TMW
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Registered: 9-1-2003
Location: Bakersfield, CA
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Spanish Language
I work for a TV station in Bakersfield. Last summer we purchased the Azteca America outlet here. We're in the planning stages of doing local news on
it. The question has been raised as to the spanish language to be used by the news anchors. Much of the local spanish is called Spanglish and others
call it border spanish. Our consultants think the anchors should speak a more correct castilian spanish.
For those of you that watch spanish language news be it Univision, Telemundo, Azteca America or a Mexican station news. Do you notice a difference in
the dialect and if so does it make a difference. Your thoughts about this is greatly appreciated.
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larry
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Spanglish is not a dialect---it is slang. I am not fluent in Spanish, but I know enough that I observe that no serious news programming in any
Spanish media here in Northern California (or anywhere) is ever presented in Spanglish.
It is hard to imagine that there is really serious debate going on about this at your station.
It might be that Spanglish would be appropriate for a youth-oriented feature program that would include a news segment, but not for mainstream news.
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gnukid
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TV and radio dialect is something of interest to me. First in English as a world language and now in Spanish. I live in San Francisco and La Paz and
watch TV Azteca and all cable spanish channels. I worked in radio and tv in the US and decided to try to be bilingual. I started to study spanish in
the university. Until after 4 years I realized what I learned was not what was spoken anywhere I went. Conversely I haven't found a mexican
dictionary.
I have been studying spanish language in popular media for about 6 years. I notice that the spanish of media is centrist and therefore understandable
by a wide audience, inlcuding me with only a few years of spanish study. It is fluid and easy to understand, basic and clear staight spanish, that is
it is designed for much of the audience from various countries such as Nicaragua, Guatemala, Mexico, etc to the south and as such the Spanish media
language is set to accomodate a broad latin american market. If I were to generalize, the vocabulary is basic spanish that you will always find a
spanish american dictionary with a mostly latin american base, the accent is mostly latin american not that of Madrid Spain or Mexico City. You can
hear the difference in the S and C sound which sounds more like SH in Spain versus the S sound here in Mexico.
Mexican spanish that I find as I travel, is largely coloquial, there are many many common slang sayings that vary from town to town, the dialect is
clipped and slurred in pueblos and mexican city spanish is not quickly understood by average spanish speaker in the US or abroad.
Spanglish which is very popular thoughout Baja and Southwest US is fine, but there but not universal. Verbs (spelling uncertain) are common such as
Parquer = to park, Cheqar = to check, etc... Carro = car and so on. However these words draw a blank response across the latin american audience.
Spanish from Mexico City is more clear sounding but stylized to be easily identified. Spanish from Madrid is similar in that it is stylized with a
heavy Catalan accent. Basically people everywhere go to great lengths to identify themselves with their dialect. The result is it is very difficult to
follow heavily affected language from places other than your own. I can not understand Catalan and it takes me days to adjust to each city of latin
america. The language varies tremendously across the regions and therefore media language has little choice but to move to a clear "center" spanish
with very clear open movement of the mouth as many people look to the speakers mouth to understand what was said and spanish is largely spoken with a
distinct movement of the mouth.
Just like you in the US where suddenly Madonna and Gwyneth Paltrow have english accents and vocabulary, Mexican stars often affect a Madrid style
dialect but the get it wrong and in any case alienate their core Mexican audience.
So good luck, avoid spanglish except in desperation and avoid Catalan or any affected spanish.
For fun here are a few coloquial words to avoid
me pushy = what? from La Paz
weyqueondaweynomamieswey = Hi from Mexico City
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David K
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Location: San Diego County
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Pasto or zacate...??
I hear both used for turf grass... usually it's pasto (which may be 'sod')... but I will hear zacate used by others... Most here in Vista/ Oceanside
are from Oaxaca.
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fdt
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Here are good spanish expressions
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_hmWVhostoM
A well informed Baja California traveler is a smart Baja California traveler!
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Oso
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Location: on da border
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You want Castilian? Just keep your mouth full of oatmeal.
Seriously, if you want to be clearly understood by the widest audience in the U.S., Mexico and most of Latin America, just copy the announcers on
Univision.
One of the funniest things I've heard in recent years was Julio Iglesias trying to sing songs by Jose Alfredo Jimenez. When "No Me Amenaces" came out
"no me amenatheth" it was just so GAY I was LITERALLY ROTFLMAO.
All my childhood I wanted to be older. Now I\'m older and this chitn sucks.
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pacificobob
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good artical lencho...
thats the nature of language, a living thing always evolving
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bajajudy
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Excellent article, Larry
Thanks
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thebajarunner
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My two cents...
Since my wife is from Jalisco, and we watch several different things on Univision, I have some (albeit from a distance) familiarity with this subject.
First, I doubt if your consultants really know what "Castilian Spanish" means.
If your Bakersfield announcers start lisping in Castilian we will hear the snapping 'off buttons' clear up hear in Central California.
Second, just listen to the regular English language stations, the folks around may be speaking in rap, or jive, or Okie, or whatever, but the
announcers play it straight and speak clear, normal English.
Your announcers need to speak Spanish, 'estilio Mexico DF' and get on with it.
Spanglish, border Spanish, Pocho, whatever you call it, may be the language of the masses, but it ain't what they expect to hear on the t.v.
broadcast.
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Halboo
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As a lifelong Mexico visitor I've watched plenty of Spanish Language TV here and there and agree 100% with thebajarunner.
Mi Dos Centavos 
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burro bob
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When my friends are watching Spanish language stations they can tell instantly if the show is from the US, Mexico or central or South America. The
dialect spoken does not seem to be a criteria in what to watch.
Far more important is how much cleavage your news anchor shows.
burro bob
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TMW
Select Nomad
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Thanks everyone for your comments. It has changed how I viewed it. I've passed your comments on to the GM who in turn passed them to all the other
department heads. It has certainly opened our eyes to the fact it does make a difference on how the news is presented.
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