1887
image of Spanglish in Filadelfia
USD
Buy:$35.00 + Taxes

Abstract

Abstract

This study examines the semiotic realizations of Spanglish in relation to social, political, and cultural formations, analyzing the legitimation process in which a sign maker may (or may not) capitalize on symbolic production. Data gathered between 2021 and 2024 from South Philadelphia’s Linguistic Landscape reveals a biased vindication of Spanglish through both institutionalized and non-institutionalized productions within the local linguistic market. These displays provide evidence of shifting symbolic capital, allowing privileged sectors to profit from the Spanglish signifier. Cultural ‘otherness’ appears to be negotiated by legitimizing agents and mechanisms enacted through popular culture, such as local marketing strategies and/or institutional communication aimed at Spanish/English-speaking populations. This suggests a process of objectifying Spanglish as a reification of ‘Latinness.’ These glocal processes interact with macrostructures found in academic debates and public opinion, positioning Spanglish as a commodity accessible only to the privileged within mainstream culture.

Loading

Article metrics loading...

/content/journals/10.1075/ll.24058.dia
2025-07-04
2025-07-10
Loading full text...

Full text loading...

References

  1. Academia Norteamericana de la Lengua Española
    Academia Norteamericana de la Lengua Española (2021) Misión. Academia Norteamericana de la Lengua Española 2021, retrieved on20 December 2024, fromhttps://www.anle.us/nuestra-academia/mision/
    [Google Scholar]
  2. Aguilar Gil, Yásnaya Elena
    (2018) Nosotros sin México: naciones indígenas y autonomía. InHumberto Beck & Rafael Lemus (Eds.) El futuro es hoy. Ideas radicales para México (pp. –). Madrid: Biblioteca Nueva.
    [Google Scholar]
  3. Alim, H Samy, John R. Rickford & Arnetha F. Ball
    (Eds.) (2016) Raciolinguistics: How language shapes our ideas about race. Oxford: Oxford University Press. 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780190625696.001.0001
    https://doi.org/10.1093/acprof:oso/9780190625696.001.0001 [Google Scholar]
  4. Álvarez Martínez, Stephanie
    (2008) ¡¿Qué, qué?! Transculturación and Tato Laviera’s Spanglish poetics. InIlan Stavans (Ed.), Spanglish (pp. –). London: Bloomsbury. 10.5040/9798216017219.ch‑005
    https://doi.org/10.5040/9798216017219.ch-005 [Google Scholar]
  5. Anzaldúa, Gloria
    (1987) Borderlands/La frontera: The new mestiza. San Francisco, CA: Aunt Lute Books.
    [Google Scholar]
  6. Ardila, Alfredo
    (2005) Spanglish: An Anglicized Spanish dialect. Hispanic Journal of Behavioral Sciences, (), –. 10.1177/0739986304272358
    https://doi.org/10.1177/0739986304272358 [Google Scholar]
  7. Bakhtin, Mikhail M.
    (1981) Discourse in the novel. InMichael Holquist (Ed.), The dialogic imagination: Four essays. (pp. –). Austin, TX: University of Texas Press.
    [Google Scholar]
  8. Bernal Labrada, Emilio
    (2017) El español hispanounidense. Revista de la Academia Norteamericana de la Lengua Española 2017, retrieved on12 May 2025, fromhttps://www.ranle.us/
    [Google Scholar]
  9. Betanzos Palacios, Odón
    (2001) El español en Estados Unidos: problemas y logros. InII Congreso Internacional de la Lengua Española, 16 October 2001, retrievd on12 May 2025, fromhttps://congresosdelalengua.es/valladolid/paneles-ponencias/unidad-diversidad/betanzos-o.htm
    [Google Scholar]
  10. Betti, Silvia, & Renata Enghels
