Transnational identities: Spanglish and Türkendeutsch
We have seen that language can help us to forge personal and community-based identities, but what happens when people belong to more than one community?
This is often the case for migrants who find themselves living between two cultures: that of their home country and the host country. Here, we will explore how language can help to forge a transnational identity, allowing people to live between two cultures.
Gastarbeiterdeutsch and Türkendeutsch in Germany
The term Gastarbeiterdeutsch (Guest worker German) initially referred to the simplified variety of German spoken by the first generation of Turkish and other migrant workers who arrived in Germany in the 1960s (Watzinger‐Tharp, 2004). This variety was perceived as rudimentary, fulfilling only minimal communicative functions and was sometimes labelled “Pidgin German” (Watzinger‐Tharp, 2004). However, over time and as the so-called guest workers became permanent members of society, the variety evolved into what is now known as Türkendeutsch (Turkish German).
Türkendeutsch is a blend of Turkish and German which does not favour one over the other. For example, German verbs are integrated into Turkish grammatical patterns and some German pronunciation features are adapted to align more closely with Turkish. Far from being disadvantaged by this, speakers switch between languages with ease, allowing them to express their dual background (Watzinger-Tharp, 2004). For young women in particular, it can be a “symbolisation of their identity as a German-Turkish woman” (p. 291), combining traditionally contradictory traits like assertiveness and femininity.
This linguistic evolution reflects a changing sociopolitical landscape in Germany which has historically resisted acknowledging itself as a “land of immigration” (Watzinger-Tharp, 2004, p. 286). The growing public visibility of Turkish communities has allowed for the emergence of a Turkish middle class and increased influence. Moreover, the rise of Gastarbeiterliteratur (guest worker literature) has given the Turkish-German population the opportunity to articulate their isolation, frustrations and desire for solidarity within German society (Teraoka, 1987).
Spanglish in the United States
In the United States, Spanglish represents a similar linguistic phenomenon. Described as an “inventive mashup of English and Spanish” (Vale, 2024) its origins trace back to the mid-1800s following the US expansion into Spanish-speaking territories (Mayorga Coffee, 2022). Much like Gastarbeiterdeutsch, Spanglish has been criticised as “diluting English and Spanish” (Vale 2024), but this ignores the richness of the variety and its cultural significance. English words are incorporated into Spanish, sometimes with Spanish grammatical rules. For example, ‘clickear el mouse’ for ‘to click the mouse’ (Furman, 2017). Words and phrases are translated literally, such as ‘llamar pa’trás’ which literally means ‘to call back’ (Vale, 2024).
As with Türkendeutsch, speakers shift seamlessly between English and Spanish according to the context. For many, doing so enables them to express themselves more completely, especially when a phrase is hard to translate or exists uniquely in one language (Mayorga Coffee, 2022). For Mexican-Americans (chicanos) in particular, using Spanglish restores “pride in our language and ourselves” (Jiménez, 1996).
The significant Spanish-speaking population in the US means that, despite the dominant presence of English, people are still able to foster an identity that is fluid and often described as “transitory”: not fully rooted in one culture but constantly negotiating a unique space between them (Carter & Varra, 2023).
Both Gastarbeiterdeutsch and Spanglish represent powerful examples of how language varieties emerge from sustained contact between dominant and minority languages in migrant contexts. They are both “hybrid language practices” (De Fina, 2016) that defy traditional linguistic boundaries and are instrumental in expressing transnational identities.
References
Carter, P. M., & Varra, R. (2023). Spanish in contact with English in the United States. In Oxford Research Encyclopedia of Linguistics.
De Fina, A. (2016). Linguistic practices and transnational identities. In The Routledge handbook of language and identity. (pp. 163-178). Routledge.
Furman, L. (2017). ¿ El spanglish–vehículo de la identidad transitoria?. Białostockie Archiwum Językowe, (17), 289-301.
Jiménez, R. M. (1996) “Spanglish”: The Language of Chicanos. In Azevedo, J. (ed.) Prized Writing 1995-1996. UC Davis. https://prizedwriting.ucdavis.edu/spanglish-language-chicanos
Mayorga Coffee. (2022). Spanglish: Uniting Cultures and Redefining Communication. Mayorga Coffee. https://mayorgacoffee.com/blogs/news/is-spanglish-a-language?srsltid=AfmBOorrf2mYTfyaxY3ZNjVR4rtYd3fSEQ9SNKSZkfbW9ynOS3W5qhxN
Teraoka, A. A. (1987). Gastarbeiterliteratur: The Other Speaks Back. Cultural Critique, (7), 77-101.
Vale, R. (2024). Spanglish: A Fluid Language for a Fluid Identity. Luz Media. https://luzmedia.co/spanglish/
Watzinger‐Tharp, J. (2004). Turkish‐German language: an innovative style of communication and its implications for citizenship and identity. Journal of Muslim Minority Affairs, 24(2), 285-294.
