Spanglish; Calling for a Revision of Traditional Language Contact Theory.
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2015-06-15
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en
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Abstract
The American Southwest has experienced a drastic increase in its Hispanic population
in roughly the past thirty years. This has accounted for a unique language contact situation between English on the one hand and Spanish on the other. Due to this contact, a new linguistic phenomenon has emerged, which is referred to as Spanglish. Despite its growing presence in American society, it has received remarkably little attention, both from a linguistic and cultural point of view. This research analyzes Spanglish in light of traditional language contact theory and finds that it is not fully applicable to this linguistic phenomenon, the first reason being based on linguistic grounds and the second being its function as a marker of a complex dual identity in a globalizing world dominated by migration. As such, this research calls for a new approach of language contact situations that takes into account these inextricably linked factors.
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Faculteit der Letteren