Spanglish in different Spanish markets

Marianopolita · Mar 10, 2018

I came across this article today in a blog about Spanglish and how it translates in different Spanish markets. Whether it's the US, Mexico, Spain etc. many of the words, phrases, and terms derive from technology and usually the Spanish word used is formed from the English word although a Spanish word exists.

Many Spanglish words are false cognates, calques, or invented words from English used by (bilingual) Spanish speakers. However, are they the same across the board and who speaks this way is the focus of the blog article.

An interesting read.

https://info.moravia.com/blog/how-spanglish-translates-in-spanish-markets

-MP.

Marianopolita · Mar 10, 2018

Not All U.S. Spanish Speakers Speak the Same Language

Here is another good article from the same blog link as posted above.

Not All U.S. Spanish Speakers Speak the Same Language

https://info.moravia.com/blog/not-all-us-spanish-speakers-speak-the-same-language

Truer words could not be spoken but the one aspect I love about Spanish is its own varieties do not impede communication. It is very unusual that two Spanish speakers from different countries can't communicate. In my experience, if it does happen then usually one speaker is from the country or a place so rural. Totally guajiro or jíbaro or if the speaker is from South America maybe the speaker is native of one of the indigenous languages such as Quechua or Aymara and has little knowledge of Spanish. Speaking fast and not being able to understand is a different story.

-MP.

cavok · Mar 10, 2018

The Cubans in Miami take Spanglish to a whole new level. Not only that, but two Cubans holding a conversation will frequently shift between Spanish and English within the same sentence and continue to alternate throughout their conversation. I've never heard anything like that anywhere else.

Marianopolita · Mar 10, 2018

cavok said:
The Cubans in Miami take Spanglish to a whole new level. Not only that, but two Cubans holding a conversation will frequently shift between Spanish and English within the same sentence and continue to alternate throughout their conversation. I've never heard anything like that anywhere else.

Actually, the way people speak in Miami by mixing the two languages together is quite common anywhere where the two languages co-exist and if the two speakers are bilingual or partially bilingual. I say partially because one of the reasons why some people speak this way is due to lack of vocabulary or an idea is conveyed better in one language over the other. They either start in Spanish and end in English or start in English end in Spanish or mix the two together and invent words. They hispanicize the English word. Notice it is never the other way around meaning anglicize the Spanish word.

This speech phenomenon is common among Spanish speakers that speak English or live in an English-speaking environment whether they have a full command of English or not. Now in Miami there is a linguistic phenomenon known as Miami Spanish. The linguistic dynamic there is so unique because Spanish is so dominant. Numbers wise California and Texas probably have more Spanish speakers but in Miami Spanish is the dominant language. Huge difference.

Linguistically this phenomenon is known as code-switching and is very common among multilingual speakers.

-MP.

ROLLOUT · Mar 10, 2018

Learn somethin new every day. I just called it spanglish. Kinda off-topic, but it really would pi$$ me of when my cuban co-workers (american born) would jabber in spanish in front of my face. Pretty rude.

Marianopolita · Mar 10, 2018

ROLLOUT said:
Learn somethin new every day. I just called it spanglish. Kinda off-topic, but it really would pi$$ me of when my cuban co-workers (american born) would jabber in spanish in front of my face. Pretty rude.

I noticed you seem to have a chip on your shoulder when it comes to Spanish. You may do better if you let it go and look at the aspect from a different angle. People don’t jabber they speak. You are too negative regarding all things Spanish.

Contribute to the discussion from a linguistic perspective but I ask that you leave the personal sentiments out of the conversation.

-MP.

cavok · Mar 10, 2018

Marianopolita said:
Actually, the way people speak in Miami by mixing the two languages together is quite common anywhere where the two languages co-exist and if the two speakers are bilingual or partially bilingual. I say partially because one of the reasons why some people speak this way is due to lack of vocabulary or an idea is conveyed better in one language over the other. They either start in Spanish and end in English or start in English end in Spanish or mix the two together and invent words. They hispanicize the English word. Notice it is never the other way around meaning anglicize the Spanish word.

This speech phenomenon is common among Spanish speakers that speak English or live in an English-speaking environment whether they have a full command of English or not. Now in Miami there is a linguistic phenomenon known as Miami Spanish. The linguistic dynamic there is so unique because Spanish is so dominant. Numbers wise California and Texas probably have more Spanish speakers but in Miami Spanish is the dominant language. Huge difference.

