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Not just Spanglish but Kitchen Spanglish

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Not just Spanglish but Kitchen Spanglish

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I have worked in restaurants for the past six years of my life and within that realm I have developed language, particularly certain phrases which I would only use in that setting. For example, it is very common for someone to yell "corner" as they come to a blind corner so as to avoid a collision. Can you imagine someone yelling this as they come to the end of an isle at Target? Not only have I found this with English but I have noticed my native Spanish speaking co-workers develop language and phrases which are results of their time working in restaurants, as well as being around an English dominant culture. As someone who speaks Spanish as a second language, I often eavesdrop on conversation between Spanish speakers to try and learn from the conversation. As weird and invasive as this may be it is quite helpful. One thing I have noticed is many native Spanish speakers will choose to say "dishwasher" instead of the actual Spanish word for dishwasher which is "lavaplatos." In my opinion saying lavaplatos seems easier than dishwasher so I have asked before why this is not the chosen vocabulary. The main answer I get is that we are in an area where English is the dominant language and so that title is said in English. Just a small example of how a dominant language has affected a foreign language in a certain setting.

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Last year I had the pleasure of working in a very diverse school for Early Childhood Special Education in Roseville, Minnesota. I was working with preschoolers from a wide variety of language backgrounds who were all on the autism spectrum, some of which were mostly nonverbal. Out of the 12 students I worked with throughout the year I encountered 6 different first languages: English, Spanish, Nepali, Somali, Korean, and Arabic. A few of the teachers had learned some key words in these various languages to help connect and guide our kids through their daily routines. Every day our students learned new words in English and we even heard some of our native English speakers learning basic words in Spanish and Nepali (though at times it might have been due to echolalia). It blew my mind that even mostly nonverbal preschoolers were being exposed to and learning bits of languages that were foreign to them. Here are some basic Nepali words I learned to help a student through some work tasks.

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The Physical Linguistic Landscape of Central Minneapolis

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The Physical Linguistic Landscape of Central Minneapolis

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When I first moved to Minneapolis 2 years ago,I was genuinely surprised and delighted by the diversity of the city. Having lived abroad and in Los Angeles for most of my life, I had a stereotype of the demographic of the Twin Cities as being predominantly European American and that was what I expected. While the neighborhood of South Uptown Minneapolis that we settled did fit that stereotype, I discovered a thriving multicultural community just a few miles south on Lake Street. In this Central Minneapolis area, I encountered Indian, Somali, African American, and Mexican businesses that catered to their local communities. I feel that this area immediately drew my interest in the many ways it reminded me of home. The sights and the sounds of different languages and the smells of  ethnic cuisine, whether familiar or unfamiliar, all contributed to a sense of belonging for me.

Image by Max Hailperin and taken from  https://allofminneapolis.com/western-central-2f46c156635

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After coming back to read some of your later posts, it reminded me of how one language can offer something of value to a non-native speaker.  See attached article.

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The use of gender in the French language is intertwined - so much so that some French-speaking gender non-binary people in Windsor-Essex feel uncomfortable accessing services in their first language, forcing them to seek services in English instead.

In English, non-binary people usually identify with pronouns "they" or "them," but in French, where gendered words are a much more integral part of the language, it can be more of an issue.

Alexander Reid is the vice-president of W.E. Trans Support, an organization for trans people in Windsor. He provides French services at the centre.

"When it comes to gender non-binary people wanting to use the French language to access health services or mental health services for example, it can be much more difficult for them to feel respected and adequately addressed," he said.

"There are no 'they/them' qualifications that are equivalent in French. We do have some gender non-binary language that have been introduced in the past decade or so, but most people don't know how to use it."

'Too complicated in French'

He's referring to the neutral French pronoun "iel," which he explained was recently integrated into the language by the transgender population.

He said that not only do professionals or the general public not know how to use this gender-neutral language, many don't even know that it exists.

Vincent Mousseau, a trans person, activist, academic, and Francophone from Ontario who now lives in Montreal, identifies with this neutral pronoun.

But they said it's difficult to find services in in French that can adapt to their identity.

"Often, I end up taking the 'he' pronoun," they said, translated from French.

"Because it is too complicated in French."

Can make services 'uncomfortable'

According to Mousseau, trans discourses and non-binary identities are more accepted and recognized in the Anglophone world.

As a result of these barriers, many French-speaking non-binary people seek healthcare services in English instead, Reid explained. But even that can be problematic.

The language barrier often comes into play, he said, making it difficult to communicate their problems effectively to a health care professional.

"It can make services really uncomfortable, really embarrassing, and oftentimes unsafe for trans people," he said.

Hoping to educate

And it's not just a problem when seeking health care.

