Sociolinguistics

Cia Evangelino, Saffiya Haque, Allie Kuo, Emma Montilla, Renee Rubanowitz

In music, switching between languages isn’t just linguistic— it’s poetic. Spanglish is in the studio, and it’s topping the charts. This study explores how bilingual artistry harnesses code-switching as a creative tool as it reshapes the landscape of contemporary music.

Code-switching typically signals affiliation or belonging in a community or conveys language-specific ideas, but it evolves into a deliberate stylistic choice in music and art. However, does creative liberty coincide with linguistic constraints? Our research investigates whether song lyrics, as a form of poetry, prioritize meaning over grammatical perseverance.

This article examines how bilingual artists implement code-switching into their lyrics, analyzing their use of borrowing and blending through the lens of Code Copying Framework and Poplack’s constraints.

We focused on the bilingual lyrics of Rosalía and Kali Uchis, two Spanish-language musicians with distinct bilingual backgrounds. Our analysis revealed that Rosalía, as an L2 English speaker, predominantly uses shorter borrowings and code copies to preserve English-specific semantic nuances, often refraining from full code-switching. In contrast, Kali Uchis, a simultaneous English-Spanish bilingual, employs/favors longer, fluid borrowings at clausal boundaries, seamlessly switching between two languages line by line. We hypothesize that these differences in their approach to bilingual lyricism come from their dominant language preferences and differing linguistic proficiencies.

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Introduction and Background

In today’s world, bilingual music is a new and exciting way for artists to express their identity and connect with different groups of people. Look at Rosalía or Kali Uchis, for example: they both switch seamlessly from Spanish to English, often in the middle of their lyrics. What’s really happening when these artists switch languages so effortlessly? Is it just a trendy way to mix things up, or is more happening beneath the surface?

This blog delves into how bilingual artists navigate the linguistic restrictions surrounding code-switching in music. We will test if certain constraints governing spoken Spanish and English also apply in a musical context. Specifically, we will look at whether Johanson’s (2011) code copying framework and Poplack’s constraints (1980) still hold up in a lyrical format.

To understand what happens when bilingual artists code-switch in their lyrics, it helps first to unpack what code-switching is. Code-switching occurs when a speaker alternates between two languages within or between sentences. For example, Kali Uchis has a song lyric that goes, “That’s the only thing que me da alegría,” which means “That’s the only thing that brings me joy.” Here, she casually switches from English to Spanish mid-song.

According to Poplack (1980), there are some crucial grammatical constraints that bilinguals tend to follow when switching between languages, including the free morpheme constraint, which suggests that bilinguals are more likely to switch languages when one of the languages is a free morpheme. This helps to ensure that the switch does not disrupt the sentence’s grammatical structure. However, Timm (1975) argues that not all code-switching follows strict rules. Some switches and combinations of words may sound ungrammatical to bilingual speakers. Timm states that bilinguals make code-switching decisions based on the context and what feels natural in the conversation. In other words, code-switching is as much about communication goals and cultural expression as it is about grammar. However, there is another layer to all this, which is that of music. Lyrics are more than just spoken language; they are a form of artistic expression, so they have more leeway to break the “rules” of language and grammar regarding creativity. In music, artists like Rosalía and Kali Uchis often code-switch between English and Spanish to communicate and express their identity, emotions, and cultural background. In this context, code-switching may not always conform to the strict linguistic rules established by Poplack and others. These two artists’ flexibility in language reflects their different bilingual experiences and how they shape how they mesh languages in their songs.

Methods

To understand and answer our research question, we analyzed the lyrics of two prominent Spanish-English artists, Rosalía and Kali Uchis. We chose these two artists for their unique linguistic and cultural backgrounds and active use of code- and language-switching in their music. In terms of similarities, both artists are of a similar age and release Latin/Spanish music of similar genres. We thought this genre of music in particular, would be insightful to focus on, as the informality and structure of their song lyrics are a contrast from previous code-switching examples we have looked at through this course. Both women have also each built an alternative, trend-setting brand image and self-identities that hinge largely on themes of confidence, sex positivity, femininity, and empowerment.

Rosalia, photo via Europa Press News                            Kali Uchis, photo via Felipe Q Noguiera

Beyond these similarities that allow for standardization of our data collection, we chose Rosalía and Kali Uchis because they also represent two distinct types of bilingualism and cultural experiences, providing a rich contrast for analysis. Rosalía, born in Catalonia, Spain, is a sequential bilingual who grew up speaking Spanish and Catalan as her native languages before learning English later in life — we categorized her as an L2 English speaker. While she began her music career with a strong focus on Flamenco and traditional Spanish music, Rosalía recently transitioned into Latin and alternative reggaetón-inspired pop. Kali Uchis, in contrast, is a simultaneous bilingual born in the United States to Colombian parents. Growing up, she was exposed to both Spanish and English equally, having spent significant time in both Virginia, USA and Colombia. This dual-culture childhood is reflected in the blending of the two languages in her songs. Her discography began predominantly in English but has recently shifted to more Latin music. By examining these two artists, we hoped to explore how their bilingual backgrounds shape their distinct approaches to code-switching and linguistic creativity and how their different upbringings may have manifested themselves into their music.

We collected data by identifying ten songs from each of these two artists. We used the metric of the number of Spotify streams per song to choose their most popular music. In our data filtering, we only ensured to include tracks where the artists held writing credits, as this guaranteed that the observed code-switching and linguistic patterns came directly from their creative process rather than external songwriters that we would not know their linguistics backgrounds. Because of this in mind, we chose to include collaborations and feature songs, such as New Woman (LISA feat. Rosalía) and SI NO ES CONTIGO – REMIX (Cris Mj feat. Kali Uchis & JHAYCO), as these song features tended to be 1) highly streamed, and 2) written by the artists themselves. Then, to narrow our focus to bilingualism in music, we excluded songs entirely in Spanish or English, as these songs were not tailored to our interests and would not illustrate instances of bilingual code-switching. Lyrics were sourced from Genius, a widely used database for accurate song transcription, translations from the Genius community comments, or from members of our group who are beginning L2 Spanish speakers.

Example of songs taken from Rosalia’s Spotify artist profile, including streams

After selecting 23 songs for our dataset, we parsed each song, compiling lines of lyrics in which a language switch occurred. To identify these switches, we applied the established definitions of intra- and inter-sentential switching and the structure of the code-copying framework. These lyrics were documented and later analyzed on a robust spreadsheet.

Song Selection Data Samples
Kali Uchis
Song: SAD GIRLZ LUV MONEY Remix – Feature   2021 Release 461.5m Approx. Spotify Streams	Lyric: Yeah, you’ve been starin’ at me (¿Por qué me miras?) That’s the only thing que me da alegría Yo quiero sentirte inside of me
Song: Moonlight   2023 Release 829.8m Approx. Spotify Streams	Lyric: I just wanna get high with my lover, Veo una muñeca cuando miro en el espejo
Song: telepatía   2020 Release	Lyric: If you want it, you could take a private plane, a kilómetros estamos conectando

1.2b Approx. Spotify Streams	Y me prendes aunque no me estés tocando
Song: Igual Que Un Angel   2024 Release 332m Approx. Spotify Streams	Lyric: You should’ve seen the way she looked, igual que un angel Heaven’s her residence y ella no se va a caer
Rosalia
Song: Despecha   2022 Release 1.1b Approx. Spotify Streams	Lyric: Hoy salgo con mi baby de la disco corona, corona, yeah
Song: New Woman – Feature   2024 Release 223m Approx. Spotify Streams	Lyric: Puta, soy la Rosalía, solo sé servir
Song: TKN   2020 Release 465m Approx. Spotify Streams	Lyric: Zoom en la cara, Gaspar Noe
Song: Besos Moja2   2022 Release 442.6m Approx. Spotify Streams	Lyric: To’ me queda bien con una white tee To’ me quieren casar, soy una wifey

Results and Analysis

In total, we collected data from 23 different songs released between 2019 and 2024, with 10 being songs by or featuring Rosalía and 13 by or featuring Kali Uchis. From these 23 songs, we extracted 19 (38.7% of data) data samples from Rosalía and 30 (61%) data samples from Kali Uchis – resulting in 49 data samples. Generally, most code-switching occurs as an intersentential switch, which means it happens at clausal boundaries between sentences instead of within a sentence.

