In Spain and Latin America, it is very common to hear Hispanics say that they “speak Spanglish” to joke about their knowledge of the English language. However, in the United States, Spanglish is much more than a joke.
It is a hybrid language that, although it is not official, is of colloquial use and is very widespread in certain areas of the country. Therefore, among scholars of the world’s languages ​​this phenomenon also deserves to be taken seriously.

What is Spanglish?

Technically, Spanglish is the morphological, syntactic and semantic fusion of the Spanish language with English.
Although Spanglish is often confused with the use of Anglicisms in Spanish, they are two very different things. For their part, Anglicisms are “linguistic loans” from the English language to other languages. A clear example of this are the words “selfie” and “spoiler”, so popular in Spanish-speaking countries. Instead, Spanglish is a very common hybrid language in certain areas of the United States with a large Spanish-speaking population.
In the US, then, the use of words of Hispanic origin but morphologically “anglicized” in phrases of the English language is called Spanglish. Likewise, Spanglish also falls within what is known as pidgin. What does this mean? A language created and used by individuals from different communities living in the same territory.
Spanglish is widely used in California, Florida, New Mexico, Texas, Arizona, some neighborhoods in New York, and other cities in the United States. Therefore, it is a phenomenon of great relevance in the country, mainly among immigrants and descendants of Hispanic people.

What is the origin of Spanglish?

Although the origin of this hybrid language is imprecise, the name “Spanglish” began to be used in the 1940s by the Puerto Rican writer Salvador Tió. His first article on this subject, “Theory of Spanglish,” was published in the Diario de Puerto Rico on October 28, 1948.
In his note, Tió explained that Spanglish is simply the Spanishization of the English language. Years later, in March 1971, he published in the newspaper El Mundo his theory of Englañol or Engañol, which is to give Spanish words the meaning they have in English. The latter would actually be related to false cognates.
Also, the 1972 edition of the Dictionary of American Regional English included the first examples of this phenomenon. Most of the authors who studied the development of Spanglish consider that it was in the 1960s when the Hispanic neighborhoods of Miami, New York and Los Angeles saw the explosion of “mock Spanish”, the predecessor of Spanglish, and that this then it was expanding through the cities.

Controversies surrounding this hybrid language

Of course, Spanglish does not escape the controversies and detractors that always arise around unofficial languages either.
In the United States, the dominant linguistic ideology guards the hegemony of the English language, which has favored throughout history the abandonment of other native languages ​​spoken in the territory. However, the continuous flow of immigrants from Spanish-speaking countries and the growing economic and political importance of the Hispanic population allowed Spanish to prevail in certain regions of the country.
The hybrid language resulting from this social phenomenon was widely criticized in the most orthodox and cultured linguistic and literary circles. However, today there is a grammatical and lexical evolution of Spanglish that is carefully studied by various linguists.
Another famous example of language fusions is Portuñol (also “portunhol”), which mixes Spanish and Portuguese, and Franglais, which relates French to English. However, none of these are as important in a nation as Spanglish is in the US.

 

While English continues to occupy its historic place as the universal language, Spanish is already the second most widely spoken language in the world. This was revealed in the latest Yearbook “Spanish in the world”, published by the authorities of the Instituto Cervantes in Madrid. Year after year, this report updates the main data on the Spanish language and its culture in the world.
The Yearbook is the result of research carried out by specialists and academics related to the international promotion and teaching of Spanish as a foreign language. Therefore, its conclusions are essential in order to understand what is the international relevance of the Spanish language and how it is making its way among speakers.

What data makes it the second most spoken language in the world?

