October 13, 2000

The Gravitas of Spanglish

By ILAN STAVANS

slang, n. The grunt of the human hog (Pignoramus Intolerabilis) with an audible memory. --Ambrose Bierce

Once asked by a reporter for his opinion on el espanglés -- one term used to refer to Spanglish south of the border -- the Nobel Prize-winner Octavio Paz is said to have responded: "Ni es bueno ni es malo, sino abominable." Indeed, it is commonly assumed that Spanglish is a bastard jargon: part Spanish and part English, with neither gravitas nor a clear identity. It is spoken

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