The Future of Spanglish: Global or Tribal?

Abstract

Abstract Research revolves around the socio-political, linguistic, and cultural aspects of “Spanglish” while considering its future in American society. A speech modality used by many Hispanics in the United States, Spanglish mixes grammatical and lexical elements from both English and Spanish and is primarily used in oral communication. The announcement by the Real Academia Española (RAE) to include Estadounidismos (a term coined by the RAE for referring to words used primarily, if not exclusively, in the US by Spanish speakers which are now part of the recognized lexicon) in its upcoming dictionary in 2014 shocked many. Furthermore, it has also placed Spanglish in the center of yet another controversy, as it presents heritage speakers with an opportunity to decide whether or not to remain fragmented or united.