Frespañol or frespagnol (also known as ''frañol'' or ''fragnol''), is a

portmanteau A portmanteau word, or portmanteau (, ) is a blend of wordsFrench and

Spanish Spanish might refer to: * Items from or related to Spain: **Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain **Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many Latin American countries **Spanish cuisine Other places * Spanish, Ontario, Can ...

mixed together, usually in informal settings. This example of code-switching is a mixture between French and Spanish, almost always in speech, but may be used in writing occasionally. Spanish and French are

Romance languages The Romance languages, sometimes referred to as Latin languages or Neo-Latin languages, are the various modern languages that evolved from Vulgar Latin. They are the only extant subgroup of the Italic languages in the Indo-European language ...

and share similarities in morphology and syntax. Such

code-switching In linguistics, code-switching or language alternation occurs when a speaker alternates between two or more languages, or language varieties, in the context of a single conversation or situation. Code-switching is different from plurilingualis ...

may be used or has been used in places where both languages meet, for example in Equatorial Guinea, among

Haitians in the Dominican Republic The Haitian minority of the Dominican Republic ( es, Haitianos en la República Dominicana; ht, Ayisyen nan Dominikani; french: Haïtiens en République dominicaine) is the largest ethnic minority in the Dominican Republic since the early 20th ce ...

, by first-generation Spaniards in France, or Latin American community in

Montreal Montreal ( ; officially Montréal, ) is the second-most populous city in Canada and most populous city in the Canadian province of Quebec. Founded in 1642 as '' Ville-Marie'', or "City of Mary", it is named after Mount Royal, the triple ...

, Canada. This code-switching has historical and current presence in North, Central and South America. Historically, the

Isleños in Louisiana Isleños (Spanish: ) are the inhabitants of the Canary Islands, and by extension the descendants of Canarian settlers and immigrants to present-day Louisiana, Texas, Cuba, the Dominican Republic, Venezuela, Puerto Rico, and other parts of the ...

were also exposed to and accustomed to living with both languages, as were numerous French emigrant communities across Latin America (e.g. French Argentines), whose descendants have overwhelmingly adopted Spanish. During

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...

many French immigrant communities flourished in the

Americas The Americas, which are sometimes collectively called America, are a landmass comprising the totality of North and South America. The Americas make up most of the land in Earth's Western Hemisphere and comprise the New World. Along with th ...

, maintaining frañol a historically and currently observable example of code-switching in English, Spanish, and French-speaking countries.

Uses and calques

Frespañol forms part of a structure of sociolinguistics, it is a social and cultural code born from the contact of French and Spanish speakers. In its early days, the Frespañol was used in individual form meaning there was no set form to follow, everyone used their own variant of it. Now, it is more commonly used amongst the first generation of immigrants who use it more so when speaking Spanish. Calques are introduced by bilinguals, switching from one language to another, words are borrowed. For example, in this phrase in French "Je m'assome à la fenêtre” we see the spanish word "asomarse" adapting to the sentence. These code changes are adapted to the context of the speaker. Some ways that the two languages are implemented together is sometimes minute. Looking through the chart, The word for cake in ''Fragnol'', gató, is predominately French based such as other words listed. But, the thing that makes it more in tune with Spanish is the uses of the accents and the stress when pronouncing the word. Some other words, such as ''dèpanor'', are also more alike to the French word for store, but the ending or pronunciation of the words can go through a morphological change and have more Spanish tones and pronunciations, or vice versa.

Identity

The use of Frespañol is often reflective of a minority group with two cultural identities regarding language. Similar to

Spanglish Spanglish (a portmanteau of the words "Spanish" and "English") is any language variety (such as a contact dialect, hybrid language, pidgin, or creole language) that results from conversationally combining Spanish and English. The term is mos ...

, the hybrid language of Frespañol incorporates French and Spanish as a subset of both languages, which then has created a separate individuality and selfhood of heritages and cultural backgrounds. This often helps individuals of Frespa''ñ''ol with their identification of either group, or both at the same time while creating a separate identify of their own. As with Spanglish, this association allows for speakers to code-switch and also implement heritage, with the ability to shift when it is needed most and depending on environment. Apart from code-switching and creating a subset of the languages used, it allows for a separate identify in both heritage and cultural. This dual identity is reflected i
social media
and other platforms. As the hybrid language of Frespañol grows and gains a prominent recognition, access to it has been made available in audio and online formats. This identification and association to Frespanol (Fragnol) allows for identification of mistakes from non Frespanol speakers and visibility to inclusion or exclusion to be able to identify as a Fragnol speaker. Common example mistakes include taking the wrong word due to its similarity in one language and the assumption it translates the same with the other. For example: ''Me exprimire'' to mean, "I express myself", as the French translation is ''m'exprimer''. However, in standard Spanish, ''exprimire'' is translated to: squeezing. It is understood that Frespanol speakers would not make this mistake and be aware of the appropriate phrase to use.

History

Frespañol/Frespagnol is an portmanteau of French (francés/français) and Spanish (español/espagnol). Frañol/Fragnol is similarly derived from the two. This dialect is the effect of a blend of two cultures. It began during the 20th century hundreds of thousands of Spaniards migrated to France in search of better living conditions. It first began with men migrating to France and then later on they would migrate their families into the country. The people from Spain that migrated to France did not all pick up the French language. Post WWI France needed to be rebuilt, which paved way to a lot of job opportunities for the Spaniards in France.The spaniards had their own communities in cities such as Paris, Toulouse, Bordeaux and Lyon, where they spoke their mother tongue. The rise and development of Frespañol was in 1960s-1970's. The Spanish workers knew very little French and the French employers knew very little Spanish, regardless they had to communicate with each other, that's when Frespañol surged naturally and it was commonly found used with people working everyday jobs such as maids, construction workers and in the automotive sector. The people that spoke it were typically from lower class communities.

Boundaries and cultural impacts

The main geographic boundary where Frespañol first presented itself was along the border of Spain and France. As mentioned previously in the page, the initial flow of Spanish immigrants to France from the beginning of the 20th century up until the 1960s–70s occurred for economic reasons and was the origin for this hybrid language. These migrations were the primary source for Frespañol, originating with the Spanish incorporating their language of origin with that of their new home country. The migrations caused an incline in the merge between the languages, resulting in the creation of this new culture for people who lived through and could share their similar language experiences. As the Spanish working class migrated deeper into France, Frespañol begun to appear in more populated cities, like Paris

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Frespanol Macaronic forms of French Spanish language Languages of Canada Code-switching

Uses and calques

Identity

History

Boundaries and cultural impacts

See also

References