https://www.audible.com/blog/science-technology/hear-what-scholars-think-english-will-sound-like-in-100-years/

This is a really interesting read that just talks about what scholars think English could potentially sound like in the near-distant future. What was most interesting to me is that they bring up one main reason the way the English language is already changing in sound is because of the non-native speakers influencing it. By learning English and speaking it with their non-native “tongues” words are being pronounced differently then many of us would pronounce it, but these people are the ones teaching “our” language to others overseas. So our language is spreading far beyond our natural walls and our language is becoming owned by “the other” many are so scared of. It is an interesting idea that soon we may have to pronounce English words the “correct” way, which may be the way we personally never learned it ourselves.

Much of what this reading focused on is the way in which language (and the stories of culture/significance they carry) can be shaped and slowly devalued through a sort of “whitewashing” and English”-ing” of stories and traditions. Silence Before the Void focuses on the stories of the Maliseet people, but can be applied to the theme of cultural and lingual destruction of the Native American tribes that we have discussed in class recently, and how the writing down and passing down IN ENGLISH of their languages and stories is slowly helping in the destruction of those two very same things. Questions that arose for me, both questions for myself to ponder and ones I thought the class would have a great discussion on, were…

1.  Is it possible to take a “glass half full” approach to this story and extrapolate and positives that come from the translating and retelling of these sacred stories into more commonly used English?
2. What are ways in which you can teach these stories and these lessons then without translating, or is it better to keep these stories sacred/secret between their culture and our own?
3. What other examples of English-“ing” can we think of that has happened in our history?

 

YOUTUBE LINK:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=2&v=RVnJ4odvlHc

History

• Having generations above you speak spanish as their first language so if you were to grow up in America you are learning one language at home and one language at school.
• Spanglish is becoming increasingly prevalent in educational settings where children who come from Spanish-speaking families are learning English in school. When bilingual students communicate, they often use Spanglish for speed and clarity.
• “Creative way” of being proud of both heritages for latinos to show their “Americanness” but also their familial culture
• 2012- 26 million “spanglish” speakers
  • Started from 1848 mexican-american war
  • As a result of the Gadsden Purchase of 1853, people who were previously mexican citizens were now legally American, and, therefore, began to learn American English
  • Following the Mexican Revolution in 1910, many immigrants began to flee Mexico by way of the United States. With the War on Drugs raging in Mexico and South America today, the number of Mexican and South American Immigrants continues to rise despite talks of border walls and mass deportation of illegal immigrants.
  • Spanglish is much more of a “Style” then it is an official language so it is constantly changing and adapting (more of a free flowing device then a set of rules) to the youth that are using it.

 

Linguistic Context

American English:

Spanish:

Language perceived as “Low form” or illegitimate. Perceived as a hybrid between Spanish and English including switching between the two languages mid-sentence.

Spanglish is closely linked with the identity of the speakers.  

 

Linguistic Features

Common to put -ar/-er-/-ir at the end of an english word to create a “Spanglish” verb

Ex: backupear (to back up the car) grocear (groceries).

Putting a or o at the end of an english word to give it a gender like spanish

Ex: yarda (yard) luncho (lunch)

Commonly switching between English and Spanish in the same sentence or phrase

Ex.  Zulema: Sí, pero ¿qué page?

     Caroline: A ver, ¿qué page? Twenty-one.