    (2018) Spanglish: Current issues, future perspectives, and linguistic insights. InIlan Stavans (Ed.), The Oxford handbook of Latino studies (pp. –). Oxford: Oxford University Press.
    [Google Scholar]
  11. Bourdieu, Pierre
    (2015) Distinction: A social critique of the judgement of taste. London: Taylor & Francis.
    [Google Scholar]
  12. (2007) Outline of a theory of practice. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
    [Google Scholar]
  13. (2005) The political field, the social science field, and the journalistic field. InRodney Benson & Erik Neveu (Eds.), Bourdieu and the journalistic field (pp. –). Cambridge: Polity Press.
    [Google Scholar]
  14. (1991) Language and symbolic power (John B. Thompson, Ed.; Gino Raymond & Matthew Adamson, Trans.). Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.
    [Google Scholar]
  15. (1984) Questions de sociologie. Paris: Les Éditions de Minuit.
    [Google Scholar]
  16. Congress
    Congress (2021) S.678. English Language Unity Act of 2021. Senate — Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs 2021, retrieved on12 May 2025, fromhttps://www.congress.gov/bill/117th-congress/senate-bill/678/text
    [Google Scholar]
  17. Crawford, James
    (1992) Hold your tongue: Bilingualism and the politics of ‘English Only’. Reading, MA: Addison-Wesley.
    [Google Scholar]
  18. De Onís, Catalina M.
    (2017) What’s in an ‘x’?: An exchange about the politics of ‘Latinx’. Chiricú Journal: Latina/o Literatures, Arts, and Cultures, (), –. 10.2979/chiricu.1.2.07
    https://doi.org/10.2979/chiricu.1.2.07 [Google Scholar]
  19. Del Valle, José
    (2007) Glotopolítica, ideología y discurso: categorías para el estudio del estatus simbólico del español. InJosé del Valle (Ed.), La lengua, ¿patria común?: Ideas e ideologías del español (pp.–). Madrid: Iberoamericana / Vervuert. 10.31819/9783865278999‑003
    https://doi.org/10.31819/9783865278999-003 [Google Scholar]
  20. Economy League of Greater Philadelphia
    Economy League of Greater Philadelphia (2020) Inclusive growth in Philadelphia: The case for workforce development. Economy League of Greater Philadelphia 2020, retrieved on27 December 2024fromhttps://www.economyleague.org/
    [Google Scholar]
  21. Executive Office of the President
    Executive Office of the President (2025) Executive Order 14224: Designating English as the official language of the United States. The White House, 1 March 2025, retrieved on12 May 2025fromhttps://www.whitehouse.gov/presidential-actions/2025/03/designating-english-as-the-official-language-of-the-united-states/
    [Google Scholar]
  22. Fishman, Joshua
    (1981) Language policy: Past, present, and future. InCharles A. Ferguson & Shirley Brice Heath (Eds.), Language in the USA (pp. –). Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
    [Google Scholar]
  23. Foucault, Michel
    (1968) Las palabras y las cosas: Una arqueología de las ciencias humanas (Elsa Cecilia Frost, Trans.). Buenos Aires: Siglo XXI Editores.
    [Google Scholar]
  24. (1972) The archaeology of knowledge and the discourse on language (Alan Mark Sheridan-Smith, Trans.). New York: Pantheon Books.
    [Google Scholar]
  25. (1984) Truth and power. InPaul Rabinow (Ed.), The Foucault reader (pp. –). New York: Pantheon Books.
    [Google Scholar]
  26. García, Ofelia
    (2009) Bilingual education in the 21st century: A global perspective. Oxford: Blackwell.
    [Google Scholar]
  27. González- Echevarría, Roberto
    (1997, March28). Is ‘Spanglish’ a language?The New York Times, p..