Reid said he often hears from people who access French services at W.E. Trans Support that they feel uncomfortable speaking French with border services, police officers, government officials, because of these issues with gendered language.

The hope is that with adequate training, which is available through W.E. Trans Support, health care professionals and government workers will be able to better understand why gender neutral pronouns are so important, Reid said.

"Because they already exist, these pronouns in French, we really need to just up the information available to these health care professionals so that they can learn to use them effectively and they can become more comfortable treating trans non-binary people with respect."

David Jensen, a spokesperson for the Ministry of Health said medical schools are responsible for educating students to improve services to LGBTQ communities.

He also mentioned that the department relies on organizations like the College of Physicians and Surgeons of Ontario to provide training for doctors.

A spokesperson for the college, Shae Greenfield, said the organization recognizes the importance of respecting the human rights of people, and that includes respect for pronouns.

However, Greenfield said the Ontario Medical Association has a better ability to address the issue. That's because the college's role is to contact all physicians directly.

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Why some French-speaking non-binary people don't seek treatment in their language | CBC News

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The use of gender in the French language is intertwined - so much so that some French-speaking gender non-binary people in Windsor-Essex feel uncomfortable accessing services in their first language, forcing them to seek services in English instead.

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I quilt as a hobby and use instagram to mainly look at the work of other quilters. There is a lot of jargon that is specific to this hobby, but younger quilters who have taken to marketing their work and patterns on social media go beyond the use of quilter-specific vocabulary. As seen below, many of the quilters and sewists I follow will tag other users, fabric brands, patterns, and more. The use of emojis is common, and this quilter in particular uses them prolifically. As for the use of the word 'brillz', I think that's specific to this user, but I know there are lots of terms thrown around that would take some explaining to anyone who has not dedicated time to this community. I love that this community definitely goes beyond the stereotype of a 'grandma quilter' and is a very inclusive community.

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My school/district has a policy of sending home information that is translated to students' home languages. We have Spanish translators/interpreters on staff and we are able to use the LanguageLine for phone calls home using other languages. I noticed that our website can be translated into several different languages.

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I am in a travel-specific Facebook group of over 800 thousand other women. When sharing heart-warming stories, asking for advice, and generally making comments, communicative competence comes into play. As you can see from the exchange below, someone said "bless your heart" to the original commenter's (OC) idea of starting a GoFundMe. In response, the OC had to clarify if they meant this in a nice way or a passive-aggressive, mean way. The women in this group are from all over the world so often times they need to negotiate meaning with one another. Although English is the go-to language in this group, and most participants can use the language to some level, the shared meaning due to the diverse backgrounds of the group. This can result in a lack of communicative competence between participants.

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I was very happy to see the entry way in our school filled with parent information not only in English, but also in Spanish (99% of my families of native Spanish speakers). When I first started teaching I was very vocal about the right of all families in our district to have information regarding their students in their home language. As the years have gone on, it has been a relief that many staff members of heard my and are taking initiatives on their own. The health aid in our building has done a really great job making sure that the information she puts out in the entry was is available in both languages. (Picture to come...this week has been homecoming and extremely hectic).

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I have noticed that many of my bilingual friends post in their first language only on social media. However, another friend of mine always posts the same text in both English and Spanish. Sometimes English is first, sometimes Spanish. I think she posts to her "target audience" when she decides which language to use first. When commenting on a favorite Peruvian singer, Spanish is first, This post, which was many of the "first day of school" pics of all our fellow Minnesotans, presented the English first.

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One thing that gets all our students talking is food. We have a joint "coffee break" where we try to have all levels come together for 15 minutes. Students love to bring in homemade traditional dishes or share prepared foods. It is common for students to share candies, and you'll often find them placed near the coffee. We discuss where students like to shop for the foods from their countries. My coworkers and I are are always willing to try the new items, but we often puzzle over ingredients and trying to read labels.

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I snapped a few pictures of some items for ELL students at our school. I was actually surprised that we had so little. Before our site switched locations, we had a few more signs up welcoming students in their languages, but after the move, only one small sin welcoming students to the school in dozens of languages made it back up. Otherwise we have some handouts regarding programs, usually in Russian, Spanish, and occasionally something else.

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My minor was in Chinese language and culture, and I did so in hopes that Chinese would make me more marketable as a FL teacher. Back then (2010ish) it was seen as the up-and-coming language, and perhaps still is. Flash forward a coupe years and I'm backpacking through SE Asia for 6 weeks (Thailand, Cambodia and Malaysia). While in Cambodia, on our way from Siem Reap to Battambang, we stopped at this restaurant. Most of the menus on the trip were in Thai/Khmer/etc. and English, as pictured below. However, this particular one also was in Khmer and Chinese. I hadn't noticed many Chinese tourists around, so I thought it strange before I put more thought into it. Chinese was used as the lingua franca. According to Wikipedia (I'm sorry) "because of the falling power and cultural influence of China in East Asia, English has since replaced Classical Chinese as the lingua franca in East Asia".

