The current spread of English across the globe is, as Schneider states (2009: 1), ‘one of the most remarkable, and perhaps unexpected, sociocultural changes of the modern period’. This author states the wish for ‘a single, universal language which would allow all of mankind to communicate with each other directly, but all attempts at constructing such a code artificially have failed in practice. Now, it seems, one has emerged quite naturally’ (Schneider, 2009: 1). On the other hand, other authors (Anderman & Rogers, 2005: 2) report that the emergence of global English has created a homogenised form of communication, and it has made ‘mother tongue speakers fear that, in the process of becoming common property, their native tongue is turning into a “hybrid” language sometimes referred to as Eurospeak within the European Union and more broadly as “McLanguage”' (Anderman & Rogers, 2005: 2). There are, therefore, controversial viewpoints in Europe as regards the spread of English as the lingua franca or global language.
Revista semestral de lingüística, filología y traducción 32 Diciembre 2015 ONOMÁZEIN 32 (diciembre de 2015): 288-304 Carmen Luján-García Lexical anglicisms: An analysis of commercials addressed to young children on four Television Channels in Spain 289 The influence of English in Spanish has led to the use of a considerable number of pure anglicisms to designate child-related concepts. This paper intends to examine the degree of exposure of children to English terms by analysing the increasing presence of anglicisms in Spanish television commercials. With that purpose, the amount and the kinds of anglicisms present on TV commercials of four popular TV channels in Spain (Antena 3, Tele 5, La Sexta and Disney Channel) have been explored. The study reveals that English borrowings are quite present in different subject areas (food and drinks; games and toys; clothes and shoes; personal hygiene; leisure and entertainment). A classification of pure anglicisms, adapted anglicisms, pseudo-anglicisms, and acronyms has been made, and some Anglo-American cultural icons have been analysed. English usage in global advertising is a marker of modernity, progress, sophistication. Findings in this research reveal that children in Spain are considerably exposed to this influence.
In applied linguistics, it is far from doubt the prominent role of English as a global language. However, not many studies (Rodríguez 2002; Reichelt 2006) have provided a deep account of the current role of English in Spain. This paper sheds light on the unprecedented prominence of English in almost every single area of Spaniards' daily life. It aims to show the impact of English in various settings such as the Spanish linguistic landscape by analysing shop signs in English; the media, including television, radio, and music; interpersonal communications, which includes the workplace, and the academic setting. The Spanish education system has been given special attention, as this study examines all the educational levels and it discusses, from a pedagogical point of view, the Spaniards' level of proficiency.
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