Linguistically this phenomenon is known as code-switching and is very common among multilingual speakers.

-MP.

I did notice that - they might use a Spanish word or phrase in the middle of the conversation because they maybe didn't know the English equivalent, but many times the entire conversation would drift back and forth between English and Spanish.

My experience isn't as wide as yours, but I lived in Puerto Rico for a couple years. Most of my friends and acquaintences were educated professionals and spoke very good English(maybe a slight accent). I never heard this phenomenom among them(?). When they were together they only spoke Spanish to each other, no mixing - and not too much Spanglish either compared to Cubans in Miami.

I also had quite a few Colombian friends in Miami and it was the same with them. When they were together it was Spanish only - no mixing of Spanish/English and very little use of Spanglish.

Marianopolita · Mar 10, 2018

cavok said:
I did notice that - they might use a Spanish word or phrase in the middle of the conversation because they maybe didn't know the English equivalent, but many times the entire conversation would drift back and forth between English and Spanish.

My experience isn't as wide as yours, but I lived in Puerto Rico for a couple years. Most of my friends and acquaintences were educated professionals and spoke very good English(maybe a slight accent). I never heard this phenomenom among them(?). When they were together they only spoke Spanish to each other, no mixing - and not too much Spanglish either compared to Cubans in Miami.

I also had quite a few Colombian friends in Miami and it was the same with them. When they were together it was Spanish only - no mixing of Spanish/English and very little use of Spanglish.

I could see you understand the phenomenon although our experiences differ. I think command of the languages both English and Spanish has a lot to do with it. You said it educated professionals. In my experience and my personal situation no Spanglish because it is not necessary. I personally don’t have a need for it and have ample vocabulary in both languages to not code-switch. I also find it becomes a habit once a person starts speaking that way. In my circle no one code-switches. Sometimes a person may not know how to say a word because it is categorical vocabulary like a business term, or as mentioned in the article it is a technical word from the new digital age then the person would say- como se dice xxx en español- to the group but not throw in the English word. Usually one of us will know.

In Miami you will hear it a lot because I notice people actually learn to speak that way and you are in the USA bilingual mecca for Spanish/ English co-existence so it is more noticeable too compared to other places.

Another place where you will hear it a lot is in Panama City, Panama among bilingual speakers there.

-MP.

Marianopolita · Mar 11, 2018

Some common technical terms in Spanish:

address (in email or on a website) — la dirección

battery — la pila

bookmark — el favorito, el marcador, el marcapáginas

browser — el navegador (web), el browser

browser — el navegador (web), el browser

click (noun) — el clic

click (verb) — hacer clic, cliquear, presionar, pulsar

computer — la computadora (sometimes el computador), el ordenador

cut and paste — cortar y pegar

data — los datos

desktop (of a computer screen) — el escritorio, la pantalla

download — descargar

email — el correo electrónico, el email

erase, delete — borrar

file — el archivo

hard drive — el disco duro

home page — la página inicial, la página principal, la portada

icon — el icono

install — instalar

key (of a keyboard) — la tecla

keyboard — el teclado

keyword — la palabra clave

link — el enlace, la conexión, el vínculo

memory — la memoria

menu — el menú

message — el mensaje

laptop (computer) — el plegable, la computadora portátil, el ordenador portátil

mouse — el ratón, el mouse

password — la contraseña

print (verb) — imprimir

printer — la impresora

save (a file or document) — guardar

screen — la pantalla

screensaver — el salvapantallas

search engine — el buscador, el servidor de búsqueda,

server — el servidor

slash (/) — la barra, la barra oblicua

toolbar — la barra de herramientas

virus — el virus

web page — la página web (plural las páginas web)

website — el web (plural los webs), el sitio web (plural los sitios web)

window — la ventana

https://www.thoughtco.com/spanish-computer-and-internet-terms-3079952

-MP.

2dlight · Mar 11, 2018

I'd like to add: scanner-esca'ner; to scan-escanear. I have a hard time with these two but it is what it is.

Marianopolita · Mar 11, 2018

2dlight said:
I'd like to add: scanner-esca'ner; to scan-escanear. I have a hard time with these two but it is what it is.

Yes, scanner and the verb, to scan are interesting in Spanish and totally representative of the digital age. I would like add the noun, scan which is el escaneo. Therefore, you have esca’ner, escanear and el escaneo.