I'm bummed I didn't take a picture of the Chinese half, but glad I took at least this picture to remember and can now share it!

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I had to look around awhile, but I was very happy to see this sign outside our local bookstore (interestingly enough). While our town is fairly homogeneous I was still surprised that very few businesses have any signage that would indicate they want to appeal to customers who might not speak English. This sign sends a clear message.

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Revelion means New Year's Eve Party in Romanian. Both Languages ( Romanian and English) are used in this flyer. Until now, I did not pay a close attention to the fact that the menu is written only in Romanian. The menu: appetizers, boeuf salad, pork roast and rice , oven baked fish with vegetables , salad/pickles, Romanian beef soup, pastries and fruit. A lot of good food paired with good music.

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I teach French at North High School in North St. Paul and it's pretty diverse. We have about 35% white students and 65% students of color. Of that 65%, it's pretty evenly split between Hispanic students, Black and Somali students, and Asian and Hmong students. Our big thing at North is a sense of community, which I see everyday. We push for a sense of "we are North" in an effort to bring kids of all races together. We even give out free T-Shirts to every student and staff that say "We Are North" and everyone wears them Fridays. I can definitely see the sense of community within my school. From my perspective (a white teacher), I see black students friends with Hmong students, white students friends with Hispanic students--there isn't much segregation between friend groups (at least that I notice in my classroom). I think it's a result of this push for community at our school! We have posters around the school in different languages that say "We Are North" with an emphasis on the "we". Here's one of the many posters around the school!

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I live in Kobe, Japan, which is a well-traveled city.  While Japanese is most definitely the dominant language here, I often hear other languages when I am out and about.  Since living in Japan, I have been very intrigued with public signage and the ways languages are used on these signs to convey place names, store names, directions, etc.  I recently began to notice the use of Japanese, English, Chinese, and Korean (in that specific order) throughout Kobe.  These four languages are particularly prevalent in high-traffic tourist areas of the city.  The languages are not only found on the signage (as shown in the picture, which was taken near Kobe’s city center), but also can be heard on trains that have a higher rate of tourist use.  I simply find it interesting that this seems to be set order for these four languages, whether it is written or spoken.   It is also worth noting that I have only noticed the additional use of Chinese and Korean when there is vital information to be conveyed, such as transfers to a main train line.  Once on the main train line, it common to only here Japanese and English announcements.  All very intriguing to me, especially from a sociolinguistic viewpoint.  Why do you think the languages are in this particular order?

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My students are mainly Somali students with some being Oromo or Arabic. For our specialists we have SEL (social emotional learning) media, gym, and Arabic. Now all of my students can speak fluent Somali. Their learning to speak English and they also have to learn Arabic. When I heard that they going to learn another language, on top of trying to speak English fluently and understand it, I was shocked. These poor kids! However, they love Arabic for the most part so they enjoy it. I later learned that they want our students to learn Arabic because Arabic people are mainly Muslim, like most Somali's and they might be able to understand their religion better. It's a lot for my students to learn and take in!

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This isn't a community I'm currently in, but it's something I've continued to learn about since coming across it, out of interest:

In early 2016, a friend and I spent a couple of weeks traveling around Malaysia. We spent about 4 days in in a town called Bachok on the northeastern coast of the western part of Malaysia, close to the border of Thailand (the country has to mainlands not connected by land). It was a fascinating place to visit. Flying in from Kuala Lumpar, which was richly diverse, we found quite the opposite in Bachok. We were not only the only white people anywhere we went, but the only non-Malay people as well. It was also a 100% Islamic area. This manifested in many ways, but one in particular really stood out to me. Most of the shops in Bachok had their signs in at least 2 languages. Malay and Arabic were the ones that were always there. This made me curious and so I asked the local woman we were staying with why the signs all had Arabic on them. She told me that many shops got tax benefits (I can't remember specifics) if their shops had their names in Arabic.
The sign behind me in this picture is in Malay and Arabic and translated says "Center for Islamic Tourism." I found this super interesting because  although Malay people do not use Arabic in the everyday, they learn it in schools and have it all around them on signs like this because, as is sounds, it's encouraged by the government. I also know that Malaysia has not always had Islam, which is interesting as it is now a very Islamic country. I read that it was brought in through a trade deal.  I'm interested to learn more about the relationship between Malay people and the Arabic language because of this.