    [Google Scholar]
  28. Gramsci, Antonio
    (1971) Selection from prison notebooks (Quintin Hoare & Geoffrey Nowell Smith, Eds, & Trans.). London: Lawrence & Wishart.
    [Google Scholar]
  29. Guarín, Daniel
    (2024) From bilingualism to multilingualism: Mapping language dynamics in the Linguistic Landscape of Hispanic Philadelphia. Languages, (), . 10.3390/languages9040123
    https://doi.org/10.3390/languages9040123 [Google Scholar]
  30. Hernández Sacristán, Carlos
    (2016) Spanglish: Reflexiones sobre un espacio semiótico transicional y sus dimensiones, con particular atención al discurso publicitario. InSilvia Betti & Daniel Jorques Jiménez (Eds.), Nuevas voces sobre el Spanglish: Una investigación polifónica (pp.–). Valencia: Uno y Cero Ediciones.
    [Google Scholar]
  31. Hill, Jane
    (1993) Is it really ‘No problemo’? Junk Spanish and Anglo racism’. InRobin Queen & Rusty Barrett (Eds.), SALSA I: Proceedings of the First Annual Symposium about Language and Society — Austin (Texas Linguistic Forum, , pp. –) Austin, TX: University of Texas Press.
    [Google Scholar]
  32. Jaworski, Adam
    (2015) Word cities and language objects: ‘Love’ sculptures and signs as shifters. Linguistic Landscape, (), –. 10.1075/ll.1.1‑2.05jaw
    https://doi.org/10.1075/ll.1.1-2.05jaw [Google Scholar]
  33. Jaworski, Adam & Crispin Thurlow
    (Eds.) (2010) Semiotic landscapes: Language, image, space. London: Continuum.
    [Google Scholar]
  34. Krogstad, Jens Manuel & Ana González-Barrera
    (2015) A majority of English-speaking Hispanics in the U.S. are bilingual. Pew Research Center, 24 March 2015, retrieved on5 January 2025fromhttps://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2015/03/24/a-majority-of-english-speaking-hispanics-in-the-u-s-are-bilingual/
    [Google Scholar]
  35. Krogstad, Jens Manuel, Jeffrey Passel & Luis Noe-Bustamante
    (2023) Key facts about U.S. Latinos for National Hispanic Heritage Month. Pew Research Center, 22 September 2023, retrieved on5 January, 2025, fromhttps://pewrsr.ch/2oH4TEC
    [Google Scholar]
  36. Lipski, John
    (2016) El español en los Estados Unidos: lo que es y lo que no es. InVII Congreso Internacional de la Lengua Española. San Juan, PR: Instituto Cervantes. https://congresosdelalengua.es/puerto-rico/mesas-redondas/lipski-john.htm
    [Google Scholar]
  37. (2008) Spanish, English or... Spanglish?InVarieties of Spanish in the United States (pp. –). Washington, DC: Georgetown University Press.
    [Google Scholar]
  38. (2003) La lengua española en los Estados Unidos: avanza a la vez que retrocede. Revista Española de Lingüística, (), –.
    [Google Scholar]
  39. Lopez, Mark Hugo, Jens Manuel Krogstad & Jeffrey S. Passel
    (2024) Who is Hispanic?Pew Research Center, 12 September 2024, retrieved on14 January 2025, fromhttps://www.pewresearch.org/short-reads/2024/09/12/who-is-hispanic/
    [Google Scholar]
  40. López García-Molins, Ángel & Ricardo Morant-Marco
    (2015) El spanglish como fundamento del nacionalismo latino en EE.UU. InSilvia Betti & Daniel Jorques-Jiménez (Eds.), Visiones europeas del Spanglish (pp. –). Valencia: Uno y Cero Ediciones.
    [Google Scholar]
  41. Martín-Rodríguez, Manuel M.
    (2003) Life in search of readers: Reading (in) chicano/a literature. Albuquerque: University of New Mexico.
    [Google Scholar]
  42. Menéndez Pidal, Ramón
    (1918) La lengua española: Una carta de don Ramón Menéndez Pidal. Hispania, (), –. 10.2307/331675
    https://doi.org/10.2307/331675 [Google Scholar]