The results we discovered while gathering our data prove some interesting differences between how sequential and simultaneous bilinguals code-switch. For example, Rosalía, a sequential bilingual who primarily makes her music in Spanish within the Flamenco musical style, is more likely to code switch in her music when in the Latin context or if she appears as a feature on songs with Latin artists. Meanwhile, Kali Uchis, a simultaneous bilingual, is more likely to code-switch in her music in general. Unfortunately, due to time constraints, we could not investigate how heavy of a correlation each artist’s background influences their code-switching/code-coping tendencies. Still, based on the data, we can tell each artist has a preference on how bilingualism is written into their music. We expected a vast majority of code copying to occur within our data. Still, only 40.8% of data resulted from code-copying versus code-switching, with an overwhelming majority of code-copying data samples from Rosalía (80% of code-copying samples). Comparatively, Kali Uchis heavily favors code-switching, with 80% of her data samples containing some form of code-switching. She tends to favor longer phrases of code-switching instead of single-word copies. The data table below shows examples of the different types of code-copying occurring with a song from each artist.

Song Lyric Data Analysis Samples
Igual Que Un Angel – Kali Uchis Kali Uchis, Peso Pluma – Igual Que Un Ángel 0:20-0:30
Lyric: You should’ve seen the way she looked, igual que un angel Heaven’s her residence y ella no se va a caer	Translation: You should’ve seen the way she looked like an angel Heaven’s her residence and she’s not gonna fall	Analysis: Selective copying: igual que un angel mirrors the English structure to retain meaning while adapting to Spanish syntax
fue mejor – Kali Uchis Kali Uchis – fue mejor feat. SZA 1:00-1:10
Lyric: Y me fui en el Jeep a las doce The backseat donde yo te conocí	Translation: And I left in the Jeep at twelve The backseat where I met you	Analysis: Global copy example: “Jeep” and “the backseat” are English words with all properties preserved and integrated into the lyrics
Besos Moja2 – Rosalia

Wisin & Yandel, ROSALÍA – Besos Moja2 2:22-2:33
Lyric: To’ me queda bien con una white tee To’ me quieren casar, soy una wifey	Translation: It looks good on me with a white tee They all want to marry me, I’m a wifey	Analysis: Global copying: the English phrases white tee and wifey are borrowed intact and function within the Spanish sentences without alteration
New Woman – Lisa feat. Rosalia LISA – NEW WOMAN feat. Rosalía 1:48 – 1:52
Lyric: Puta, soy la Rosalía, solo sé servir	Translation: Bitch, I’m Rosalía, all I do is serve	Analysis: Selective copy example: semantic meaning of “serve” is preserved, directly translated from English to Spanish

The types of copying that we came across in our data are:

• Global copies (taking words in their unaltered form and using them within a sentence).
• Selective copies (the structure of a word or phrase is kept while adapting to another language’s syntax).
• Mixed copies (switching between one language to another within a sentence or phrase). From our data, a majority of the data uses mixed copying, accounting for 40% of the examples. Global copying accounted for 36% of our data, while selective copying accounted for 16%.

Discussion and Conclusion

From our corpus of lyrics, we concluded that code-switching in music tends to deviate from standard grammatical constraints and, therefore, does not strictly follow Poplack’s Constraints. Instead, code-switching in music more closely aligns with and reflects the artists’ bilingual background. Rosalía, a sequential bilingual, is more deliberate in her switches when using English in songs to identify specific concepts like “wifey” or “to serve.” On the other hand, Kali Uchis, a simultaneous bilingual, is more spontaneous in her use of code-switching; her fluidity between Spanish and English is representative of the dual integration of both languages in her identity. Still, we observed both global and selective copying in the artists’ lyrics and could conclude that global and selective copying are common and focal aspects of bilingual lyricism.

Nonetheless, we acknowledge the limitations of our investigation. Due to the temporal constraints of the quarter system, our project timeline was very restricted, and we could not expand the scope of our exploration and means of data collection. Thus, our focus on two artists and reliance on public information could have been a more comprehensive elicitation of analyses.

Revisiting our initial research questions: If certain constraints apply in spoken Spanish when code-switching to English, do they transfer over the same way into language in a musical context? What types of copying, following the code copying framework, will be found in song lyrics?

The integration of multiple languages in music has far-reaching implications for linguistic research, cultural understanding, and artistic expression. Understanding code-switching in creative language use provides insights into how language patterns manifest in nontraditional language contexts, namely under the influence of the artistic nature of lyricism and songwriting. Code-switching in music also enhances artistic expression by encouraging dynamic wordplay and rhymes across languages. It provides insights into the differences between different levels of bilingualism and types of multilingualism. Moreover, bilingual lyrics serve important cultural functions, as they represent the juxtaposition of cultures, promoting linguistic and cultural diversity, expressions, and communication. Within the music industry, multilingual music can unite different listeners’ cultures and expand the reach of artist audiences.

Although our research yields valuable insights, it needs to be more broadly generalizable to all Spanish-English or other language bilingual musicians. Future expansions of our study will include a larger sample of bilingual artists with a more extensive range of lyrical repertories from more diverse language backgrounds. It would be ideal to have direct access to artists’ accounts of their language to better understand their use and relationship with their respective languages as well as their creative processes.

An important consideration to account for in our investigation is the existence of code-switching patterns for Spanglish that do not necessarily apply to varieties of Iberian Spanish. The present investigation focused primarily on code-switching conventions within a musical genre rather than a dialect, assuming that an artist from Spain would adapt to Latin American dialectal features in this context, but dialectal differences may still occur. We are interested in understanding competing factors of bilingual acquisition and regional norms to further develop our research from this investigation, specifically, the influences of sequential and simultaneous bilingualism and regional norms for language in Latin American versus peninsular Spanish varieties. Additional research directions would look across different genres and investigate the reception of code-switched lyrics among monolingual and bilingual listeners, considering the linguistic influence of lyricism more broadly in language communities.

References

Cris MJ, Kali Uchis & JHAYCO – Si No Es Contigo (remix). Genius. (n.d.-a). https://genius.com/Cris-mj-kali-uchis-and-jhayco-si-no-es-contigo-remix-lyrics

Duran, R. P. (1984). Latino Language and Communicative Behavior. The Modern Language Journal. Exposito, Suzy. “Pop Loner Kali Uchis on Growing up Punk in Colombia and the Struggle to Stay Bilingual.” Rolling Stone, Rolling Stone, 13 Sept. 2019, www.rollingstone.com/music/music-latin/kali-uchis-isolation-colombia-interview-2018-7 00772/.

Gonzalez-Cruz, M. I. (2017). Exploring the dynamics of English/Spanish codeswitching in a written corpus. Alicante Journal of English Studies, 30 (2017), 336-361.

Johanson, L. (2011). Contact-induced change in a code-copying framework.

Lisa (ft. Rosalía) – New Woman. Genius. (n.d.). https://genius.com/Lisa-new-woman-lyrics Lipski, J. M. (2008). Varieties of Spanish in the United States. Georgetown University Press.

Loaiza, K. M. “Kali Uchis”. Lyrics to “ORQUÍDEAS” [Album]. Geffen Records, 2024. Genius, genius.com/albums/Kali-uchis/Orquideas.

Monteagudo, M. (2020). Spanglish code-switching in Latin pop music: functions of English and audience reception. https://www.duo.uio.no/handle/10852/79796

Poplack, S. (1980). Sometimes, I’ll start a sentence in Spanish Y TERMINO EN ESPAÑOL: toward a typology of code-switching¹. Linguistics, 18(7-8), 581-618. https://doi.org/10.1515/ling.1980.18.7-8.581

Sayre, A. A. (2022). “Rosalia is unafraid to pull from every corner of the world.” NPR, NPR, 24 April 2022, https://www.npr.org/2022/04/24/1094491641/rosalia-is-unafraid-to-pull-from-every-corn er-of-the-world

Timm, L. A. (1975). Spanish-English Code-Switching: El Porqué y How-Not-To. Romance Philology, 28(4), 473–482. http://www.jstor.org/stable/44941606

Villa Tobella, R. ‘ROSALÍA’. Lyrics to “Motomami” [Album]. Columbia Records and Sony Music, 2022. Genius, genius.com/albums/Rosalia/Motomami.

