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| http://www.sandiegoreader.com/news/2015/jun/03/press-1-spanglish/ |
I grew up in Western Massachusetts where a large part of the population was of French Canadian descent, I included. So naturally, we spoke French less fluently than our parents and grandparents. Let it be said though that even they had a serious tendency to mix their mother tongue with English words and expressions. It is over 100 years, four generations, since Franglish was introduced to the area. It is now all but gone.
As the years wore on, I migrated from Franglish to Spanglish by moving to California with a few linguistic stops along the way. How I got here is a long story. It is a story that is as interesting as the metamorphosis of Western Massachusetts from Franglish to Spanglish [Puerto Rican immigration] and my relatives didn't even have to move! Because they did not move, they are surrounded by a new tongue that has grown up around them.
The story in the San Diego Reader depicts a very classy project that was realized at one of the famous and popular museums in San Diego's marvelous relaxation and strolling area, Balboa Park. This is a huge park of some 1,200 acres complete with a mammoth outdoors organ, many museums and a wonderful arboretorium. The production of Spanglish depicts one form of hodge-podge language, the classiest possible form that was worked out for the production that resulted. One of these days I will have to go see it, en vivo, as we say in Southern California and Madrid.
The Spanglish and Franglish of the simpler type goes like this.
I was the HR Director for a company close to East Los Angeles. I got the job because of my fluency in Spanish. Here's a sample between me and an EE from ELAX.
Me: Sabes que? Se nos hace que tu camioneta ocupa el espacio del dueño en el estacionamiento. Podria ser justo?
EE-ELAX: Eee, por favor, can you speak Ingles?
Me: But you asked me to speak Spanish when you entered my office.
EE-ELAX: Eee, not understand a proposito del dueño.
Me: Ah. Tu troque (truck, got it?) esta en el parking del patron, maybe?
EE-ELAX: Oh no. Mi troque is parking en el otro lado del railroad crossing, no here.
This was a 25 year old employee from East Los Angeles who professed to not know English. His problem was worse than that, he did not know Spanish to boot. We did straighten out the parking problem and we parted friends.
I tell this story a lot because it is true and I have a dear friend from East Los Angeles who speaks very straight English and some rudimentary Spanish from his background. Across the years, he has decided that if he is going to speak English he is going to do it right. His Spanish is quite strong on the listening side, but but not so great on the speaking side. This happens more often than not as people mature and realize that they have to communicate better to deal with the wild, wild world.
Me? I can speak and understand a lot of things, especially when I get hungry. I had some rather interesting linguistic experiences over the years and especially when I worked in Tijuana, Mexico. You want to hear some fluent Spanglish? Go to work there. Even some municipal signage is in Spanglish.
In this world, it is unwise to not learn the meanings of "cross-over" language. On the Internet, some words stay in English and some are translated literally and this sometimes makes a polyglot laugh, or brings on confusion.
For example, the French do not use the term email. They simply say mail in the masculine gender. It never means what we accept as the default meaning of the word "mail."
They also do not say "Fin de semaine" for "weekend." They say "weekend." They've been saying "weekend" for decades. We Franco Americans (and French Canadians) NEVER say "weekend" because it is one expression that we do not accept as being acceptable Franglish! So there!
So, friends and neighbors, Enjoy your taste of San Diego Spanglish Culture.
I can't wait until some artist discovers Taglish!
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