p esen -day Texas)” (Ca e ). No long a e , Texas claimed i s independence, se ing
o wa d he Mexican-Ame ican wa which mean ha Mexico los con ol o almos
hal o coun y o he hands o he Uni ed S a es. All hese e i o ies al eady had a
long his o y and cul u e in luenced by he use o Spanish, which was ans e ed o
a di e en poli ical cons i uency, wi h a di e en language: English. Na u ally, hese
communi ies began me ging hei languages as “speake s in bilingual communi ies
do no keep hei languages and dialec s sepa a e, bu ins ead p oduce a hyb id
‘in e language’ as a composi e single p o iciency ha blends ea u es o he a ailable
communica ion o ms” (Lo Bianco 143). The con ac be ween English and Spanish
kep g owing in la e decades as inc easing amoun s o La in Ame ican immig an s
began en e ing he Uni ed S a es. As men ioned be o e, oday he Hispanics ep esen
he la ges immig an communi y in he coun y.
The wo d “Hispanic” ep esen s an e hnici y bu is also used as a poli ical e m
which a i s cen e includes a my iad o Spanish speaking cul u es ha ha e di e en
ways o enac ing Spanish and c ea ing communi ies o p ac ice. A he same ime, hese
people come om di e en egions and he e o e con ibu e wi h hei geog aphic
a ia ion o he language. I is only na u al ha people who li e close o each o he
Ma iela And ade
20
Camino Real
sha e a mo e simila way o speaking han hose who a e mo e apa , e en i i is s ill
he same language. In he same line, he Uni ed S a es has an ex ension big enough
ha allows o he exis ence o di e en a ie ies o Spanglish: Cubonics, Chicano
Spanish, Tex-Mex, Pachuco, Dominicanish, among o he s (S a ans).
3. SPANGLISH –THE VARIETY VS. PRACTICE DEBATE
F om a sociolinguis ic poin o iew, “Spanglish is de ined as a communica i e
p ac ice which in ol es code-swi ching, code-mixing, and lexical bo owing among
bilingual speake s in US La ino communi ies. In popula pa lance, Spanglish is
conside ed an au onomous (hyb id) language —a c oss be ween Spanish and English”
(Neumann 1). When in e iewed by PBS on he opic o Ame ican Va ie ies, S a ans
p o ides a de ini ion o his hyb id ha e lec s mo e on he ways o p ac icing he
language when he says ha Spanglish is “ he way o communica ion whe e one s a s
in one language, swi ches o he o he back and o h o pe haps coins a ew new wo ds
o hinks in one language and eac s in ano he one. I is a e y c ea i e jazzy way o
being La ino in he US oday” (Sua ez). F om an academic poin o iew, Wa daugh &
Fulle (2015) sugges ha bo owed wo ds om English in o Spanish simply ep esen
one o he in luences o language change ha is p omo ed by he con ac o bo h
languages (Wa daugh and Fulle ).
Language changes all he ime, bo owing one om ano he i hey a e in
con ac and ul ima ely becoming ano he o spli ing in o o he s. Change is an inhe en
cha ac e is ic o languages as hey do so o e ime hey may o no become o he
language o simply s ay as a a ie y o he main, s anda dized e sion. Many ea ha
Spanglish may o e come he s anda d e sion o Spanish in he US and o he s e en
ea Spanish may o e come English. Wha is e iden oday in he Uni ed S a es is ha
he e is a big po ion o he popula ion ha accoun o Spanish as hei i s language
in a coun y whe e he mains eam language is English. This in luences communica ion
in mul iple ways: Fo many pe haps less educa ed Hispanics, Spanglish ep esen s
hei ansi ion o he mains eam because many imes hey lack a p ope educa ion in
English and Spanish. Fo o he s, Spanglish ep esen s “a posi i e mani es a ion o he
Hispanic spi i ” (S a ans 17).
Wha we see he e is he co e o his deba e: is Spanglish a a ie y o he Spanish
spoken in he Uni ed S a es, o is i mo e o a p ac ice o an e hnic g oup, a way o
iden i ying wi h a ce ain communi y o p ac ice? Can i be bo h? I seems ha h ough
his linguis ic a ie y, Spanish-English bilinguals in he US ha e ound a esou ce o
sel -cons uc ion o a La ino iden i y ha is enac ed by many ep esen a ions, o which
language is only one mo e.