Rosalía. (2022). Motomami [Album]. Columbia Records. Uchis, K. (2024). Orquideas [Album]. Geffen Records. Uchis, K, and SZA. “Fue Mejor.” Genius, Genius Media Group, n.d., https://genius.com/Kali-uchis-and-sza-fue-mejor-lyrics

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Monique Tunnell, Lori Garavartanian, Marlene Ortiz, Melina Darlas

In the world of TikTok, where creativity knows no bounds, young Latinx creators are redefining what it means to connect through language. Spanglish skits on TikTok combine Spanish and English, making a perfect mix of hilarity and relatability. But these skits do more than just make us laugh, they create a sense of belonging for bilingual audiences navigating their cultural identities in a digital space.

Our study dives into the art of Spanglish code-mixing in TikTok skits to uncover how these creators build community through humor. By analyzing videos tagged with hashtags like #Spanglish and #Humor, we explore the linguistic features behind these skits—inter-sentential alternations and intra-sentential alternations. Focusing on Mexican and Puerto Rican dialects, we explain how these tools aren’t just random word choices; they’re powerful markers of identity and in-group solidarity. We see how viewers react to these humorous takes on bilingual life by looking at comments, likes, and shares and find that these skits are sparking conversations and fostering connections that stretch across the digital Latinx diaspora.

This research sheds light on why certain Spanglish patterns hit harder, gain more traction, and resonate deeper with audiences. Whether it’s through a hilarious Chicano slang twist or a clever Puerto Rican phrase, Spanglish on TikTok proves that humor isn’t just entertainment—it’s a bridge connecting identities, cultures, and people one laugh at a time.

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Introduction and Background

Code-switching is a linguistic phenomenon that has consistently signaled community and group membership, in diasporas or otherwise. It is a feature of language that has often been used to show solidarity with other members of a marginalized group or to signal generational comradery. Persistent usages of code-switching have given rise not only to unique means of language usage, but to what some would consider entirely new languages. This can be seen not only through academic observations of bilingual speakers, but also through the lived experiences of those speakers. One particular space where both academic and personal reflections are abundant is regarding the usage of “Spanglish,” a unique combination of Spanish and English used by many in the Latinx community.

Previous research on Spanglish has found that in cities like New York City, Spanish-English bilingual youth have consistently reflected their cultural belonging and showcased their understanding of bilingual cultural norms through code-switching (Montes-Alcalá, 2024). These findings have helped build an understanding of how Spanglish is evoked as a cultural and social tool, rather than simply a linguistic phenomenon.

Personal narratives have also reinforced this perception of Spanglish as a cultural device. In speaking about her Spanglish usage during a Ted Talk, high school student Alondra Posada (2018) states that Spanglish helps people communicate, especially when they are struggling to learn both Spanish and English at the same time. She also states that Spanglish is a strong representation of both her American and Latinx communities, indicating that it helps her connect and feel comfortable within both elements of her identity. Spanish professor Dra Meduri Soto (2021) reinforces this concept when speaking about the U.S. Latinx community’s usage of Spanglish. She states that her relatives in Mexico usually admired Spanglish when they heard it spoken. She emphasizes that it was hard, if not impossible, to teach them Spanglish because she had acquired it organically as part of her American Latina identity. Generally, Spanglish speakers’ own conceptions and accounts of their Spanglish use reinforces its usefulness as a communication device that brokers understanding and a sense of cultural belonging.

Other studies have added onto this conversation by exemplifying how Spanish-English bilinguals have adapted their usage of Spanglish to other spheres, for example by using online content like memes to resonate with each other and with a broader Latinx audience (Dickinson, 2023). In the digital age, this usage of online resources has become increasingly significant, prompting one to wonder how community building via code-switching and Spanglish has been altered by social media apps and forums, as well as how digital connectedness has molded and shaped code-switching as a whole. These questions and qualms come at a time where content posted on Tik Tok specifically has taken the world by storm, allowing young people a new platform on which to gain popularity and connect with others. Existing research (Daulay et al, 2024) has already shown that code switching in Tik Tok and Instagram comments can shift subjects and showcase bilingualism between app users. Therefore, there is some basis to assume that platforms such as Tik Tok are already being used to create community and solidarity. However, not much is known, at present, about how specific linguistic strategies, such as intra-sentential switches or inter-sentential switches, function in TikTok’s humor-driven environment to build and sustain community connections. These key terms, as well as code switching as we use it in our research, have been defined in the following index:

This study seeks to fill the gap in knowledge regarding social media code-switching tools by analyzing Spanglish TikTok skits, focusing on Mexican and Puerto Rican dialects, to uncover how creators use language to entertain, unite, and resonate with bilingual audiences. By examining linguistic patterns and audience engagement, this research sheds light on how humor and language intersect to strengthen cultural identity in a rapidly evolving digital landscape. Ultimately, the research poses the question of exactly how Spanglish in Tik Tok skits is building humor and community in the Mexican and Puerto Rican online communities and how engagement metrics are reflective of this.

Before formally addressing this question, we had four personal hypotheses. For one, we believed inter-sentential switching would occur more often than intra-sentential switching. Next, we believed many videos would have both intra and inter-sentential switching. Third, we anticipated seeing many comments with personal pronouns and “humorous” emojis. Finally, we hypothesized that comments, likes, and shares would differ more than views when inter versus intra-sentential switching was used. These hypotheses were supported at varying degrees throughout our data collection process, as we will address.

Methods

To understand how bilingual people use Spanish and English in humorous TikTok videos, we picked eight content creators aged 18 and above who use skits and hashtags such as #Spanglish and #comedy. We watched eight videos where these creators mix languages, a practice we’ve already defined as code-switching. We counted how often they switched between languages and looked at two types of code-switches, both of which have also been defined above: intra-sentential switching and inter-sentential switching.

We studied how people responded to these particular videos by checking how many likes, comments, and shares each got. For example, we looked at what kinds of jokes people found funny, how many people saved the videos, and if they shared their own, often extremely similar, experiences in the comments. This helped us see which type of code-switching typically works best to make people laugh and relate to creators. We also noticed how creators used their language background, like “Spanish de rancho” and Puerto Rican Spanish, to connect with their audiences. By studying these videos, we aimed to learn how language blending can be a tool for creativity and connection.

Data Collected: Figure 1 showcases video analytics for a subset of the eight TikTok videos we analyzed for our results analysis. Figure 2 highlights types of code switching and examples of code switches utilized within the same videos. The five videos selected were the first five observed. Additionally, they included the videos with the highest numbers of code-switching, serving as valuable data to showcase.

Video Number	Dialects	Views	Likes	Comments	Top Comment Themes
1	“Spanish de Rancho” & American English	511.9k	68.5K	1283	1) Shared experience 2) Comedic effect, including mentions of laughter
2	Puerto Rican Spanish & American English	263.5k	67.3k	205	1) Shared experience
3	Puerto Rican Spanish & American English	92.4k	7626	101	1) Comedic effect, including usage of “cry” and “laugh” emojis
4	Mexican Spanish & American English	7.8M	1M	4599	1) Shared experience, particularly in familial settings
5	Mexican Spanish & American English	1.1M	156.5k	857	1) Shared experience 2) Comedic effect, including usage of “cry” and “laugh” emojis

Video Number	Dialects	Number & Types of Code-switches	Example of code-switch
1	“Spanish de Rancho” & American English	Total: 28 22 intra-sentential 6 inter-sentential	“I told my patient ‘encuerate’”
2	Puerto Rican Spanish & American English	Total: 5 3 intra-sentential 2 inter-sentential	“Estamos buscando una pillow”
3	Puerto Rican Spanish & American English	Total: 8 6 intra-sentential 2 inter-sentential	“I cannot live in a caliente place”
4	Mexican Spanish & American English	Total: 3 2 intra-sentential 1 inter-sentential	“How to say ‘to tag’ in spanish”
5	Mexican Spanish & American English	Total: 15 15 intra-sentential	“I speak spanglish of course cuando se me olvida..”