A little interesting story with the word el escaneo. Many years ago I used it conversation with a colleague at the time and she (an older woman) laughed her head off and said to me there is no such word. I said oh yes, where have you been? El que ríe último ríe mejor is what I told her. Have a look in the dictionary. We looked online and bingo! There it was el escaneo, the scan.

Some people will be challenged in Spanish to keep pace. However, if you are speaking, reading, writing and interacting in the language on a daily to regular basis it should not be a problem to learn these new concepts on the go.

-MP.

william webster · Mar 11, 2018

I'm enjoying this...

I use mi escan when talking about MRI, etc and they understand

Interesting talk here

and I guess we can translate the other English saying

El rie ultimo es el mejor...

Does that work ??

Marianopolita · Mar 11, 2018

william webster said:
I'm enjoying this...

I use mi escan when talking about MRI, etc and they understand

Interesting talk here

and I guess we can translate the other English saying

El rie ultimo es el mejor...

Does that work ??

Mi escán would work in my opinion especially since escanear exists although I have never heard it (which means nothing really).

El que ríe último ríe mejor is a saying in Spanish which has the exact equivalent in English- He who laughs last laughs the best. I use quite a few sayings and idioms in my speech in both languages and also try to learn more. That one is an everyday one used in both languages in my experience.

-MP.

william webster · Mar 11, 2018

Gracias Senora... or Senorita

Do you know the subtle difference in being called one or the other ??
Maybe not so -- one can be construed as an insult

I use 'escreen' for what we put on the windows to keep bugs out -- \it works

both the words and the screens

Marianopolita · Mar 12, 2018

william webster said:
Gracias Senora... or Senorita

Do you know the subtle difference in being called one or the other ??
Maybe not so -- one can be construed as an insult

I use 'escreen' for what we put on the windows to keep bugs out -- \it works

both the words and the screens

Yes, of course I know the (subtle) difference between Señora and Señorita but it is not a topic for this thread. Start a thread if you like on forms of address and see what DR1 folks say.

Well, escreen is a bit of a stretch at least to me since the word for mesh like an insect mesh is la malla.

-MP.

2dlight · Mar 12, 2018

Ok WW, what do you think these words mean: el jose'o, josear, josiando. I spell them phonetically for I've yet to see them written, except now.

Marianopolita · Mar 15, 2018

2dlight said:
Ok WW, what do you think these words mean: el jose'o, josear, josiando. I spell them phonetically for I've yet to see them written, except now.

The spelling of the verb form is josear not josiar as you referenced with josiando.

-MP.

Marianopolita · Mar 15, 2018

I thought of another word that derived from the digital age that is not on the list in the link I posted in my post #9 which is the word fax and the verb to fax or send a fax. In Spanish what is common is un fax and mandar un fax or faxear. Interesting how faxing seems like a thing of the past now.

An example I thought of as to why Spanglish gets a bad reputation when speakers invent words when one exists in Spanish which is widely used but is a reflection of the bilingual environment where two languages co-exist is some former colleagues I had that were very good Spanish speakers in general but just could not be bothered at times to use the correct word for print in Spanish which is imprimir instead they would say printear. Jeez! only in Canada and the USA. Try saying that in the heart of South America where English is a passing thought and see the looks you will get. Imagine saying that in Chile. Voy a printear el documento.

Another category where you will hear plenty of words derived from English is in sports for example baseball and soccer. Examples are jonrón y jonronear, un hit, un inning although words do exist in Spanish not derived from English.

-MP.

Marianopolita · Mar 15, 2018

Here is one more phrase that just shows how gringos aka foreigners who have no knowledge of the language actually perpetuate an error (started by a foreigner) It is almost a losing cause to let people know when they it said but I do try. A friend of mine cringes every time he hears it. It is the phrase no problemo. This could not be more annoying to Spanish-speaking person’s ear.

Does anyone want to post why this is so incorrect?

-MP.

2dlight · Mar 15, 2018

Marianopolita said:
The spelling of the verb form is josear not josiar as you referenced with josiando.

-MP.

I didn't look up the word to see if it existed in Spanish. It is used in the street to mean hustle,hustler and hustling. Spelled it the way I hear it pronounced by those who use it as part of their vernacular. Thanks.

Spanglish in different Spanish markets

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