El Rincón Borinqueña (2) Puerto Rican Humor

Topic: Saying It in Spanglish: The Puerto Rican Way

Growing up in El Barrio, gave me exposure to the Spanish as well as the Italian language of the East Harlem neighborhood . Although English was predominant in our home, Spanglish was common throughout the neighborhood as local Puerto Rican residents struggled to pronounce correctly the strange English words, which were new to them. Out of extreme necessity, In order to survive, a new form of communication with its own vocabulary was created. Hello, "Spanglish."

Spanglish? What is that? There are many interpretations of this word. Some say it is a mixture of Spanish and English commonly used by Puerto Ricans of New York or better said "Nuyoricans." It is a jumble of English and Spanish words and phrases, switching back and forth between the two languages. Also when the speaker is unsure if the word is correct or not, then a Spanish suffix is added to the end of English words such as in the word "plataforma" which means Platform. As well as I am able to speak Spanish fluently, once in a while in the midst of a conversation I have found myself at a loss for a particular word, which I immediately would substitute with an English one. Oops!

The Spanglish trend has become so popular that as a result of migration, and immigration of diverse latino groups, variations of spanglish styles are heard throughout the United States. Spanglish can be fun as well as humorous but should not become a substitute for correct Spanish. Here are some examples of Spanglish.

1. Jorge, mi cariño, what are you doing here?
2. Oye nene, ya comiste el lonche?
3. Mami, hecha me la bendición, que voy chopin. (cho-ppen)
4. Hay bendito, Ernesto lost his job y está bien pelao.
5. Hey honey, va a chequear el newspaper para ver si el show está allí?
6. Te veo ahorita, me voy de shopping para el mol.
7. Oye mi negro, Que vas hacer this weekend.?
8. Oye Marta, el hijo tuyo le gusta bulear a los otros niños.
9. Petra, voy al banco, to cash my check...vengo enseguida.
10.Juanito, come here and give abuelita un beso.

To contact: miriammedina@earthlink.net or miriam@thehistorybox.com
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