Tik Tok Analytics:

Tik Tok analytics were collected for various reasons. We wanted to see, more generally, how many views, likes, and comments Spanish-English creators were getting for their “Spanglish” centered skits and videos. More specifically, we wanted to be able to compare analytics between videos that used intra-sentential and inter-sentential switching to see if any one of them helped creators gain more popularity than the other. Within the eight total TikTok videos we observed, some words and ways of talking did seem to make videos more popular, garnering more likes and comments. It seemed as though solely using intra-sentential switching was less successful in pulling in likes, relative to the amount of views videos garnered. Figure 3, seen below, exemplifies this. As a note, the average ratios were calculated by taking the ratio of likes to views for each of the eight videos assessed and subsequently taking the mean amongst videos

As can be observed within the figure, videos with both types of switches were over two times as successful at gaining likes when compared to their counterparts with only intra-sentential switches. The videos with both inter and intra-sentential switching often used both types of switches to mirror instances between Spanish speaking parents and bilingual children, occasions which likely evoke relatability. On the other hand, the TikTok videos where people mix Spanish and English in the same sentence didn’t get as many likes or saves, perhaps because they were harder for the audience to follow.

A more qualitative analysis of the video comments also revealed that the Tik Tok audience often uses words in the comments like “I”, “myself”, and “me”, because they are relating to experiences showcased in the videos. They additionally use emojis like “😂” and “😭” to show laughter or emotion. Sometimes, the audience even mixes Spanish and English themselves.

Other Results: After assessing our eight selected Tik Tok videos, we found the following, displayed in Figure 4:

We borrowed methodology previously used in an analysis of code-switching in Instagram videos (Wiraputi et al, 2021). This method looks at not only the number of code switches, but also what percentage of code switches are of a certain type. The methodology we copied had “tag-switching” as well, an extra-sentential type of switching where a speaker inserts phrases from one language into another, but we did not notice the occurrence of tag-switching within our videos and omitted it as a result. The results that we did find showed a few interesting phenomena:

1. When Spanglish Tik Tok creators code switch in videos, they typically do so more than once. In fact, the average across eight videos was 9.25 code switches per video.
2. Intra-sentential switching dominates code switching occurrences, taking up over 77% of the code switching we witnessed.
3. Co-occurrence was in fact common. Only two of eight videos or 25% of content observed did not have both inter and intra-sentential switching.

Having analyzed all our quantitative and qualitative data on video analytics, comments, and occurrence of code-switches, our results yielded the following consequences as far as our hypotheses are concerned:

Discussion and Conclusion

This study of Spanglish humor on TikTok revealed that young adult creators frequently use intra-sentential code-switching, particularly in Mexican and Puerto Rican dialects, to enhance the comedic and relatable quality of their content. Contrary to our initial hypothesis, intra-sentential switching was more prevalent than inter-sentential switching, indicating that the integration of Spanish and English within sentences may occur more commonly with bilingual audiences. Another key insight we came across was the ways in which community and identity building proceeds amongst the Latinx community in the United States. Prior to our studies, we had understood that Spanish varieties, such as that spoken in Los Angeles, are often characterized by convergence, borrowings, and switches (Sánchez-Muñoz, 2017). We had been curious about the role that convergence played on social media and on Tik Tok specifically and whether the blends we witness in real life translate to online spheres. Our analysis pointed us towards the observation that Spanglish serves as a vital tool for expressing cultural identity and fostering community solidarity online, making humor a bridge between bicultural experiences. We also noticed while studying engagement patterns that videos that incorporate both intra and inter-sentential switching see higher engagement, pointing to the idea that utilizing many different linguistic patterns within the same video boosts performance.

Some considerations we have for future research into this field is the generalizability of our findings. Since our findings are specific to TikTok and its user demographics, they may not apply universally across all digital platforms or linguistic communities. Comparative studies across different digital platforms and research completed over a longer period of time could explain how digital code-switching presents itself in other contexts. In essence, the study underscores the importance of linguistic flexibility in digital content, which not only entertains but also strengthens community ties among bilingual Latinx viewers.

References

Dickinson, K. V. (2023). What Does It Meme? English–Spanish Codeswitching and Enregisterment in Virtual Social Space. Languages, 8. https://www.researchgate.net/publication/374657133_What_Does_It_Meme_English-Spanish_Codeswitching_and_Enregisterment_in_Virtual_Social_Space

Hamidah Daulay, S., Husein Nst, A., Randia Ningsih, F., & Berutu, H. (2024). Code Switching in the Social Media Era: A Linguistic Analysis of Instagram and TikTok Users. Humanitatis Journal of Language and Literature, 10. https://www.researchgate.net/publication/383171193_Code_Switching_in_the_Social_Media_Era_A_Linguistic_Analysis_of_Instagram_and_TikTok_Users

Montes-Alcalá, C. (2024, April 15). Bilingual texting in the age of emoji: Spanish–English code-switching in SMS. MDPI. https://www.mdpi.com/2226-471X/9/4/144

Sanchez-Munoz, A. (2017). Tempted by the Words of Another: Linguistic Choices of Chicanas/os and Other Latinas/os in Los Angeles. https://www.researchgate.net/publication/345124311_Tempted_by_the_Words_of_Another_Linguistic_Choices_of_Chicanasos_and_Other_Latinasos_in_Los_Angeles

Soto, Dra. M. (2021, September 15). We Speak Spanglish ¿Y qué? World Outspoken. https://www.worldoutspoken.com/articles-blog/spanglish-its-who-we-are

Sanchez-Munoz, A. (2017). Tempted by the Words of Another:: Linguistic Choices of Chicanas/os and Other Latinas/os in Los Angeles. https://www.researchgate.net/publication/345124311_Tempted_by_the_Words_of_Another_Linguistic_Choices_of_Chicanasos_and_Other_Latinasos_in_Los_Angeles

TEDx Talks. (2018). Spanglish is a Language Too! | Alondra Posada | TEDxYouth@UrsulineAcademy. In YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6N8Zk_EY6G8

Wiraputri, D., & Sultara, K. (2021). Code switching found in cinta laura’s video on her instagram tv. Journal of Language and Applied Linguistics.

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Miroslava Albiter, Caitlin Morlett, Renee Ma, Jaquelin Trujillo, and Zirui(Ray)

Have you ever heard your friend or family speak two languages in one phrase? Have you ever spoken two languages in a sentence? We look deeper into how code-switching affects phonological convergence, specifically in Spanish-English bilinguals. A key phonological difference between English and Spanish is the articulation of word-initial voiceless stops such as /p/, /t/, and /k/. Therefore, we specifically analyzed how the Voiced Time Onset (VOT) measures of Spanish-English bilinguals are affected by code-switching between Spanish and English. Sixteen English-Spanish bilinguals were recorded and asked to read aloud the Rainbow passage, a passage with English sentences, Spanish sentences, and code-switched English-Spanish sentences. PRAAT was used to measure the participants’ VOTs to compare the differences to a baseline VOT measure of monolingual English and Spanish speakers (Castañeda Vicente, 1986; Lisker & Abramson, 1964).

After data collection and analysis, we discovered that both VOTs of English and Spanish were lengthened during code-switching, albeit for different reasons. As Spanish VOT extended due to phonological convergence, English VOT also unexpectedly extended. We observed evidence for hyper-articulation, which can further explain our conclusion. However, limitations are reckoned with, and thus, fields of phonological change within code-switched contexts are explored.

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Introduction and Background

In this article, we investigated code-switching in English-Spanish bilingual college students, focusing on their phonological change along with the process of code-switching through Voice Onset Time. Code-switching “is a practice common among bilinguals whereby speakers use both languages in a single utterance” (Balukas & Koops, 2015). We will analyze whether English-Spanish bilingual college students demonstrate phonological convergence of VOT in code-switching sentences. The age range of the 16 tested participants varies, with 14 being 20 years old and the other two between 40 and 50 years old. After collecting data, we examined the Voice Onset Time (VOT) in different circumstances and the subsequent phonological convergence in English-Spanish code-switched sentences.

