Mock Spanish is used to describe a variety of Spanish-inspired phrases common in some otherwise monolingual Anglo-American circles. The term "mock Spanish" has been popularized by anthropologist-linguist Jane H. Hill of the University of Arizona, most recognizably in relation to the catchphrase, "Hasta la vista, baby", from the film, Terminator 2: Judgment Day. Hill argues that the incorporation of pseudo-Spanish terms like "hasty banana" (for hasta mañana), "buenos nachos" (for buenas noches), "el cheapo", "no problemo", "hasta la bye-bye", and other humorous uses constitute a type of covert racism. However, many feel that this type of language is harmless and is a natural consequence of multiculturalism.
Hill found that mock Spanish was especially prevalent "among middle- and upper-income, college-educated whites". She discovered that many of those who make use of mock Spanish or mock language in their casual speech consider it harmless or even flattering, while native Spanish speakers are likely to find it insulting. She presented an argument that mock Spanish depends on the covert indexing of negative stereotypes of Spanish speakers and that it can only be accurately interpreted if negative stereotypes about Hispanophones can be accessed. However, others contend that this makes no sense since people in a majority English-speaking country are expected to be able to speak English. In a majority Spanish-speaking country, people use "mock English" without malice or offense.
In José, can you see?, Ana Celia Zentella describes mock Spanish as one half of a double-standard in which Hispanics are expected to conform to the linguistic norms of English while Anglo-Americans are free to ignore all grammatical aspects of the Spanish language they are borrowing from. According to Zentella,
Hill contrasts mock Spanish with two other registers of "Anglo Spanish" that she refers to as "Nouvelle Spanish" (largely used to provide a Spanish flavor for marketing purposes, e.g. "the land of mañana" used to describe the Southwest or "Hair Casa" as the name of a beauty salon) and "Cowboy Spanish" (loanwords for region-specific objects and concepts, such as coyote, mesa, and tamale).
Similarly, "mock English" is present in many Spanish-speaking countries, often rewritten to conform to a Spanish phonetic approximation, such as "plis" (please).
Video Mock Spanish
References
Maps Mock Spanish
Further reading
- Hill, Jane (1998). "Language, race, and white public space". American Anthropologist. 100 (3): 680-689. doi:10.1525/aa.1998.100.3.680.
- Trotta, Daniel (2006-05-12). "Americans not waiting for mañana to learn Spanish". Reuters. Archived from the original on 2007-09-30. Retrieved 2010-09-18.
- Urciuoli, Bonnie (1996). Exposing Prejudice: Puerto Rican Experiences of Language, Race, and Class. Westview Press.
- Zimmer, Benjamin (2006-05-12). "Mock Spanish or Mock Mock Spanish?". Language Log. University of Pennsylvania. Retrieved 2008-11-11.
Source of article : Wikipedia
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