21
4. THE FOREIGN LANGUAGES CLASSROOM1
4.1. Spanglish compa ed o s anda d Spanish
Acco ding o Fe nández Ví o es, oday he e a e mo e han 21 million s uden s
o Spanish as a Fo eign Language a ound he wo ld. These s uden s a e lea ning he
s anda dized e sion o Spanish, whe e he a ie ies a e augh as pa o he cul u e o
o he coun ies whe e Spanish is spoken. In he US, his is also he a o ed e sion as i
enjoys g ea e p es ige in he Spanish-speaking wo ld and is mos likely he one o be
used when communica ing wi h a na i e speake .
Educa ion is he way speake s o any language lea n he s anda dized e sion
ha is used in go e nmen , media, o mal and educa ional se ings in pa icula and
in he mains eam in gene al (Yule). Spanish is no excep ion and he e o e, he i age
language lea ne s (HLLs) o Spanish in he US, whose amilia e sion is mos likely
Spanglish o ano he a ie y o Spanish, should lea n a school he s anda dized
e sion. In A ado, He nandez, an assis an p o esso o Spanish a Ha pe College
in Pala ine says ha Spanglish “should no be accep ed as an al e na i e o o mal
Spanish”, because i is a mix o English oo s wi h Spanish mo phemes, no a language
in i sel , and he e en adds ha by using Spanglish “I ’s ge ing o he poin whe e we’ e
mu de ing ou language” (A ado).
Acco ding o Ins i u o Ce an es, almos 500 million people ha ha e Spanish
as hei na i e language can communica e hanks o he exis ence o a common
s anda dized e sion o Spanish. I is wi h much p ide ha Spania ds c ea ed ea lie
in he 18 h cen u y an academy (RAE) o p ese e a e sion o Spanish ha would
be p omo ed o e ulga e sions and so o ensu e he exis ence o a Spanish ha
could be unde s ood by anybody li ing in hei o me colonies. A lingua anca ha
se es as he “ he ehicula language o a socie y”2 (P o encio Ga igos and Ma ínez
Egido)3, which s anda dized e sion is used in he mains eam in he 23 coun ies in 3
con inen s whe e Spanish is he o icial language. Fo his eason, many see Spanglish
as a h ea o “español d echo”4 and o cen u ies o join e o s o keep a s anda d
a ie y. Class ooms a e an essen ial pa o keeping he s anda d e sion in use and
om ha pe spec i e Spanglish has no place in i .
4.2. Spanglish as a ma ke o iden i y
Acco ding o Yule, “nons anda d a ie ies a e el o be he p o ince o he
less educa ed” (9) and he e o e a e conside ed o ha e no place wi hin he class oom
because he class oom is, pe se, he place o hose seeking an educa ion. Bu , i
Spanglish is a ma ke o he La ino iden i y, should i no be inco po a ed in o US
Ma iela And ade

22
Camino Real
language class ooms? Reyes men ions ha “language class ooms a e pe haps ob ious
si es whe e ques ions o language and e hnici y become cen al” (416). The e o e,
e hnic cha ac e is ics should be p omo ed wi hin he class oom. La ino e hnici y can
be emb aced by explo ing he c ea i i y o s uden s and in eg a ing hei a ailable
linguis ic epe oi es o pe haps a mo e o mal pa lance. Once hey a e awa e o his
speech, hey can ind pa icula uses o i and expand he limi s o hei communica ion
beyond hei speech communi y (Wa daugh and Fulle ).
Spanish cou ses designed o he i age language lea ne s is he e i o y o
anscul u a ion (Ga cía), whe e s uden s ha e he al e na i e o look a hei iden i ies
close and de elop a g ea e sense o hem. Language is one powe ul esou ce o
iden i y cons uc ion, and many imes he use o Spanglish is no deno ing a lack
o educa ion: ins ead, many educa ed Spanish speake s delibe a ely choose his
non-s anda d a ie y because i means in eg a ion in o he Hispanic communi y.
Iden i ying when and whe e o use he igh a ie y expands he al e na i es lea ne s
ha e o ope a ing in he linguis ic ma ke place (Wa daugh and Fulle ). Wi h his,
s uden s inc ease hei chance o success ully in e p e ing which language a ie y o
use depending on he in e locu o .