According to previous research, English monolingual speakers typically produce a longer VOT of word-initial voiceless stops than Spanish monolingual speakers (Balukas & Koops, 2015). Samples from bilingual participants were collected and analyzed using Praat, with a particular focus on VOT changes and the evidence of subsequent phonological convergence. As such, we are investigating a potential phenomenon wherein the English VOT is observed to shorten while the Spanish VOT lengthens in English-Spanish code-switched sentences. This dynamic interaction may be further interpreted as evidence of phonological convergence, reflecting an underlying adjustment mechanism within bilingual speech production systems. Due to the lack of ready access to true monolingual speakers in the LA area, we will use data from the BYU Scholars Archive to compare the VOT of our bilingual speakers to the average VOT for /p/, /t/, and /k/ in both English and Spanish. In the BYU Scholars Archive, the Spanish baseline was recorded at the University of Barcelona in 1986 and was taken from 10 monolingual Spanish speakers (Castañeda Vicente, 1986). The English baseline in the archive was recorded at the University of Pennsylvania in 1964 based on 4 American monolingual English speakers (Lisker & Abramson, 1964).

Figure 1 – Chart from BYU Scholars Archive showing the average VOT is ms for English bilinguals and Spanish bilinguals

Phonological properties, including VOTs, can be differentiated across various dialects, even within the same language. In this research, our participants predominantly speak LAVS (Los Angeles Vernacular Spanish), while three speak the Castellano dialect.

In this study, we will investigate whether code-switching influences VOT in English-Spanish bilingual speakers. Testing the specific phonological changes in VOTs in English and Spanish during code-switching. It finally aims to detect the phonological convergence during code-switching in English-Spanish bilinguals. Our hypotheses of VOT and phonological convergence are as follows:

1. English-Spanish bilingual speakers will shorten English VOT and lengthen Spanish VOT compared to true monolingual speakers of each respective language.
2. If the speaker’s L1 is English and their L2 is Spanish, we expect the VOT for Spanish /p/, /t/, and /k/ to be longer than Spanish monolingual speakers. We also expect their English VOT for /p/, /t/, and /k/ to reflect the VOT of monolingual English speakers.
3. If the speaker’s L1 is Spanish and their L2 is English, we expect the VOT for English /p/, /t/, and /k/ to be shorter than English monolingual speakers. We would also expect their Spanish VOT for /p/, /t/, and /k/ to reflect the VOT of monolingual Spanish speakers.

If a participant has been discouraged from speaking Spanglish, they will be more likely to have longer VOT in Spanish despite differences in their L1 or L2.

To clarify related concepts, VOT is “the temporal relationship between laryngeal pulsing and the onset of consonant release” (Molfese & Narter, 1997). Phonological convergence, on the other hand, refers to the process by which speakers in a communicative interaction adjust their phonological patterns—such as pronunciation, intonation, or rhythm—towards one another. A key phonological distinction between English and Spanish arises primarily in articulating word-initial voiceless stops, namely /p/, /t/, and /k/. Positive VOT, or aspiration, is characterized by a puff of air following the release of the stop.

A phonological rule of English specifies that word-initial voiceless stops are aspirated or have a positive VOT. Word-initial voiceless stops in Spanish are typically not aspirated or aspirated, much less than English word-initial voiceless stops (Piccinini & Arvaniti, 2015). We will explore Voice Onset Time in code-switching contexts. Code-switching “is a practice common among bilinguals whereby speakers use both languages in a single utterance” (Balukas & Koops, 2015). We will analyze whether English-Spanish bilingual college students demonstrate phonological convergence of VOT in code-switching sentences.

Methods

We will first have all participants complete the demographic and self-report questionnaire about their linguistic background. The questionnaire will include information about their L1 and L2, how often they code-switch, their proficiency in speaking and reading both languages and if they speak any other languages. Lastly, we will include sociocultural questions about their language use, including how positively or negatively they feel about speaking Spanglish and if they have ever been discouraged from speaking Spanglish.

The participants will read “The Rainbow Passage,” a context that includes a mix of English-only sentences, Spanish-only sentences, and sentences that switch from English to Spanish or Spanish to English. We will account for individual idiosyncrasies while striving to derive principles that are as generalizable as possible. The participants will read the following paragraph adapted from the Rainbow Passage with pre-written code-switched sentences:

When the kind sunlight strikes cold raindrops in the air, they act as a prism and form a rainbow. El arcoiris divide la luz blanca en muchos colores hermosos. Estos toman la forma de un arco tan largo, with its path high above, and its two ends apparently beyond the horizon. There is, according to legend, a boiling pot of gold at one end. People look, pero nadie lo encuentra. Cuando un hombre busca algo más allá de su alcance, sus amigos pueden decir que está buscando la olla de oro al final del arcoíris. Throughout the centuries, people have explained the rainbow in various ways. A recording device will be used to record samples of participants using Praat to measure the phonetic output of the individuals and the length of VOT across all conditions. The English words from the Rainbow Passage that we will analyze include kind, cold, two, to, pot, and people. The Spanish words from the Rainbow Passage that we will be analyzing include colores, toman, tan, pero, cuando, and pueden.

Results and Analysis

Several group members contacted qualified bilingual participants and provided access to the prerequisite questionnaire. After collecting basic information about their first language acquisition (FLA) and second language acquisition (SLA) or second language learning (SLL), we distributed the altered Rainbow Passage to participants, ensuring that the recordings of their utterances were clear and suitable for further analysis. We then reviewed all recordings for quality and completeness before forwarding them to those responsible for data analysis. Audio recordings were collected and analyzed using Praat to find the VOT length. The data collected using Praat for each of the 16 participants is grouped into different categories in order to test the following hypotheses.

1. Average bilingual /p/, /t/, /k/ VOT compared to monolingual /p/, /t/, /k/ VOT (BYU)
2. Group English L1 speakers /p/, /t/, /k/ VOT and compare to Spanish L1 speakers /p/, /t/, /k/ VOT
3. The average /p/, /t/, and /k/ VOT for both languages was based on whether or not they were discouraged from speaking Spanglish.

Based on our data grouping, we discovered that our first hypothesis was false because the English VOT mean values for all 16 of our participants (/p/ 85 ms) (/t/ 75 ms) (/k/ 86 ms) were longer than our baseline measurements. Our Spanish voiceless stop mean values based on 16 participants (/p/ 22 ms) (/t/ 75 ms) (/k/ 27 ms) had a /p/ and /t/ value that was longer than the baseline measures, but the /k/ mean was similar to the baseline data.

Figures 2 and 3—The graph shows the mean VOT in milliseconds for all 16 participants. Figure 2 displays the English VOT values for /p/ (blue), /t/ (red), and /k/ (yellow). Figure 3 shows the Spanish VOT values for /p/ (blue), /t/ (red), and /k/ (yellow). 

We found our second hypothesis partially correct because our Spanish VOT was longer than the baseline data, but our English VOT was also longer than the English baseline. Our English L1 Spanish Voiceless mean VOT values (/p/ 28 ms) (/t/ 22 ms) (/k/ 72 ms) were longer than the VOT baseline data collected from Spanish monolinguals. Our English L1 English mean VOT values were similarly longer than those of English monolingual speakers in the baseline data.

Figures 4 and 5 – The graph shows the mean VOT in milliseconds for all participants with English as their first language. Figure 4 shows the English VOT values for /p/ (blue), /t/ (red), and /k/ (yellow). Figure 5 shows the Spanish VOT values for /p/ (blue), /t/ (red), and /k/ (yellow).

