The Politics of Language

“¡Ya Basta!” Discussion Question

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This chapter by Lippi Green explores language discrimination targeting Spanish speaking communities in the United States. By introducing a summarized history of how terms such as “Hispanic” arose to define a massive and diverse portion of the American population, Green argues how individuals with Spanish accents are targeted and systematically punished for being unable to erase their accents, and by extension their identities, to appease their non-Spanish neighbors.

Questions to Consider 

  1. How does generalizing various Latin American nationalities under the umbrella term “Hispanic” impact how non-Spanish speaking populations view them?
  2. What are crucial traits that provide the framework for what it means to identify as “Hispanic”?
  3. At what point does the desire to communicate in the workplace transcend connivence and enter language discrimination?
  4. The College of Wooster requires students to enroll in courses that explore a “Cultural Difference”. How has academic coverage of minority groups in the classroom affected students of said groups, and those who identify differently?

Gianmarco, Patrick, Jason, Kaeli, Morgan, Maxwell “Spanglish”

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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.

South African English

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Below is a link leading to the presentation on South African’s English, as done by Gerald Dryden, Marcel Elkouri, Emilee McCubbins, Hannah Sullivan, and Matt Woodward.

https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/1GGNXX_e1nHWf1H3BPiPzLC8H1gnM-Yv7cWY-CVWkmgM/edit?usp=sharing

English as a Lingua Franca – Discussion Questions

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This article didn’t focus on defining English as a lingua franca, but instead explained some of the controversies behind the subject. Specifically, it referred to backlash ELF was receiving from those who uphold a ‘standard’ English, and the resulting ramifications behind it.

Questions:

1. How does one differentiate between ELF (English as a lingua franca) and EFL (English as a foreign language)?

2. Do you think it is possible to have a productive ELF interaction involving a native Speaker of English, given his/her tendency to not accommodate/change their speaking?

3. How do you think that ELF linguistics (which debate whether ELF should be considered a separate language or a branch of English) would view and describe Ebonics?