Wednesday, May 16, 2007

Not Spanglish - Really "Bi-Lingual"

Is this the future of language in Madrid? In L.A., some radio and TV stations, and many private conversations in the street, go like this: see link LATV . There is Spanglish (the mixture of an English word and some sort of Spanish - like "lunche") and then there is just both languages spoken together, i.e. truly Bi-Lingual. Usually the conversation starts in English then switches back and forth between English and Spanish as it suits the speaker.

It might go like this, "Let's go to the mall para comprar algo". I have done this in Madrid with Spanish friends who speak English - when I get lazy. I don't really do it in L.A. but I enjoy listening to these conversations. It is a very real indicator of how the cultures are mixing and how things are changing - in both L.A. and Madrid. Of course, it has been happening in L.A. a lot longer. In Madrid they are just really beginning to deal with big changes due to immigration.

Here is another link Latino 96.3 radio station in L.A. (click on the "listen live" button.) The music also is "Bi-Lingual" - not all the time, but a lot.

The big question for Spain is, what will the two main languages be? Spanish and English? Spanish and Arabic?

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