We discovered that our Spanish VOT was longer than our baseline for the /k/ voiceless stop, partially supporting our third hypothesis. Our Spanish L1 English mean VOT (/p/ 51 ms), (/t/ 63 ms), (/k/ 72 ms) was shorter than our baseline, as expected. When we looked at our Spanish L1 Spanish, mean VOT (/p/ 18 ms), (/t/ 18 ms), and (/k/ 27 ms), we discovered that the /p/ and /t/ mean VOT values were longer than the baseline, while the /k/ mean VOT value was identical to the baseline value.

Figures 6 and 7 – The graph shows the English VOT values for /p/ (blue), /t/ (red), and /k/ (yellow). Figures 6 and 7 show the mean VOT in milliseconds for all participants whose first language was Spanish. The Spanish VOT values for /p/ (blue), /t/ (red), and /k/ (yellow) are shown in Figure 6.

Since the participants who were discouraged from speaking Spanish had a lower VOT than those who were encouraged to speak Spanish, our fourth hypothesis was false. In comparison to our encouraged Spanish mean VOT, which is (/p/ 24 ms) (/t/ 24 ms) (/k/ 28 ms), our discouraged Spanish mean VOT was (/p/ 18 ms) (/t/ 18 ms) (/k/ 28 ms).

Figures 8 and 9—The graph shows the average VOT in milliseconds for each of the 16 participants according to whether they had been encouraged to speak Spanglish. The mean VOT in ms for the /p/, /t/, and /k/ values for the participants who received encouragement is displayed in Figure 8. The mean VOT in ms for the discouraged participants’/p/, /t/, and /k/ values are displayed in Figure 9.

Figures 10 and 11 – Both are screenshots of the Praat spectrograms of one of our participants. The VOT of the participant who produced the [t] in the word “toman” is displayed in red in Figure 10 (left). The VOT of the participant who produced the [tʰ] in the word “to” is displayed in red in Figure 11 (right). Speaking Spanglish has been discouraged for this individual, whose first language is Spanish.

Figures 12 and 13 –  Both are screenshots of the Praat spectrograms of one of our participants. The VOT of the participant who produced the [p] in the word “pero” is displayed in red in Figure 12 (left). The VOT of the participant who produced the [pʰ] in the word “people” is displayed in red in Figure 13 (right). Speaking Spanglish has been discouraged for this individual, whose first language is Spanish.

Figures 14 and 15 –  Both are screenshots of the Praat spectrograms of one of our participants. The VOT of the person who produced the [k] in the word “colores” is displayed in red in Figure 14 (left). The VOT of the person who produced the [kʰ] in the word “kind” is displayed in red in Figure 15 (right). Speaking Spanglish has been discouraged for this individual, whose first language is Spanish.

Discussion and Conclusion

This research aims to contribute to understanding phonetic changes during code-switching, focusing on the syllables /p/, /t/, and /k/. The findings indicate that, in addition to phonological changes influenced by language-specific properties, hyper-articulation during the experimental process can also impact the results. Notably, the VOTs of both English and Spanish were lengthened, albeit for different reasons. While previous studies suggested that English VOT should remain stable, the observed lengthening may be attributed to hyper-articulation. This phenomenon occurs when participants consciously articulate more clearly to facilitate phonetic analysis, particularly when instructed to produce distinct utterances for experimental recording. The results aligned with some of our hypotheses, though some biases were observed. Further analysis is required to identify academically sound explanations for these findings.

Due to the difference in language properties, the Spanish VOT is lengthened as predicted. Spanish generally exhibits shorter VOT than English. During code-switching between English and Spanish, the VOT of Spanish syllables was observed to be longer than that of monolingual Spanish speakers, suggesting the occurrence of phonological convergence. However, the lengthened English VOT needed to be accounted for in the hypotheses regarding phonological convergence, necessitating further exploration for alternative explanations.

Based on one of our references (Kasia Muldner,2017), English VOT during code-switching is nearly identical to monolingual speakers, which can be attributed to differences in language-specific characteristics. Consequently, English undergoes minimal phonological changes during code-switching. Our hypotheses align with previous studies, suggesting that despite minor variations, English VOT remains nearly identical to that of monolingual English speakers. However, this experiment’s data showed opposite conclusions, forging us to discover more reliable explanations.

Overall, all VOT measures, except for the Spanish /k/, did not reflect our true monolingual English and Spanish speakers. Baseline data demonstrated an increase in VOT data as the place of articulation was placed further back in the vocal cavity. The /p/ VOT was the shortest, next was /t/ VOT, and the longest was the /k/ VOT in both English and Spanish. Our participants produced a similar VOT for all the English stops (around 80 ms) and all Spanish stops (around 23 ms) These findings suggest that bilingual speakers may default to one length of VOT regardless of the place of articulation, whereas monolingual speakers produce a different VOT length for each stop consonant. Despite previous research, this provides evidence that bilinguals differ in VOT production from monolinguals. 

Another interesting finding was hyper-articulation in our sample, which was characterized by more distinct and easily recognizable pronunciations. This phenomenon is hypothesized to have occurred because participants were instructed to produce clear recordings for subsequent analysis using professional phonetic tools (PRAAT), inadvertently creating a more demanding articulatory environment. Moreover, when comparing English in code-switched contexts with that of monolingual speakers, it is important to consider the inherent variations within English itself. Due to its diverse dialects and accents and a long history of linguistic contact, the definition of  ‘standard’ English is ambiguous. This suggests that the participants in our study may have exhibited different English accents from the outset, potentially influencing the results of our experiment.

Our study encountered a few limitations that affected the study’s results. Firstly, it is a vital variation given that our demographic was relatively small (16 people, with 14 college students), which may produce bias. Furthermore, all of them are self-reported bilinguals, even though with a linguistic background questionnaire, the clarification of “bilingual” remained unclear and contained various things. Our linguistic background questionnaire cannot showcase the diversity and dynamic of bilinguals panoramically and thus may ignore some related variations in code-switching. Secondly, though being collected and quantitatively analyzed, the data per se remained unclear in its accuracy in spontaneous code-switching in natural utterances. Taken together, this research contributes to the research looking into the relationship between code-switching and phonological convergence in Spanish-English bilinguals. The observed VOT lengthening during code-switching contexts suggests a dynamic interaction between languages where bilingual transfer does not have a bidirectional relationship. Bilingual speakers may also adjust their articulation based on the contextual demands of the linguistic environment. Future studies could further explore the implications of phonological transfer and its potential effects on language production in bilinguals.

Appendix I: Linguistic background questionnaire[1] [2] 

(1)  Is English your L1 or L2?

(2) Is Spanish your L1 or L2?

(3) Can you read and speak Spanish?

(4) Can you read and speak English?

(5) Do you speak any other language other than English and Spanish?

(if yes, which languages?)

(6) On a scale from 1-10, how often would you say you code-switch between English and Spanish? (Code-switching is the act of alternating between two or more languages or dialects within a conversation or phrase.)

(7) How positively or negatively do you feel about speaking Spanglish?

(8) Have you ever felt discouraged from speaking Spanglish?

• yes
• no

Appendix II: The Rainbow Passage in English and Spanish

When the kind sunlight strikes cold raindrops in the air, they act as a prism and form a rainbow. El arcoiris divide la luz blanca en muchos colores hermosos. Estos toman la forma de un arco tan largo, with its path high above and its two ends apparently beyond the horizon. There is, according to legend, a boiling pot of gold at one end. People look, pero nadie lo encuentra. Cuando un hombre busca algo más allá de su alcance, sus amigos pueden decir que está buscando la olla de oro al final del arcoíris. Throughout the centuries, people have explained the rainbow in various ways.

References:

Balukas, C., & Koops, C. (2015). Spanish-English bilingual voice onset time in spontaneous code-switching. International Journal of Bilingualism, 19(4), 423-443. https://doi.org/10.1177/1367006913516035

Banov, I. K. (2014, December 1). The production of voice onset time in voiceless stops by … BYU ScholarsArchive. https://scholarsarchive.byu.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=5339&context=etd

Castañeda Vicente, M. L. (1986). El V.O.T de las oclusivas sordas y sonoras españolas. Estudios de fonética experimental, 2, 91-110.

