Spanglish
By Janice Castro
Pre-reading
Some people think America should be an
English-only country. For example they object
to government tax forms or road signs in
languages like Spanish or Chinese. What do
you think, in terms of an outsider?
What do you think if the Taiwanese
government puts Vietnamese, Bahasa
Indonesian or simplified Chinese characterson
the road signs and paper forms? Will you
accept or object to it? Why? Do you think it
necessary that we put English on the road
signs and government paper forms?
In reading
1. Present participle (p. 2)
A crackling line of cross cultural patter
(p. 4)
Sesame (p. 4)— an open sesame
What other rhetorical strategies are
used in this essay? Find examples.
(hint: par. 1, 2, 4, & 9)
In reading
Find out the meaning of the following
Spanish words:
Rancho: meaning
Bronco: meaning
Tornado: meaning
Incommunicado: meaning
In reading
Gracias:
bueno
amigo
por favor
The Miller Lite: what is Miller Lite
gaffe and blunder:
Building Vocabulary
A. the study of language
B. arrangement of words into
meaningful sentences
C. to make a quick succession of light,
soft tapping sounds
D. understood although not openly
stated
E. embarrassing mistake
Understanding the Writer’s Ideas
1. This is a free-form blend of Spanish
and English known as Spanglish.
2. From watching TV shows such as
“Sesame Street” where children learn
other languages, such as “uno, dos,
tres”—
Understanding the Writer’s Ideas
3. Southern Californian Anglo; Cuban
American from Miami, Florida; Spanish
sentences that are mostly Spanish.
4. It is easier, for example, to say
“income tax” than the complicated
Spanish expression, says a Florida
language processor (par. 5)
Understanding the Writer’s Ideas
5. There are only 19 million Hispanics in
the United States, but high school
students choose mostly Spanish as their
foreign language.
6. A Spanish Miller Lite ad told readers
that their drink was “less delicious”
because the company misused a
Spanish word.
Understanding the Writer’s
Techniques
1. The thesis is that Spanglish is a
hybrid language (Hispanic and English)
that is becoming common in America.
2. The title is an example of the essay’s
thesis—it is an example of Spanglish
itself!
Understanding the Writer’s
Techniques
3. In par. 4, the term is defined: one part
Hispanicized English, one part Americanized
Spanish, and more than a little fractured syntax.
4. By referring to the million of American Anglos
and Hispanics who use Spanglish, this essay
convinces us of its thesis: Spanglish is becoming
common. If statistics were not used, one would
hardly be convinced that this is not a small
isolated phenomenon.
Understanding the Writer’s
Techniques
5. Par. 4 uses specific forms of
Spanglish to illustrate its point; par. 9
shows the process that Latinos use to
clip phrases; par. 2 contrasts broken
English of early European immigrants
to the accepted linguistic modes of
Spanglish.
Understanding the Writer’s
Techniques
6. Because the words in italics are not English or
hybrid, setting them off warns the reader that this
italicized word or phrase needs special attention
because it is different from the rest of the text.
7. Given that most terms important to
understanding the essay’s ideas are in English, this
is mainly for an English-speaking audience and
those who are not familiar with Spanglish.