Book contents
- Conversations on Dictionaries
- Conversations on Dictionaries
- Copyright page
- Epigraph
- Contents
- Acknowledgments
- Contributors
- Introduction
- 1Ancient Greek
- 2Esperanto
- 3German
- 4Chinese
- 5Hybrid Languages
- 6English
- 7French
- 8Italian
- 9Arabic
- 10Hebrew
- 11Indigenous Languages
- 12Irish
- 13African Languages
- 14Nahuatl
- 15Yiddish
- 16Portuguese
- 17Japanese
- 18Russian
- 19Quechua
- 20Scandinavian
- 21Spanish
- Epilogue
- Index
- References
5 - Hybrid Languages
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 25 December 2025
Edited by
Book contents
- Conversations on Dictionaries
- Conversations on Dictionaries
- Copyright page
- Epigraph
- Contents
- Acknowledgments
- Contributors
- Introduction
- 1Ancient Greek
- 2Esperanto
- 3German
- 4Chinese
- 5Hybrid Languages
- 6English
- 7French
- 8Italian
- 9Arabic
- 10Hebrew
- 11Indigenous Languages
- 12Irish
- 13African Languages
- 14Nahuatl
- 15Yiddish
- 16Portuguese
- 17Japanese
- 18Russian
- 19Quechua
- 20Scandinavian
- 21Spanish
- Epilogue
- Index
- References
Summary
This conversation between Ilan Stavans and Margaret Boyle explores the concept of “hybrid” languages (e.g. languages in contact) through the prism of code-switching, border zones, ELL, and second-language acquisition. Engaging with both linguistic landscapes and language heritage, it applies the concept to historical cases where hybrid languages have become full-fledged standardized languages, creoles, and others. It focuses in the development of Spanglish by Ilan Stavans, analyzing the changes of this language from 1846 to the present. The authors discuss the relationships between language and identity and how structures of languages reflect and challenge social, cultural and political beliefs. The conversation also explores immigration patterns and linguistic change, considering how and when hybrid languages move with their speakers.
Information
- Type
- Chapter
- Information
- Conversations on DictionariesThe Universe in a Book, pp. 58 - 71Publisher: Cambridge University PressPrint publication year: 2025
References
Suggested Readings
Archive of the Indigenous Languages of Latin America (AILLA). University of Textas at Austin. https://ailla.utexas.org/about/Google Scholar
Cervantes, Miguel de. Don Quixote of La Mancha. English and Spanglish editions. Adapted by Ilan Stavans, illustrated by Roberto Weil. Philadelphia: Pennsylvania State University Press, 2018.Google Scholar
de León-Portilla, Ascención H. “Nebrija y el inicio de la lingüística mesoamericana.” Anuario de Letras, Lingüística y Filología 31 (1993): 205–23.Google Scholar
Fuller, Janet M., and Leeman, Jennifer. Speaking Spanish in the US: The Sociopolitics of Language. Vol. 16. Bristol: Multilingual Matters, 2020.Google Scholar
Heck, Ellen. A Is for Bee: An Alphabet Book in Translation. Hoboken, NJ: Levine Querido, 2022.Google Scholar
Kent, David B. “Speaking in Tongues: Chinglish, Japlish and Konglish.” KOTESOL Proceedings PAC2, 1999 The Second Pan Asian Conference, 1999.Google Scholar
Li, David C. S. “Between English and Esperanto: What Does It Take to Be a World Language?” International Journal of the Sociology of Language 164 (2003): 33–63.Google Scholar
Lipski, John. “Too Close for Comfort? The Genesis of ‘Portuñol/Portunhol.’” Selected Proceedings of the 8th Hispanic Linguistics Symposium. Somerville, MA: Cascadilla Proceedings Project, 2006.Google Scholar
Lipski, John. “Spanish, English, or Spanglish? Truth and Consequences of US Latino Bilingualism.” In Spanish and Empire, edited by Ech, Nelsyvez-Solano, and Dworkin y Mendez, Kenya C., 197–218. Nashville: Vanderbilt University Press, 2007.Google Scholar
Lozano, Rosina. American Language: The History of Spanish in the United States. Berkeley: University of California Press, 2018.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Saint Exúpery, Antonie de. El Little Príncipe. Translated into Spanglish by Ilan Stavans. Neckarsteinach: Edition Tintenfass, 2017.Google Scholar
Stamper, Kory. Word by Word: The Secret Life of Dictionaries. New York: Vintage, 2018.Google Scholar
Stavans, Ilan. Spanglish: The Making of a New American Language. New York: Harper Collins, 2002.Google Scholar
Stavans, Ilan. “A Lay Lexicographer: On Codifying the Dictionary of Spanglish.” Dictionaries: Journal of the Dictionary Society of North America, 41, no. 2 (2020): 197–212.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Stavans, Ilan. How Yiddish Changed America and How America Changes Yiddish. Amherst, MA: Restless Books, 2020.Google Scholar
Stavans, Ilan, and Boyle, Margaret. “How Dictionaries Define Us: Margaret Boyle and Ilan Stavans in Conversation.” Los Angeles Review of Books, 2022. https://lareviewofbooks.org/article/how-dictionaries-define-us-margaret-boyle-and-ilan-stavans-in-conversation/Google Scholar
Varela González, Patricia. ¿Hablas español o portuñol? Sao Paulo: LTC Grupo Gen, 2014.Google Scholar
Weinreich, Max. History of the Yiddish language. Vol. 1. New Haven, CT: Yale University Press, 2008.Google Scholar
Accessibility standard: WCAG 2.2 AAA
Why this information is here
This section outlines the accessibility features of this content - including support for screen readers, full keyboard navigation and high-contrast display options. This may not be relevant for you.Accessibility Information
The HTML of this chapter complies with version 2.2 of the
Web Content Accessibility Guidelines
(WCAG), offering more comprehensive accessibility measures for a broad range
of users and attains the highest
(AAA)
level of WCAG compliance, optimising the user experience by meeting the most extensive
accessibility guidelines.
Content Navigation
Table of contents navigation
Allows you to navigate directly to chapters, sections, or non‐text items through a linked table of contents, reducing the need for extensive scrolling.
Allows you to navigate directly to chapters, sections, or non‐text items through a linked table of contents, reducing the need for extensive scrolling.
Index navigation
Provides an interactive index, letting you go straight to where a term or subject appears in the text without manual searching.
Provides an interactive index, letting you go straight to where a term or subject appears in the text without manual searching.
Reading Order & Textual Equivalents
Single logical reading order
You will encounter all content (including footnotes, captions, etc.) in a clear, sequential flow, making it easier to follow with assistive tools like screen readers.
You will encounter all content (including footnotes, captions, etc.) in a clear, sequential flow, making it easier to follow with assistive tools like screen readers.
Short alternative textual descriptions
You get concise descriptions (for images, charts, or media clips), ensuring you do not miss crucial information when visual or audio elements are not accessible.
You get concise descriptions (for images, charts, or media clips), ensuring you do not miss crucial information when visual or audio elements are not accessible.
Visual Accessibility
Use of colour is not sole means of conveying information
You will still understand key ideas or prompts without relying solely on colour, which is especially helpful if you have colour vision deficiencies.
You will still understand key ideas or prompts without relying solely on colour, which is especially helpful if you have colour vision deficiencies.
Use of high contrast between text and background colour
You benefit from high‐contrast text, which improves legibility if you have low vision or if you are reading in less‐than‐ideal lighting conditions.
You benefit from high‐contrast text, which improves legibility if you have low vision or if you are reading in less‐than‐ideal lighting conditions.