Kasia Muldner, Leah Hoiting, Leyna Sanger, Lev Blumenfeld and Ida Toivonen.The phonetics of code-switched vowels, Carleton University, Canada https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/1367006917709093

Lisker, L., & Abramson, A. S. (1964). A Cross-Language Study of Voicing in Initial Stops: Acoustical Measurements. WORD, 20(3), 384–422. https://doi.org/10.1080/00437956.1964.11659830

Ojeda, Adriana, Ana De Prada Pérez, and Ratree Wayland. Heritage Speakers and their Language Use: A Phonetic Approach to Code-Switching. University of Florida.

Olson, D. J. (2016). The role of code-switching and language context in bilingual phonetic transfer. Journal of the International Phonetic Association, 46(3), 263–285. https://www.jstor.org/stable/26352311

Piccinini, P., & Arvaniti, A. (2015). Voice onset time in Spanish–English spontaneous code-switching. Journal of Phonetics, 52(Sep), 121–137. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.wocn.2015.07.004 Voice onset time. (n.d.). ScienceDirect. Retrieved November 18, 2024, from https://www.sciencedirect.com/topics/biochemistry-genetics-and-molecular-biology/voice-onset-time

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Kevin Kim, Shoichiro Kamata, Karin Yamaoka, Raine Torres, Max Fawzi

Japanese is often erroneously considered a “swearless language”, but anyone who has ever been yelled ‘しね’ (meaning ‘to die’) will confidently tell you that like all languages, Japanese has diverse ways of encoding abusive language. In Japanese ‘しね’ only becomes abusive language when in the context of being an insult, but in everyday situations the word simply means ‘to die’ without any connotation of insult. English differs from Japanese by having explicit profanities that carry a vulgar meaning independent of its usage context or syntactic environment. We conducted the following research to discover the discrepancy of semantic typology between Japanese and English profanities or abusive language, and if bilingual speakers endow varying emotional intensity to English profane lexica compared to Japanese abusive language. Our study shows that L1 Japanese L2 English bilinguals view English profanities as less offensive than their L1 English counterparts, report using these English profanities more frequently, and view the equivalent Japanese abusive language as more offensive.

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Introduction and Background

Languages differ significantly in how they encode and express emotions, particularly when it comes to the use of profanity as a means to express anger (for example in the context of an argument). This study examines profanities as a distinct subset of lexicon characterized by inherently vulgar or aggressive meanings, distinguishing them from other words or expressions that acquire such connotations only through context. In other words, in this paper, profanities refer to lexically explicit terms such as ‘fuck’ in English, that convey hostility or vulgarity without the necessity for context, and argue that Japanese lacks such a distinct subset, since words like  ‘しね’ (meaning ‘to die’) can convey aggression or intensity, but lack the explicit vulgarity found in English profanities. This study thus examines and defines profanities as vulgar lexica (found often in English) where its vulgarity is unaffected by its syntactic environment or context; distinguishing them from abusive expressions that only acquire offensive undertones within specific contexts (found often in Japanese). More specifically, Japanese speakers use “various markers of register rather than the explicit deployment of dysphemistic lexical items or expressions” (Jackson & Kennet 2021,1), where connotation of abuse is only endowed through syntactic and environmental inferences (context in which it is being used) even though there can be contextually impolite vocabulary derived from anatomical, excretory, and sexual sources like in English (Hoshino 1971, 31). We will refer to the vulgar and aggressive lexica of English as ‘profanities’ whereas ‘abusive language’ will be used for their Japanese counterpart lexica.

We argue that current studies on Japanese do not accurately reflect empirical use of abusive languages by native speakers. Medias (e.g. anime) that use more performative language tends to distort the perception of how Japanese speakers use language as media lexicons are often unreflective of native speakers’ lexicons. Through this study, we aim to focus on what native speakers consider to be consistently employed in their everyday language.

With our definition of profanities, it assumes a discrepancy of linguistic equivalence between English profanities and Japanese abusive language in its aggressiveness in its use. Therefore, it raises a question; How do Japanese L1 and English L2 speakers juggle the two discrepant lexical categories of ‘profanities’ and ‘abusive language’ and navigate through the lack of equivalence as a bilingual?

We aim to gain an understanding of the cognitive processes that occur for bilingual speakers, when conceptualizing constructs that are not lexically represented in their L1 and discrepancies in linguistic equivalence.

A research by Dewaele (2016) offers a valuable insight into self-reported perception of English swear words by L2 English speakers. The findings show that English LX users (non-native English speakers) over-estimate the offensiveness of most negative emotion-laden words, and avoid using most offensive emotion-laden words. On the other hand, a relevant study by Gawinkowska et al. (2013) found that bilingual speakers are more hesitant to use strong expletives in their L1 than in their L2, likely because they feel less bound by normative influences when speaking in their L2. As such, existing research has presented conflicting results, adding layers of complexity to bilingualism and emotional perception of abusive language in L2 languages.

We expect cultural aspects to play a role in the perception as well; Japanese cultural norms generally discourage direct expressions of intense emotion. One way this manifests is through face, as in outward appearances. Lin & Yamaguchi (2011) state that Japanese culture places greater importance on saving face, as face in collectivist cultures is concerned with an individual’s position in the social hierarchy rather than personal achievement like in individualistic cultures; there is also a tendency to avoid conflict and maintain interpersonal harmony in collectivist cultures. By directly expressing strong emotions, one would lose face in Japanese society and thus there is a social pressure against directly expressing intense emotion. Synthesizing the relevant studies and Japanese cultural aspect, we hypothesize that L1 Japanese speakers will perceive English profanities as being less emotionally charged than their L1 English counterparts. We can also expect L1 Japanese speakers to rate Japanese abusive language roughly the same as their English profanity counterparts or as less offensive overall.

Methods

2.1 Participants

The population of our study is L1 Japanese L2 English speakers, with our control group being L1 English speakers having no knowledge of Japanese. L1 Japanese L2 English bilingual participants are Japanese nationals who did not grow up speaking English at home; their English proficiency were established in the demographic section of the survey including questions regarding their language background. Furthermore, all participants are current college students for ease of recruitment and consistency, putting the age range between 18-28 years old, an age group which likely has the same general vocabulary and therefore slang/profanities, allowing for more homogenous data.

2.3 Design

The survey method was chosen to measure perceptions of both Japanese abusive language and English profanity. It consisted of two phases, where phase 1 focuses on the translation and interpretation of English profanities, and phase 2 focuses on the emotional charge and frequency of use of profanities.

2.3.1 Phase 1

Japanese media often, for performative effect, distorts how abusive language is used; this however does not reflect how native speakers use abusive language. We thus established a list of 10 Japanese abusive expressions with our own English translations, and asked a group of L1 Japanese L2 English speakers (N₁ = 14, 7 male, 7 female) to translate the predetermined English words into Japanese. The results became a basis for the subsequent phase and also a tool to identify abusive lexica that native speakers (18~28) actually use.

2.3.2 Phase 2

A separate survey was sent to both our control group (N₂ = 16, 8 male, 8 female) and to our experimental group (N₃= 13, 3 male, 10 female). The survey asked participants to rate on a 5-point scale (1 = very low, 5 = very high) with regards to a given abusive expression/profanity (1) how well they understand the meaning, (2) how offensive/emotionally charged it is, and (3) how frequently they use it. The control group of L1 English speakers rated solely English profanities, while our experimental group rated both English profanities and Japanese abusive language.

2.4 Manipulation            

To standardize the implied usage context of the profanities (as emotional intensity could be influenced by the varying situations that participants imagine its usage to be), every survey were presented with a GIF of two men arguing, to standardize the perception that the profanities/abusive language in question are used by a person demonstrating anger. Moreover, phase 2 had two versions of the same survey, where Version 1 asked participants to rate English profanities first and of Japanese abusive language second, and vice versa. This was done in hopes of mitigating anchoring effects or priming effects that could bias our findings.

