Spanglish ecolinguistic environment as a means of sustainable development

Abstract

Sustainable development of multicultural communities affected by translingualism has gained a special importance with the recognition of mixed languages within the framework of ecolinguistical methodology, which considers language communities as ecosystems. The paper aims at the ecolinguistic analysis of the relationship between language and its environment. The study implies the dual nature of language ecology (physiological and social) and the fact that the ecology of the language depends on people studying and using it, transmitting the language to others. The extensive use Spanglish is promoted by a wide range of sources, including literary texts and digital media as a form of sustainability in the American social environment. The paper enlists and discusses the features of Spanglish applying the ecological, linguistic, componential, distribution and statistical analysis methods. The study focuses on the novel Yo-Yo Boing! by Giannina Braschi and results in making certain observations on the sustainability of Spanglish societies in the USA. The paper sums up that Spanglish represents a new means of social interaction which can be described as a poststandard translingual culture serving to overcome existing environmental threats.