According to the results shared by the Cervantes Institute, 585 million people – 7.6% of the world’s population – currently speak Spanish in the world. This means five million more than in 2019; a data that confirms its evolution in the last decade, in which the number of speakers grew by more than 30%.
Likewise, more than 22 million people choose to study Spanish as a foreign language, 60% more than in 2010. Of the total number of students, the European Union, Brazil and the United States account for 90%. An interesting fact is that the predominant profile of the student of this language are women, over 30 years old and interested in its culture.
But in addition, Spanish also consolidated itself as the second mother tongue of the world by number of speakers, ranking only behind Mandarin Chinese. Of the total number of people who speak Spanish (585 million), almost 489 million are native Spanish speakers; that is, 6 million more than in 2019.
Another relevant fact is that Spanish is also the third most used language on the Internet, 7.9% of users communicate in this language. In this sense, Spanish is also the second language in the publication of scientific texts, only behind English. Likewise, this language is the third most used in the United Nations and the fourth in the European Union, where Brexit helped its predominance. However, the increase in the use of English in international organizations seems to reduce the role of Spanish and the other official languages.

Spanish in numbers

• 585 million people – 7.6% of the world’s population – speak Spanish.
• The number of Spanish speakers increased by 30% between 2010 and 2020.
• 22 million people study Spanish as a foreign language.
• The number of Spanish students increased by 60% between 2010 and 2020.
• 489 million people are native Spanish speakers.
• 7.9% of Internet users communicate online in Spanish.

What is the situation of the Spanish language in the United States

The Cervantes Institute Yearbook also analyses the situation of Spanish in the United States. There, more than 62 million Americans (18.7% of the total population) are of Hispanic origin. Of these, 71% use Spanish in the family environment and 94% identify themselves as Hispanic. In this country, Spanish is also the most studied language at all levels of education.
By 2060, it is estimated that the United States will be the second Spanish-speaking country in the world, behind Mexico, and that 27.5% of its population will be of Hispanic origin.

What is the economic weight of the Spanish language?

The Instituto Cervantes report also makes revelations regarding the economic importance of the Spanish language. This Yearbook reflects that the world’s speakers of this language have a joint purchasing power of around 9% of the world’s GDP.
In countries where Spanish is the official language, almost 7% of world’s GDP is generated. But also, this is the second most relevant language in the language tourism sector.

Know what are the keys to specialized translation

Throughout the various articles on the Worldly Translations blog, we have referred to specialized translation on several occasions. However, not all people are familiar with this expression or with what the characteristics of this type of translation are and how the professionals who perform them should be trained.
What is specialized translation? What are its peculiarities? What attributes should a specialized translator have? All this and much more in the following article.

What is specialized translation?

Specialized translation is one in which a specialized text is translated into another language; that is, a document that revolves around a specific discipline and with its own terminology used by specialists in the field.
Therefore, specialized translation requires in-depth knowledge of the subject in question and the use of a specific vocabulary of the field of study in which the text is framed.

Some clear examples of this type of translation are: legal translation, medical translation, marketing translation, financial translation and scientific translation.

What are its main characteristics?

• The use of specific terminology: The first peculiarity of specialized translation is its specific terminology. These types of translations require absolute precision, that is, they do not leave room for approximation.
  
  An ambiguous phrase, even if it seems only a detail, can have serious consequences, especially in areas such as legal, financial, medical or scientific. Therefore, a specialized translator cannot afford inaccuracies.

 

• More precision, less creativity: With the exception of literary translation, where there is a little more scope for creativity, specialized translation demands, above all, precision and rigor.
  Thus, for example, in a legal translation the professional translator must do their job taking into account the legal differences between the country of origin and the country of destination, as well as the different legal figures and international laws in force.
  
  
• Documentation, reliable sources and updating: Consultation sources and documentation are indispensable allies for any specialized translator. Over the years, the compilation of study material and the creation of your own “reference library” has been extremely useful to speed up the translation work.
  However, this type of professionals must be permanently updated on the developments that arise around their field and directly affect the communication and dissemination of specialized documents.
  
  
• Towards a specialized audience: In addition, as we have already highlighted, these types of texts are aimed at a specific audience that is usually framed in a certain field of study. Therefore, it is always important to keep in mind that we are addressing an especially demanding audience that shares a specialized language.

What are the attributes of a specialized translator?