  43. Martínez, Ramón Antonio
    (2010) ‘Spanglish’ as literacy tool: Toward an understanding of the potential role of Spanish-English code-switching in the development of academic literacy. Research in the Teaching of English, (), –. 10.58680/rte201012743
    https://doi.org/10.58680/rte201012743 [Google Scholar]
  44. Morales, Ed
    (2002) Living in Spanglish: The search for Latino identity in America. New York: St. Martin’s Press.
    [Google Scholar]
  45. Moreno-Fernández, Francisco
    (2020) Yo-Yo Boing! Or Literature as a Translingual Practice. InFrederick Luis Aldama & Tess O’Dwyer (Eds.), Poets, philosophers, lovers: On the writings of Giannina Braschi (pp. –). Pittsburgh, PA: University of Pittsburgh Press. 10.2307/j.ctv193rr38.9
    https://doi.org/10.2307/j.ctv193rr38.9 [Google Scholar]
  46. (2018) Diccionario de anglicismos del español estadounidense. Instituto Cervantes at the Faculty of Art and Sciences. Cambridge, MA: Harvard Univerisity.
    [Google Scholar]
  47. Otheguy, Ricardo
    (2009) El llamado espanglish. InHumberto López Morales (Coord.), Enciclopedia del español en los Estados Unidos: Anuario del Instituto Cervantes 2008 (pp. –). Madrid: Instituto Cervantes & Editorial Santillana.
    [Google Scholar]
  48. (2003) Las piedras nerudianas se tiran al norte: Meditaciones lingüísticas sobre Nueva York. Insula: Revista de letras y ciencias humanas. , –.
    [Google Scholar]
  49. Otheguy, Ricardo & Nancy Stern
    (2010) On so-called Spanglish. International Journal of Bilingualism, (), –. 10.1177/1367006910379298
    https://doi.org/10.1177/1367006910379298 [Google Scholar]
  50. Pérez Firmat, Gustavo
    (1994) Life on the hyphen: The Cuban-American way. Austin, TX: University of Texas Press.
    [Google Scholar]
  51. Peirce, Charles Sanders
    (1893) The Categories: An incomplete rewrite by Peirce of his 1867 paper ‘On a new list of categories. InJoseph Ransdell (Ed.), Institute for Studies in Pragmatism. Lubbock, TX: Texas Tech University.
    [Google Scholar]
  52. Ramírez-Esparza, Nairán, Samuel D. Gosling, Verónica Benet-Martínez, Jeff P. Potter, & James W. Pennebaker
    (2006) Do bilinguals have two personalities? A special case of cultural frame switching. Journal of Research in Personality, (), –. 10.1016/j.jrp.2004.09.001
    https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jrp.2004.09.001 [Google Scholar]
  53. Real Academia Española
    Real Academia Española (2012) New article in the 23rd edition. Diccionario de la lengua española. (23rd ed.). Madrid: RAE.
    [Google Scholar]
  54. Real Academia Española
    Real Academia Española (2005) Diccionario panhispánico de dudas. Real Academia Española 2005, retrieved on3 February 2021fromhttps://www.rae.es/dpd/ayuda/que-es
    [Google Scholar]
  55. Rosa, Jonathan
    (2014) Learning ethnolinguistic borders: Language and diaspora in the socialization of U.S. Latinas/os. InRosalie Rolón-Dow and Jason G. Irizarry (Eds.), Diaspora Studies in Education: Toward a framework of understanding the experiences of translational communities (pp. –). New York: Peter Lang.
    [Google Scholar]
  56. (2019) Looking like a language, sounding like a race: Raciolinguistic ideologies and the learning of Latinidad. Oxford: Oxford University Press. 10.1093/oso/9780190634728.001.0001
    https://doi.org/10.1093/oso/9780190634728.001.0001 [Google Scholar]
  57. Rosa, Jonathan & Nelson Flores
    (2023) Rethinking language barriers & social justice from a raciolinguistic perspective. Daedalus, (), –. 10.1162/daed_a_02020
