Spanglish by Janice Castro, Dan Cook, and Christina Garcia

In the essay "Spanglish" (1988), the authors Castro, Cook, and Garcia give us a personal look into the blend of Spanish and English spoken everyday by a growing number of Americans and Hispanics. This style of speaking has been and is currently growing more and more amongst the Spanish and English speaking cultures alike. The commonly used colloquialism "Hasta la bye bye," is the perfect example of how the two cultures are combining to create a language all its own. In states like Florida and Texas, this way of speaking is more prevalent because over half of the inhabitants are of Spanish decent. In my opinion, Spanglish could be looked at as a method of acceptance. We as Americans have accepted the Spanish influences into our everyday way of speaking, as well as accepted the people who have exposed us to the language. In all actuality, Spanglish could be looked at as more than just some type of slang that teenagers are using. It could also be viewed as a bridging of the gap between Americans and Hispanics or a wake up call. Spanglish just forces us to realize that we are actually not that different from one another, despite how bad some may want to be! 

This article made me see just how often I actually use Spanglish in my everyday life. Who knew that when I called my friends "Chicas" or replied back with a "Gracias," or "De Nada," I was actually speaking Spanglish? It was just everyday habit for me. These are things that I have been saying since I was a little girl and they just came natural to me. I guess from now on I will keep my ears and eyes open for more examples of Spanglish in my everyday life, because they are all around. 

Until Next Time




-Francis Peters