5. SCHOOL POLICIES AND PEDAGOGY
When a he i age language lea ne akes lessons in Spanish, a language he/she
al eady knows o some ex en , he message ha should be unde s ood om he school
is e y clea : his is a s uden who is in e es ed in p ese ing his/he cul u e and is
looking o wa d imp o ing he unde s anding o he ways o communica ing wi h
hose in his/he communi y.
Many imes, I ha e el , as a eache o Spanish as a He i age Language, ha
I am idiculing my s uden s because o how he cu iculum is elling hem ha all
hey know o Spanish is w ong. This is a ha m ul s a emen since mos o he language
HLLs know has been passed om hei close ela i es. Fo many HLLs in he US,
Spanglish ep esen s hei amilia e sion o communica ion. Howe e , since he
language o he es ablishmen is English, he e is no push o speaking a highe e sion
o Spanish bu a he he endency is o he language o mu a e owa ds English.
Today his amilia e sion is supp essed in he class oom, a o ing he RAE e sion,
e en when he mos common o m o Spanish in he US is Spanglish and i s a ie ies,
no s anda dized Spanish.
Reyes ad oca es o an eme gence model, which p oposes a esponse o e hnic
di e ences in he languages class oom ha would i he need ha HLLs ha e o
23
disco e ing new ways o being c ea i e wi h he in e sec ions o he languages hey
use. She a gues ha “speake s a e no con ined o a se o inhe i ed speech no ms
bu may d aw ins ead om wide epe oi es and a ious in e ac ional s a egies in
he pe o mance o e hnic iden i ies” (414). This model o sel - e lec ion allows o
s uden s o b ing hei iden i ies o he class oom and, wi hin ha sa e space, explo e
he possibili ies ha hei a ie ies o speaking ha e wi hin he language.
A he same ime, wo ld languages eache s should s i e o unde s anding
e hnici y as a ma ke in cons an shape and adap a ion because ailing o do so “no only
can [i ] lead o local misjudgmen s abou s uden beha io , bu also i can con ibu e
o he ep oduc ion o social inequali y in educa ion” (Reyes 419). The e ends o be
p ejudice in ol ed in he use o less p es ige a ian s like Spanglish. Fo his eason,
unde s anding and accep ing his cons an adap a ion is he key o a iendly class oom
en i onmen owa ds HLLs.
6. CONCLUSION
Spanglish is a g owing way o communica ion in he US and i is no exemp
om con o e sy. The ac ha i bo ows wo ds om English and ha i does no
ollow one language oo makes many uncom o able. I is dis an om he s anda d
a ie y o Spanish ha is emb aced by na i e speake s o Spanish, bu i is also ue
ha , in he US, i is no necessa ily he language o na i e speake s bu mo e o he i age
speake s ha emb ace i as a ma ke o iden i y. I is he language o an e hnici y, a
cul u al g oup, which may no comply wi h he ules o a o mal a ie y bu also may
no necessa ily need o do so.
Fo cen u ies he RAE, as many o he na ional academies, has been p ese ing
a p es ige a ie y o language, known as he s anda d e sion. In he case o Spanish,
his is he e sion p e e ed o be used in he mains eam in Spanish speaking coun ies.
Spanish is he mos spoken second language in he US, bu i is s ill no a Spanish
speaking coun y. As a esul , i seems o be ha wi hou he cons ain s o he need
o use a s anda d e sion o communica ion, speake s o Spanglish a e ee and ha e
mo e ools a ailable o add ess he dynamic o speaking. E e ybody modi ies hei
speech o mee hei in e locu o ’s expec a ions, and his is especially ue in a bilingual
con ex like he one Spanish speake s ace li ing in he US. This does no mean ha
he s anda d a ie y o a language has no alue and should be disca ded, bu wha i
is impo an is o no o ge ha he ac ual ways people speak o m hei iden i y and
he e o e should be aken in o conside a ion when hinking o Spanglish o any o he
e hnic speaking.
Ma iela And ade
24
Camino Real
This becomes especially impo an in he wo ld languages class oom, whe e
educa o s should emb ace c ea i i y in he language and be awa e o he nuances o he
language. I is no uncommon o people o e e in pejo a i e ways o he dialec s o a
language. Fo his eason, s uden s could be ea ed as in e io o no using s anda d
a ie ies o e en o using accen s and o he a ia ions. Thus, pa icula ly hose
educa o s o he i age lea ne s should be equipped wi h sociolinguis ics ools ha will
allow hem o unde s and ha he cons uc ion o an e hnic iden i y depends on he
unde s anding o linguis ic p ac ices.
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