    https://doi.org/10.1162/daed_a_02020 [Google Scholar]
  58. Salinas, Cristobal & Adele Lozano
    (2019) Mapping and recontextualizing the evolution of the term ‘Latinx’: An environmental scanning in Higher Education. Journal of Latinos and Education, (), –. 10.1080/15348431.2017.1390464
    https://doi.org/10.1080/15348431.2017.1390464 [Google Scholar]
  59. Shaw, Julie
    (2011) Welcome to Puebladelphia: The long Journey. Daily News. 28 Oct, 2011.
    [Google Scholar]
  60. Shohamy, Elana, Eliezer Ben-Rafael & Monica Barni
    (Eds.) (2010) Linguistic Landscape in the city. Bristol: Multilingual Matters. 10.21832/9781847692993
    https://doi.org/10.21832/9781847692993 [Google Scholar]
  61. Secrets of Philadelphia
    Secrets of Philadelphia (2018) Exploring Mexican South Philly & the Italian Market. Secrets of Philadelphia. May 20, 2018, retrieved on27 December 2024, fromhttps://secretsofphiladelphia.com/2018/05/20/exploring-mexican-south-philly-italian-market/
    [Google Scholar]
  62. Silva-Corvalán, Carmen
    (2006) El español de Los Ángeles: ¿Adquisición incompleta o desgaste lingüístico?InAna María Cestero Mancera, Isabel Molina Martos & Florentino Paredes García (Eds.), Estudios sociolingüísticos del español de España y América (pp. –). Madrid: Arco Libros.
    [Google Scholar]
  63. Silverstein, Michael
    (1998) Monoglot ‘Standard’ in America: Standardization and metaphors of linguistic hegemony. InDonald Brenneis & Ronald K. S. Macaulay (Eds.), The matrix of language: Contemporary linguistic anthropology (pp. –). Boulder, CO: Westview Press.
    [Google Scholar]
  64. Smith, Andrew
    (2015) Spanglish in advertising. Revista De Lenguas Modernas, , –. 10.15517/rlm.v0i23.22342
    https://doi.org/10.15517/rlm.v0i23.22342 [Google Scholar]
  65. Sommer, Doris
    (2007) Language, culture, and society. InDavid G. Nicholls (Ed.), Introduction to scholarship in modern languages and literatures (3rd ed., pp. –). New York: Modern Language Association of America.
    [Google Scholar]
  66. Spivak, Gayatri Chakravorty
    (1987) In other worlds: Essays in cultural politics. London: Methuen.
    [Google Scholar]
  67. Stavans, Ilan
    (2015) Toda lengua en formación ha pasado por un estadio similar al espanglish. InEntrevistas. Universidad de Barcelona, 15 June 2015, retrieved on27 July 2015, fromhttps://web.ub.edu/es/web/actualitat/w/ilan-stavans-toda-lengua-en-formacion-ha-pasado-por-un-estadio-similar-al-espanglish?referer=noticias
    [Google Scholar]
  68. (1996) The Hispanic condition: Reflections on culture and identity in America. New York, NY: HarperPerennial.
    [Google Scholar]
  69. (2010) Codex espanglesis. Hispanic L.A., –.
    [Google Scholar]
  70. (2004) Spanglish: The making of a new language. New York: Rayo.
    [Google Scholar]
  71. Tió Montes de Oca, Salvador
    (1954) Teoría del Espanglish. InA fuego lento, cien columnas de humor y una cornisa (pp. –). Río Piedras: University of Puerto Rico.
    [Google Scholar]
  72. U.S. Census Bureau
    U.S. Census Bureau (2019) American Community Survey, Demographic and Housing Estimates. U.S. Census Bureau, 17 September 2020, retrieved on11 October 2023, fromhttps://data.census.gov/cedsci/table?g=0400000US42_0500000US42101&tid=ACSDP5Y2019.DP05
    [Google Scholar]
  73. Urciuoli, Bonnie
    (2001) The complex diversity of languages in the U.S. InIda Susser & Thomas Carl Patterson (Eds.), Cultural diversity in the United States: A critical reader (pp. –). Malden, MA: Wiley Press.
    [Google Scholar]