A specialized translator is a professional who manages to combine the skills and competencies of a professional translator and the knowledge related to their field of specialization. Beyond having extensive knowledge of the specific terminology and the conjuncture of the field of study in question, the translator must be able to apply it properly to their work.
Therefore, a specialized translator is above all a person who is curious, informed and passionate about a certain subject in which they are continuously trained. Otherwise, they will probably not understand the original meaning of the text or be able to express themselves correctly in the target language.
However, this does not necessarily mean that this professional must have a university degree linked to this field. The study of a career is not the only way to know, train and deepen our knowledge about a specialty. Therefore, a person with the title of professional translator can train independently and self-taught on a subject of interest to them to become – after much practice and gained experience – a specialized translator.

How can I contact a specialized translator?

Worldly Translations is a translation agency with more than a decade of experience, consequently, we know how to respond quickly and efficiently to the particular needs of each of our clients. We have specialized translators in different fields of study, so we assign each job to the most appropriate person to carry out that task.
If you need a specialized translation, contact us through this form.

The correction and editing of texts are two essential activities for all clear, coherent and efficient written communication, whether for the academic, personal, professional or business fields. But let’s start at the beginning, why are they so important?
In the first place, because grammatical errors threaten the effectiveness and seriousness of any written document. Texts that contain spelling, punctuation, syntax, conceptual or structural errors limit reading fluency and convey to the reader a sense of informality and laziness that – depending on the case – can be very counterproductive for the author.
From causing the loss of a business and voiding a deal to disapproving of important academic work, the chances of plans being ruined by poor-quality text are endless. Therefore, as happens in many areas of life, in written communication the attention to detail also makes a difference.
To prevent this kind of inconvenience it is necessary to resort to proofreading and editing of texts. Although many believe that these two activities are very similar to each other, the truth is that they are different and – fundamentally – complementary.

What is text editing?
Text editing is the process of reading, reviewing, and making suggestions about the content of a written document. The purpose of this work is to improve the fluency of the text, its readability, clarity and precision, in addition to correcting grammatical and spelling errors, if any.
Therefore, text editing is a thorough and detailed review of the document, whether it is an original writing or its translation into another language. A professional editor takes care of the content analysis, coherence, organization, style and tone of the text in question.
But in addition, the editing process also involves verifying that the author has used the most accurate terminology for the text. For this, the editor must carefully investigate each concept or word that they do not know and / or generates doubts to ensure that the use of that term is correct.

What is proofreading?
Proofreading is the final stage in the writing process of a document: the professional proofreader is the last person to proofread a text, after the editor and before it is considered ready to be distributed, submitted or published.
In this instance, the meaning of the words and the terminology are left aside, since it is considered that the editor – as long as they have done their job well – previously dealt with them. At this stage, the work focuses on the details of the text.
Proofreading consists of checking the document for errors in spelling, grammar, syntax, punctuation, typing, and capitalization. In addition, the proofreader also controls page numbering and consistency in abbreviations, formats, and the overall style of the document.
In the case of working on proofreading and editing translations, another important distinction between both works is that while the editor uses the original text to edit the translated document; the proofreader concentrates only on the final version of the document, that is, on the translation into a new language.

What are the characteristics of a professional proofreader and editor?

Although both professions are different from each other, proofreaders and editors often share certain characteristics that define their professional profile.
Some of them are:

• A university or higher educational level (both are university majors).
• Familiarity and taste for universal literature and literary values.
• Independent judgment capacity to edit and correct different documents, regardless of their authorship and origin.
• Understanding and updating against the trends, uses and customs of their time.
• Ability to express oneself in writing with clarity, coherence and effectiveness.

How can I contact an editor and proofreader?

Worldly Translations is an agency with more than ten years of experience, so we know how to respond quickly and efficiently to the particular requirements of each of our clients. We provide document translation, transcription, proofreading, revision and editing services to meet a wide range of needs.

In our team we have professionals who are passionate about proofreading and editing texts. If you need our services, contact the agency through this form.