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Gerald's Spanish Language Blog

By Gerald Erichsen, About.com Guide to Spanish Language since 1998

Anglicisms in Spanish

Tuesday June 14, 2005
It's no secret that much English vocabulary is sneaking into the Spanish language. Even where I am today, just south of the equator in Ecuador, English words can be found as part of the everyday language. Sometimes, the use of English is to be expected, such as in the article I saw in a Guayaquil newspaper yesterday about una producción de reality in reference to the making of a so-called reality TV show.
 
But anglicisms also crop up where not expected. I was attending an adult Sunday school class in Quito on Sunday when the instructor asked a question and didn't get the quick response she was hoping for. "Yes o no," she then said to indicate that the question wasn't all that hard. Where she picked up that phrase I'm not sure, but her point seemed to be understood.
 
Many of the anglicisms crop up in areas of technology and entertainment, as might be expected. On my flight between San José, Costa Rica, and Quito it sounded a bit strange to hear the term CD player, pronounced as in English, during the Spanish-language announcement of what had to be turned off before departure. As long as U.S. culture continues to play the role it does today in Latin America and even Spain, we can expected even more anglicisms to become part of the language.

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