  74. (1996) Exposing prejudice: Puerto Rican experiences of language, race, and class. Boulder, CO: Westview Press.
    [Google Scholar]
  75. Van Dijk, Teun A.
    (1992) Discourse and the denial of racism. Discourse & Society, (), –. 10.1177/0957926592003001005
    https://doi.org/10.1177/0957926592003001005 [Google Scholar]
  76. (1993) Elite discourse and racism. London: SAGE Publications. 10.4135/9781483326184
    https://doi.org/10.4135/9781483326184 [Google Scholar]
  77. (1989) Structures of discourse and structures of power. InJames A. Anderson (Ed.), Communication Yearbook:, (pp. –). Newbury Park, CA: Sage. 10.1080/23808985.1989.11678711
    https://doi.org/10.1080/23808985.1989.11678711 [Google Scholar]
  78. Vargas Llosa, Mario
    (2020, 5December). La lengua oculta. El País. https://elpais.com/opinion/2020-12-05/la-lengua-oculta.html
    [Google Scholar]
  79. Varo, Carlos
    (1971) Consideraciones antropológicas y políticas en torno a la enseñanza del ‘Spanglish’ en Nueva York. Río Piedras, Puerto Rico: Ediciones Libería Internacional.
    [Google Scholar]
  80. Ventura County Star
    Ventura County Star (2020) Ventura County coronavirus posters on social distancing offend Spanish speakers. Ventura County Star, 8 June 2020, retrieved on7 May 2025, fromhttps://www.vcstar.com/story/news/2020/06/09/ventura-county-coronavirus-posters-social-distancing-offensive-spanish-speakers/5319780002/
    [Google Scholar]
  81. Visit Philadelphia
    Visit Philadelphia (2019) Latinx Philadelphia fact sheet. Visit Philadelphia, 11 February 2019, retrieved on6 May 2025, fromhttps://www.visitphilly.com/media-center/press-releases/latinx-philadelphia-fact-sheet/
    [Google Scholar]
  82. Voloshinov, Valentín N.
    (1976) El signo ideológico y la filosofía del lenguaje. Buenos Aires: Ediciones Nueva Visión.
    [Google Scholar]
  83. Voloshinov, Valentin N.
    (1986) Marxism and the philosophy of language. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.
    [Google Scholar]
  84. WHYY
    WHYY (2024) Philadelphia is America’s poorest big city. Why are its poor residents mostly invisible?WHYY, 10 January 2024, retrievedDecember 5, 2024, fromhttps://whyy.org/articles/philadelphia-americas-poorest-big-city-poverty/
    [Google Scholar]
  85. Zentella, Ana Celia
    (2016) Spanglish: Language politics vs el habla del pueblo. InRosa E. Guzzardo Tamargo, Catherine M. Mazak, & Maria Carmen Parafita Couto (Eds.), Spanish-English codeswitching in the Caribbean and the US (pp. –). Amsterdam: John Benjamins. 10.1075/ihll.11.01zen
    https://doi.org/10.1075/ihll.11.01zen [Google Scholar]
  86. (1988) Language politics in the U.S.A.: The English-Only movement. InBetty Jean Craige (Ed.) Literature, language, and politics (pp. –). Athens, GA: University of Georgia Press.
    [Google Scholar]
  87. (2017) “Limpia, fija y da esplendor”: Challenging the symbolic violence of the Royal Spanish Academy. Chiricú Journal: Latina/o Literatures, Arts, and Cultures, (), –. 10.2979/chiricu.1.2.04
    https://doi.org/10.2979/chiricu.1.2.04 [Google Scholar]
/content/journals/10.1075/ll.24058.dia
Loading
/content/journals/10.1075/ll.24058.dia
Loading

Data & Media loading...

  • Article Type: Research Article
Keywords: Linguistic Landscape ; Philadelphia ; Spanglish ; US Spanish ; language contact
This is a required field
Please enter a valid email address
Approval was successful
Invalid data
An Error Occurred
Approval was partially successful, following selected items could not be processed due to error