The Spanish of the Young
April 11, 2008
This Wednesday Spain celebrates the international seminar on “El español de los jóvenes” (”The Spanish of the Young”) organized by the “Fundación del Español Urgente Fundéu BBVA”. This seminar will be inaugurated by the Princess of Asturias, doña Letizia Ortiz.
Some assure us that this new use of language is a good thing as it is a creative form of expression and assure us that the young are perfectly capable of using their own slang and standard language simultaneously as it is a form of distinction in their circles. On the other hand are the detractors who think that in today’s juvenile language, not much vocabulary is used and that this will lead to the destruction of language as we know it.
Twenty philologists, university professors and scriptwriters, amongst other professionals, are going to analyze the juvenile language in San Millán de la Cogolla (La Rioja) to determine if their slang impoverishes the language.
Ana María Vigara, profesor of Spanish Language in the Universidad Complutense and author of the book “Cultura y estilo de los niños bien: radiografía del lenguaje pijo”, states that “slang has always existed and is not a sign of poverty in language”. It is their way to show they are not children anymore.
On the other hand, Francisco Reyes, musician specialized in hip-hop and professor in the Universidad Complutense thinks that the juvenile language is marked by “the lack of vocabulary and spelling mistakes in writing which reveals a lack of culture which in turn reflects their educational level”.
Many people attribute this new phenomenon to things like messenger and mobile phones where the reduction of words is most common. Although the young now have more access to information and education than ever before, they are more misinformed than ever. This phenomenon has even reached higher educational levels.
(C) Photo: taniaedu
Written by Sophie · Filed Under Culture & Society
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