What is Spanglish?
Spanglish is a language that consists of vocabulary and grammar from both the Spanish and English languages. Spanglish is spoken by many people across the world, despite the contradicting opinions that surround the language; some believe that Spanglish is a dialect, rather than an actual language.
Throughout history, Spanglish has risen in popularity. Although people are slowly starting to understand and accept Spanglish as a language, this was not always the case in the past. When the Spanglish language first emerged, people who spoke it were looked down upon by others. Spanglish speakers were perceived as uneducated and incapable of speaking a single language, causes the combination of both English and Spanish. People failed to recognize the fact that in order to speak Spanglish, speakers must be fluent in both the English and Spanish languages, and therefore educated. In order to move past this notion, it is important to develop an understanding of the Spanglish history, and how it has developed into the language that is spoken today.
Many authors have evaluated the history of Spanglish, along with disproving the opinions of those who believe Spanglish speakers to be uneducated. Within his various literary pieces,
Ilan Stavans describes
Spanglish as an emerging language in America. Stavans uses personal stories to describe the history of the language, as well as the current view of Spanglish in the United States. By sharing first-hand experiences, Stavans provides readers with an important perspective one the history and use of the language in the United States.
Another author that dives into the history of the Spanglish language in an effort to provide others with knowledge of this unique lanugae is Eugenia Casielles-Suárez. In her journal article,
Eugenia Casielles-Suárez focuses on the history and linguistics, sociolinguistic functions, and attitudes towards Spanglish in her writing. She places a specific emphasis on Spanglish among the Latino communities within the United States.
Both Ilan Stavans and Eugenia Casielles-Suárez provide excellent information for anyone wanting to learn about the historical and current status of Spanglish in the United States. Learning this information opens up the opportunity to learn about how Spanglish can impact peoples' daily lives.
Why is this important?
It is important to have a thorough understanding of the history and current status of Spanglish within the United States in order to comprehend the emotional effects Spanglish can have on those who speak the language. Although the Spanglish language is growing more popular and the acceptance of the language is becoming more widespread, there is still emotional trauma caused by the historical background. Not to mention, the current status of Spanglish within the United States shows improvement from the past, but it is still in need of a lot of change in order for Spanglish speakers to be completely comfortable in speaking their language.
After gaining an understanding of these important factors of the Spanglish language, it is important to read literature that uses the Spanglish language. Authors like Diana Renee choose to write in Spanglish in an effort to educate others on their language. Additionally, Spanglish writing authors may use their writing as an outlet for their struggles and emotions that they face as a Spanglish speaker in the United States. This is what Diana Renee chooses to do in her poetry that is posted on her personal blog. She uses her writing to express the emotional affects speaking Spanglish has placed on her daily life. 
Overall, it is extremely necessary for all members of society to learn about different languages, like Spanglish. Although there is still some controversy in the world today on the status of Spanglish as a language, reading different literary sources can provide readers with a lot of important information on the historical background of Spanglish. Not to mention, reading about the current status of Spanglish in the United States is also vital in gaining a full understanding of the language. Once there is a notable level of comprehension on the historical and present status of Spanglish, the emotional effects on the speakers of the language can be explored. It is vital to know the emotional effects a language can have on those who speak it in order to make changes and strides to diminish these negative effects in the future.
This blog post is very insightful on the importance of Spanglish. Very similar to that of Black English many characterize speaking any language other than Standard Mainstream English as uneducated. It is very important to change that narrative. One thing I learned from your post was the emotional affect that something like this can have on an individual. I knew that speaking speaking Spanglish was difficult because it requires your brain to process two different languages at the same time. The brain has to work twice as hard to try to communicate. People always talk about the hardships of comprehending Spanglish, but they never touch on the emotional toll it can have. One thing that made me think more about your post was that although there has been great movement towards the acceptance of Spanglish there is still much work to do in order for Spanish speakers to feel comfortable speaking it.
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