Saying ‘Adios’ To Spanglish

As someone who took 4 years of spanish and retained very little, I can tell you all how extremely jealous I am. In fact, I'd venture to guess that most Americans who advocate that this country speak strictly english are probably jealous too but are just too self-conscious to say it.

I think a lot of the anti-spanish sentiment also comes from xenophobia. There have been many immigrants who have come to America and speak in their native tongue (Germans, Italians etc...)

This country is blessed because of the diversity it has and because of the people who embrace it!

Being Hispanic, Puertorrican, I am proud of my heritage. Yes a heritage which is multicultural and multilingual. In Puerto Rico, a crossroad of cultures where the Native American,(Taino Indian), Spanish, African and Anglo-Saxon cultures have collided and created a very rich culture where the Spanish and English languages have interningled with the African and Caribbean languages. This collision have created the Puertorrican Spanish or Spanglish! Yes we use in our day to day language words like parking (estacionamiento o estacionar), sandwish (emparedado) and switch (interruptor o cambiar). Also we have created words like "jangueo" (janging around), Zafac??n (trash can, this word comes from safety can), cangrim??n (comes from congressman and means someone big), broki (comes from brother and it means brother), pana (which comes from partner) and many other words that only a Puertorrican will colloquially use daily. The same have happened with the African and Taino languages which have given us many words that nowadays are in the Dictionary of "De Real Academia de la Lengua Espa??ola". I am proud of my heritage and proud of my bilingual gift that no one will ever take away from me! Language is so important that one of my kids speak Spanish, English, French and Chinese. My home and my kids home will always be bilingual homes because it is our heritage and is a wise thing to do and they will always cook arroz con habichuelas y arroz con pollo a la puertorrique??a.

Being Hispanic, Puertorrican, I am proud of my heritage. Yes a heritage which is multicultural and multilingual. In Puerto Rico, a crossroad of cultures where the Native American,(Taino Indian), Spanish, African and Anglo-Saxon cultures have collided and created a very rich culture where the Spanish and English languages have interningled with the African and Caribbean languages. This collision have created the Puertorrican Spanish or Spanglish! Yes we use in our day to day language words like parking (estacionamiento o estacionar), sandwish (emparedado) and switch (interruptor o cambiar). Also we have created words like "jangueo" (janging around), Zafac??n (trash can, this word comes from safety can), cangrim??n (comes from congressman and means someone big), broki (comes from brother and it means brother), pana (which comes from partner) and many other words that only a Puertorrican will colloquially use daily. The same have happened with the African and Taino languages which have given us many words that nowadays are in the Dictionary of "De Real Academia de la Lengua Espa??ola". I am proud of my heritage and proud of my bilingual gift that no one will ever take away from me! Language is so important that one of my kids speak Spanish, English, French and Chinese. My home and my kids home will always be bilingual homes because it is our heritage and is a wise thing to do and they will always cook arroz con habichuelas y arroz con pollo a la puertorrique??a.

Being Hispanic, Puertorrican, I am proud of my heritage. Yes a heritage which is multicultural and multilingual. In Puerto Rico, a crossroad of cultures where the Native American,(Taino Indian), Spanish, African and Anglo-Saxon cultures have collided and created a very rich culture where the Spanish and English languages have interningled with the African and Caribbean languages. This collision have created the Puertorrican Spanish or Spanglish! Yes we use in our day to day language words like parking (estacionamiento o estacionar), sandwish (emparedado) and switch (interruptor o cambiar). Also we have created words like "jangueo" (janging around), Zafac??n (trash can, this word comes from safety can), cangrim??n (comes from congressman and means someone big), broki (comes from brother and it means brother), pana (which comes from partner) and many other words that only a Puertorrican will colloquially use daily. The same have happened with the African and Taino languages which have given us many words that nowadays are in the Dictionary of "De Real Academia de la Lengua Espa??ola". I am proud of my heritage and proud of my bilingual gift that no one will ever take away from me! Language is so important that one of my kids speak Spanish, English, French and Chinese. My home and my kids home will always be bilingual homes because it is our heritage and is a wise thing to do and they will always cook arroz con habichuelas y arroz con pollo a la puertorrique??a.

What a beautiful gift you have discovered and are now sharing with your kids. It is in realizing and accepting who we truly are that we achieve happiness. Kudos to you and your husband for making your home bilingual!

maybe they are talking about jayjay bc he/she is a racist jerk. i speak both languages and i am white and sometimes i do not say that i speak spanish and listen to the spanish being spoke around me and i have never heard any bad comments. maybe jayjay is afraid of what is unknown and automatically assumes the worst. as this country grows with each generation, this negative attitudes will dissappear. my children (4 and 2) will know both languages, since i speak to them in both and i feel it will give them a great competitive advantage growing up while others who run in fear from change will be left behind, muttering to themselves about how "this is america, speak english, dammit" haha these comments are so ignorant i also feel sorry for the people muttering them. ALMOST.

It's ignorant fools like you jayjay2007 who don't get very far. How dare you be so racist? Wake up, we're in 2007. Yes we are in America, the land of the free. We're a melting pot of different societies and cultures, which is what makes this country so great. Maybe your co-workers don't want you to know what you are saying because of your bad attitude.