Spanglish

In which city can you read signs like 'Aparca your car aquí' or 'Cuidado con los pickpockets?'

1.2 million Hispanics live in the Big Apple and one in five New Yorkers speaks Spanish at home. In the last ten years, the Hispanic population has grown by 400.000. The whole city is learning Spanish like crazy, from businessmen to schoolchildren.

There is a new language, SPANGLISH, a strange mixture of Spanish and English which is invading the city. The New York Times recently said that it had become the city's third official language. Its use is colloquial and often limited to short sentences and signs. Many New Yorkers now wear socketines on their feet, drop something on the carpeta, shop for grocerias and have cornfley ('cornflakes') for breakfast.

Norma Rodríguez, a 45-year-old Cuban living in Washington Heights, says it forms a part of her life now: 'Sometimes, you don't realize that you're mixing the two languages. You just hear then both all the time and find that you're inventing new words.' Other people, however, are fighting against this new street language. Businessman Juan Cortés sees it as a sign that the Spanish language is being destroyed. 'It's difficult, but I try not to speak it - it feels vulgar to me.'

Meanwhile, a surprising number of academics have spoken in favour of Spanglish. José María Ruiz, from NY State University, even runs courses in Spanglish and has written a dictionary. 'It is a dialogue between two languages and cultures. We have to accept that languages change and evolve. The only languages that never change are dead ones.'

• Are you in favour or against hybrid languages such as Spanglish?
• Can you think of any other expression which is often used in Spanglish?
• Are there any regions in your country where two languages are spoken? Do the two languages get confused?