The ‘Glish is no Glitch: Spanish-English Contact Phenomena in Advertising Copy
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2009
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Swarthmore College. Dept. of Linguistics
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Thesis (B.A.)
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en_US
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Abstract
Potato, potahto, tomato, tomahto: some customers call their favorite cereal “Corn flakes,” while
others reach for los cornflais (Ilan Stavans 2005: 102). Faced with language choices, advertisers
might be calling the whole thing off. The fast food chain Chick-Fil-A combines English and
Spanish in their caricatured cow-friendly calendar: “Chikin es mooey gud.” Fashion magazine
Ocean Drive Español promises “lo más fashion para la playa (the most fashion for the beach),”
and hosts headlines on the “hoteles con star power (hotels with star power)” (italics theirs). The
cows are painting it. The fashionistas are styling it. “Spanglish,” according to the title of Ilan
Stavans’ 2003 book on the topic, is “the new American language.” The present study examines
competing definitions of “Spanglish.” After reviewing various English-Spanish contact
phenomena, the presence of code-switching, calques, Spanglish neologisms, and bilingual
translation in print advertising are examined. Qualitative analysis serves to assess the
motivations, rules, and ramifications of meshing Spanish and English in the media. Such analysis
reveals that the function of advertising language is often more symbolic than referential. Close
readings of the ad also serve as an additional account of linguistic correlates of “Spanglish” in
the hybrid communication between advertiser and consumer.