Figure 1: GIF presented to participants during phase 2 survey 

Results and Analysis

3.1 Phase 1 Results

This phase primarily served to establish the abusive language in Japanese that reflected the actual terms used by native speakers. A key finding was in regards to the perception of “shit” and “fuck”: L1 Japanese speakers tend to view “shit” and “fuck” as synonymous when translated into Japanese. Approximately 86% of respondents translated both “shit” and “fuck” as 「クソ」(kuso). This pattern likely reflects the absence of a direct Japanese equivalent for the word “fuck.” Instead, respondents opted for 「クソ」(kuso), which semantically corresponds more closely to “shit” as it denotes fecal matter. This semantic overlap highlights a gap in linguistic equivalence, influencing the way these terms are interpreted and used in the context of L1 Japanese speakers.   

Another key finding was that the translations for “dumbass” and “moron” were predominantly split between two responses: 「バカ」(baka) and 「あほ」(aho). Slightly more respondents translated “dumbass” as 「バカ」(baka), while “moron” was slightly more frequently translated as 「あほ」(aho). For the subsequent phase of the study, we selected the more commonly chosen translation for each term, though the differences were minimal. This suggests that, for Japanese speakers, profanities targeting intellectual levels exhibit limited variability in their translations, possibly reflecting a convergence in semantic interpretation.

The patterns presented were indicative of the nuanced ways in which abusive language is conceptualized and translated by L1 Japanese speakers. Specifically, the findings highlight the challenges of mapping English profanities to Japanese equivalents due to cultural and linguistic differences.

3.2 Phase 2 Results

Quantitative analysis of phase 2 reveals that on average L1 Japanese bilinguals view English profanities as 0.73 less offensive on the 5 point scale than L1 English speakers, with our experimental group rating the 10 English profanities as an average of 2.73, and the control group rating them as 3.45. The largest differences were found in “Ugly Bitch” (difference of 1.76) and the more commonly used “Fuck you” (difference of 1.42), which reflects a significantly different attitude towards even more common swearwords. Our experimental group also viewed the two most commonly used profanities “Shut Up” and “Fuck” as more offensive, with small differentials of 0.47 and 0.33 respectively. Our experimental group however, also rated the selected 9 Japanese translations at an average of 3.70 on the offensiveness scale (i.e. 0.25 higher than the English profanities), with the most offensive being 死ね, equivalent of “Fuck you” with a rating of 4.69 on the offensiveness scale.

Figure 2: Summary of the offensiveness of English profanities and equivalent Japanese abusive language

When it comes to frequency of usage, L1 Japanese bilinguals also reported using the English profanities at a higher frequency, with self-reported frequency being 0.87 points higher than their L1 English counterparts. This was the case for almost all English profanities across the board with the exceptions of “Fuck” and “Ugly Bitch” which had near equal usage; the largest differentials were found in “Moron” (difference of 1.48) and “Dumbass” (difference of 1.35). Interestingly, L1 Japanese speakers reported a rather low frequency of usage for the counterpart Japanese abusive language, with an average of 1.85 on the 5 point frequency scale. The most frequently used one being 「バカ」equivalent to “Dumbass” at 3.08, followed farther behind by 「クソ」 equivalent to “Fuck” at 2.38. This reflects the less frequent use of abusive language in Japanese compared to English which uses profanities more freely. This also corroborates the higher offensiveness of Japanese abusive language, which is used more infrequently and thus packs more of a punch.

Figure 3: Summary of the self-reported frequency of usage of English profanities and equivalent Japanese abusive language

Discussion and Conclusion

4.1 Phase 1 Discussion

In Phase 1, we found that L1 Japanese speakers used the same word 「くそ”」 (kuso) as an approximation for both “shit” and “fuck”. While this was not something that we had initially hypothesized, our findings in Phase 1 supported the idea that the Japanese language has less explicit profanities as previously found in research such as Jackson & Kennet (2021), highlighting the semantic overlap in the translation of “shit” and “fuck”, which underscores the limited availability of distinct Japanese terms that capture the unique connotations of these words in English. Similarly, the minimal variability in the translation of “dumbass” and “moron” suggests that Japanese speakers may perceive insults related to intellectual capability as largely interchangeable, pointing to a possible variability from L1 English speakers in how such terms are employed and understood.

4.2 Phase 2 Discussion

In Phase 2, we found that L1 Japanese speakers viewed English profanities as less offensive than L1 English speakers in all but two instances (“Shut Up” and “Fuck”). This aligned with our hypothesis that L1 Japanese speakers would perceive English profanities as being less emotionally charged. However, this contrasted with the findings of the Dewaele (2016) study which found that non-native English speakers would overestimate the offensiveness of English profanities and avoid using them. Our findings, instead, seemed to align more with Gawinkowska et. al (2013) which found that bilingual speakers were actually more inclined to use strong expletives in their L2 because they felt less bound by the norms of their L1. In our study, we saw evidence of this from the higher rates of usage for English profanities by L2 Japanese speakers than L1 English speakers. Japanese L1 speakers also rated the Japanese approximations of English swear words as being higher in offensiveness than the English swear words themselves. In the midst of conflicting research, we found that our findings followed similar patterns to Gawinkowska et. al. This may be due to the deeply ingrained collectivist cultural norms and emphasis on face-saving that exists in Japanese culture (Lin & Yamaguchi 2011) that may make L1 Japanese speakers more sensitive to abusive language in their native tongue.

4.3 Overall Discussion

This study offers some insight into the perceptions of emotional words in an L2. In our case, this refers to the use of profanities that are explicit without context for speakers who are familiar with abusive language that require context to be abusive. Research that helps understand these experiences will hopefully contribute to a wider understanding of interpersonal connection by identifying the ways language can cause miscommunications due to differences in culture as well as the language itself. Interestingly, additional observations suggest that non-English speakers often react with surprise or discomfort when exposed to the meaning of English profanities. In a street interview conducted by Asian Boss (LINK), Japanese people shared that they find such language uncomfortable and showed that abusive words are rarely used in Japanese culture. This observation also occurs among English speakers with Japanese people. According to the discussion in the Podcast “Hapa 英会話 Podcast – 第305回「汚い言葉遣い」”(LINK) , some English speakers try not to use the profanity with Japanese people even when they are talking each other in English. This similarity shows that hesitation from using profanity comes from the differences across cultural backgrounds regarding when it is appropriate to use profane language, which gives insight to the experiences of Second Language Learners as they navigate unfamiliar territories. These reactions further emphasize the cultural and linguistic differences in how profanities are perceived and used between English and Japanese speakers.

While our research was limited to only include college-aged students, future research would ideally expand the scope to include a variety of ages and educational backgrounds. Future research could also compare our findings with Japanese L1 speakers to another L1 language with contrasting conventions of abusive language.

References

Dewaele, J.-M. (2016). Thirty shades of offensiveness: L1 and LX English users’ understanding, perception and self-reported use of negative emotion-laden words. Journal of Pragmatics, 94, 112–127. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.pragma.2016.01.009 

Gawinkowska, M., Paradowski, M. B., & Bilewicz, M. (2013). Second language as an exemptor from sociocultural norms: Emotion related language choice revisited. PLOS ONE, 8(12), e81225. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0081225

Hoshino,  Akira  (1971). Akutai  mokutai  kō  –  akutai  no  shosō  to  kinō. [Thoughts  on  Abusive  Language.  Aspects of Abusive Language and its Functions]. Kikan jinruigaku  2(3): 29– 52.

Jackson, L., & Kennett, B. (2021). Slang and taboo language: An analysis of swearing guides for L2 Japanese learners. Electronic Journal of Contemporary Japanese Studies, 21(2). Retrieved from https://japanesestudies.org.uk/ejcjs/vol21/iss2/jackson_kennett.html

Lin, C.-C., & Yamaguchi, S. (2011). Effects of face experience on emotions and self-esteem in Japanese culture. European Journal of Social Psychology, 41(4), 446–455. https://doi.org/10.1002/ejsp.817

Relevant Info: Hapa 英会話 Podcast. (2020).  第305回「汚い言葉遣い」[Podcast]. Retrieved from https://podcasts.apple.com/jp/podcast/hapa%E8%8B%B1%E4%BC%9A%E8%A9%B1-podcast/id814040014?i=1000491739815  Asian Boss. (2018). Japanese React to English Swear Words [YouTube video]. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KHpw5p8qCrI&t=61s

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