Anglicism: An active word-formation mechanism in Spanish

Abstract

The adoption of the American neoliberal paradigm has resulted in significant social changes worldwide. Its effects are evident in different fields including language use. Thus, the influence of the English language and American culture on other languages is of interest for linguists, translators, and SL teachers, particularly within the socioconstructivist approach. This study aimed at identifying the presence of Anglicisms in the press in order to describe them, determine their frequency and patterns of use, and infer the causes of their incorporation in Spanish as well as its implications for SL teaching. Anglicisms were collected manually and semi-automatically for seven years and then analyzed according to formal characteristics and contextual domains. Results showed that Anglicisms have a strong presence in today’s press (in economics, computer science, sports, and culture), and that speakers adopt rather than adapt them. Four factors may explain the introduction of Anglicisms to Spanish: lexical gaps, social prestige, linguistic economy, and user preference. It was concluded that the English language and American culture have a significant presence in the press through Anglicisms, which needs to be taken into account in the SL socioconstructivist classroom.

Keywords

• neologism, Anglicism, ESL, ESP, socioconstructivism