In which city can you read signs like “Aparca your car aquí” or “Cuidado con los pick

pockets”？ Travel guide investigates.

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. This reflects the enormous increase in the Hispanic population in the States. There are now 42 million Hispanics resident in the USA, representing 15% of the total population.

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 them 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.”

1、The Spanish-speaking population has grown very fast recently.()

2、More people are interested in studying Spanish than before.()

3、Spanglish is mainly used in formal contexts.()

4、Norma Rodríguez doesn’t notice when she is speaking Spanglish.()

5、Juan Cortés doesn’t speak Spanglish because he feels stupid when he tries.()