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Is it possible for "multiculturalism" in a given community to go too far?

As this is a touchy subject, I will remain anonymous in this most, but I’d be curious to know if anyone else feels this way.  My area is SO diverse, divided into so many enclaves of mainly first-generation immigrants from various countries in Asia, Africa, Eastern Europe, and Latin America, self-imposed communities within the larger community. Groups who have that common bond of language, culture, and religion want to stick together and form communities within the city and county where I grew up and still live, but they seem to only socialize within their own ethnic groups, so there really is no sense of shared community. (I can’t blame them for that, as it’s what feels most comfortable for them.)

However, for this reason, I find where I live depressing and isolating. Having said that, I support their right to be here and forge a better life for themselves, but I can’t help feeling how I feel. There is one shopping mall in my town where there are mostly signs ONLY in Spanish with no English translation, which I find very odd. The only other place in the United States I’ve seen this has been Miami. (And, I am far from Miami!)

My only multilingual exchanges and occasional code-switching are between my students and me; during our lessons, we sometimes  swap my L1 (English), which I teach them,  with their L2, which I’m learning.  I don’t have friends or family who are from other cultures or who speak other languages.

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Last year I went on a trip to Egypt and Jordan with my mom. We went with a tour group where we met people from all over the world. (I travel often with g adventures and have met many friends this way). My facebook is filled with posts in different languages. My favorite post are the ones that I really cannot relate to. I also find it interesting when the post switches from English to another language. This post stuck out to me because its discussing AC going out in summertime in Dubai (something I have no idea about summers in Dubai) and there is codeswitching. Sorry its so long but it is a little entertaining :)

"A(nother) little lesson learnt about living in the desert 😅. When the kids wake up from their nap and you find their AC is not working:

1. You call the AC expert.
2. He is booked up until Sunday late afternoon.
3. Your husband is working until 10pm so you Google images of AC filters, vents, etc. You scratch around the ceiling panels in the bathrooms while balancing on a chair on the loo, then decide to rather leave this to the experts. Choose life.
4. You do what you are really good at - put those big girl panties on!
5. You haul out the camp-beds and electric pump.
6. You realize that said pump has to charge for 10 hours before it is of any use.
7. You put those BIGGER big girl panties on.
8. You whisper a few words of love & admiration to your right biceps.
9. Pomp vir ongeveer 30 minute aan TWEE van alles. Geen Engels kan hierdie beskryf nie.
10. Make the beds nicely, including “pienk hassies”, call the girls to come have a look, to find their excitement far outweighs your own.
11. Wait for Sunday and hope their room contents don’t melt beyond recognition."

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I have flown out of many different airports and typically the signage in an airport is in the local language, English, and sometimes one or two other languages. When I flew out of the Netherlands, the airport signage was in Dutch and English. China (Beijing) had Chinese, English, and Japanese. Atlanta had English and Spanish. To me, all of these languages choices make sense. However, the last time I flew out of Minneapolis, I noticed that the signs were in English, Chinese, and Japanese which I thought was really interesting. I would think that they would have chosen English and maybe Spanish (due to the large number of Spanish speakers within the U.S.) or French (due to Minnesota's proximity to Canada). Or even one of the languages that are common within Minnesota (Hmong or Somali). I guess I was just surprised by that. Here is a picture of a sign in the Minneapolis-St. Paul airport.

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Our school is a private, religious, college-prep middle and high school. We have students from all over the world and the country who choose to come to our school because they are more interested in the college-prep part of our curriculum than the religious parts. In order to communicate the theme of the chapel services for the school year, we create these posters and put them up around the school. If you open the file, you'll see there are stamps on the top of the poster that have the same theme but in the languages that our students speak.
This is a way to reach out to students right away at the beginning of the year and say "hey, you're a conscious part of how we plan our school year," but the fact that the languages are such a secondary part of the poster probably doesn't communicate this well! There have been years where this is done better; maybe it's a graphic design thing that I don't understand.

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I always find it so interesting when my French cousins post in English on social media, knowing they themselves are natives French speakers as is the majority of their audience.  Usually they are codemixing, as in the post below translated as "1st night [check], breakfast with a view [check]".  As will all codeswitching it's so interesting to see when/how the languages are mixed and for what intended purpose.

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Madeline Island in Lake Superior (Northern Wisconsin)

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Madeline Island in Lake Superior (Northern Wisconsin)

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I spend a lot of time up on Madeline Island (a ferry ride from Bayfield, WI) on Lake Superior.  A few years ago the island community made the majority of their signs bilingual.  I feel it serves as a visual reminder of important Native American (Ojibwa) history. This is likely part of a language/culture revitalization project.