Dónde Está Tu Lunchbox? How Spanglish Brings Two Languages Together.

In the latest installment of our monthly series, "Texan Translation," we examine the ways that English and Spanish combine to form what's known as Spanglish.

 

 

The word "washateria" blends English and Spanish in a way many English speakers may not realize is actually Spanglish.

Lars Hinrichs, associate professor of English linguistics at the University of Texas at Austin, and director of the Texas English Project, says Spanglish isn't as easy to define as it might seem.

"Spanglish obviously is some form of a mix of Spanish and English, but it's different from other ways that languages can be mixed," Hinrichs says. "It's a special kind of linguistic practice that only exists in certain social spaces where there is a strong presence of the two cultures."

Spanglish thrives in areas like the Texas-Mexico border region, where English and Spanish are often used interchangeably by many bilingual speakers there.

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