Immigrants Infuse English Language with Dynamism in the United States according to the U.S. Department of State’s Bureau of International Information Programs

Immigrants add and enliven the English language though native language diversity.

The article is about a cultural critic called  Ilan Stavans and comments that he has made regarding language and culture in the United States.

He believes that English will be highly influenced by asian languages in this century.  He implies that language mixes should be taught in the English language classroom.  I disagree for most levels since we don't know where the student will use the English they learn.  If I teach a student using Spanglish used in Texas and that student moves to New Zealand, how did I help him or her  whereas if I taught normal English instead of a hybrid form, the student would be able to adapt to the New Zealand dialect without being hindered by Texan Spanglish.

I think that there are enough regional dialects of English around the would that could be used to widen a students exposure to different forms of English that it isn't necessary or advised to teach Spanglish.  In fact most people will automatically use a mixed form of English without having been taught to do so just because they still have their native language.  A native Spanish speaker will use some Spanglish anyway.  The Spanish speaker who hears Fergie say 'make them boys go loco' in Fergalicious doesn't need to be taught the meaning of loco.  The native Spanish speaker only needs to learn the meaning of 'go crazy'.  Should we also teach students to use bad grammar too?  I think we should draw the line at comprehension exercises.

According to the article, Spanish and English combinations have become important marketing tools in the United States and that translators have to manipulate it.

"In the last five years, Spanglish has become an important marketing tool in the United States, Stavans said. Such companies as Taco Bell, Hallmark and Mountain Dew are using Spanglish to reach a new type of customer.

In a global economy, companies seek diverse ways to advertise their products, and those ways often include an array of linguistic possibilities, according to Stavans.

Translators play an especially important role in understanding innovations in language – to be successful they need to be attuned to two languages and must be willing to improvise, “perhaps even to coin new terms,” Stavans said. "

See original article