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Show Adam Phillips 'Spanglish1 as a Hybrid Language: an approach in Cyberspace tapsirtniciic of L..angiiiig?t& LJterarurf* I rmeraty oR lib ^nnn ^mt^t* Our (tonm Spanglish combines Spanish with English in several ways. Speakers (often bilingual, polyglot or monolingual) converse, write or type in Spanish, modifying the language by code-switching, tweaking syntax, or substituting key vocabulary with English equivalents (Skiba 2000). For example, an English verb such as ' to like1 or 'to park1 may be interjected but retain a Spanish ending and Spanish spelling, creating an original word "outside" both languages yet co-existing. Such verbs include; lykiar (to like) or parquear (to park oneself). Other Prevalent terms/words are: lonche (lunch) or troca (truck). Spanglish structure encompasses infinitive forms, nouns, and prepositions all molded and shaped through accommodation and assimilation. Spanglish is an individualized hybrid with a 'free for all "I format. Academics attribute its growing popularity to a tech-no-savvy generation who continues to inflict 'pure' language with techno-jargon, yet more and more second and third generation Latinos are using Spanglish to navigate their personal ethno-scapes2 and accommodate situational contexts. This research centers on the current development of Spanglish among Latinos and its affect on communication and identity, within the global information portal: Internet chat rooms. The 'Hispanic' Internet scene is an integrated cosmopolitan society of speed junkies, navigating imagined constructs of self-creation, ethnicity, and vague autonomist identities. Consequently, many virtual communities, Multi-user domains, chat rooms and discussions groups are contingent on autonomous choice. This online cognizance among Latinos implies that any user will experience a multiplicity of identities in cyberspace, by simply logging-on. The Internet, as a multidimensional space depicts a free for all environment of fragmented Spanglish-speaking individuals, dressing in a series of identities. Proportionately, Spanglish, rather than being a "lazy" way to communicate in these multidimensional spaces and interactive arenas, has lead to the discovery that Spanglish is a rational and user-friendly response to solving language barriers. Jose Armas a tech-geek and Spanish-speaker, poignantly articulated the mixture of ambivalence and the inevitable nature of Spanglish becoming a recognized vernacular: Much to the chagrin of many academicians, Spanish teachers and nationalists who hold that Spanglish is nothing more than a bastardization of both languages which will doom our culture, its usage and acceptance are spreading. They cross many boundaries - geographic, social, cultural. It's not a proper-language issue any more, gente [people]. It's beyond being a social dilemma (Armas 1995). This study of Spanglish in Internet chat rooms dives into the proliferation of usage, cognizant behavior and en vogue conjugations. Spanglish-speakers outside the technological domain have existed for years. Nevertheless, it is this multifunctional hybrid of Spanglish, which will plague non-Spanish speakers, marginalizing them outside the core of the Latino community. Graphical diagrams demonstrating the construct of the Internet identity are pending permission. Fieldwork interactions and observations are available; showing: linguistic projections, sexual identity and recorded chat room dialogues. 1 Spanglish was found to be a 'free for all1 hybrid. 'Free for all' is term used in this paper by Adam Phillips, to describe the chaotic, abstract and episodic randomness of Spanglish expression, oftentimes without discernible linguistic structure. 2 Neologism- used by Cema Cuevara- Post-Colonial & Afro-Cubanist/ U.S Latin-American Expert. 46 |