The purpose of the work was to do a very specific and unique investigation of the Spanish language, and how it was linguistically changed when it was seen in a specific atmosphere. In this case, we focused on violence that included physical, substance, and gang violence. The linguistic categories focused on three sections: lexical, morphological, and phonetics. I decided to focus on three different countries, El Salvador, México, and Colombia. Then, I investigated the normal linguistic atmosphere in those respective countries, the historical context of each, and decided to choose films that were related to violent settings. Furthermore, aside from demonstrating whether violence had an effect on the linguistic atmosphere presented in each country, I wanted to see if there was a connection between the socio-economic status and the citizens who used the specific language.
First, what I found was that the films aligned with the normal linguistic nature of each country. For example, the pronunciation was relatively similar, the vocabulary, and the grammatical structure of each sentence and phrase that was stated. However, since they are films, there are some aspects that might have been portrayed in a very dramatic manner in order
to enhance the performance, but when the violence entered the environment, the linguistic nature did alter. The pronunciation of the vowels and consonants either became clearer or they were aspirated. The vocabulary changed causing the characters to use aggressive words that led to insult and shame. Lastly, the grammatical structure of the sentences did change. For example, the violent atmosphere depended on whether the person should use tú or voseo in order to portray a sense of respect or not towards the person one is speaking to.
Besides the changes I saw from a linguistics standpoint, I wanted to incorporate a sociolinguistic point of view as well. A majority of the characters in the films were from low socio-economic backgrounds, which were trying to provide for their families. For example, in the film, Amores Perros, the family lives in the house with two men, one wife, a child, and a mother. Each of them tries to provide for the family, but not all do it in a righteous manner. As I stated before, these were films and a few things could have been dramatized. However, the language altered depending on the gender, economic status, and where they were living, along with the violent atmosphere. For example, in the film, La Vendedora de Rosas, the children utilize a decent amount of Colombian street slang either because that was the colloquial manner, or they were raised in a low economic background where they did not have access to education. In the future, I would love to see more of an interaction with film and linguistics because the films can portray insightful linguistic information that could help us understand how
Appendix Amores Perros
#1 Amores Perros 01:50:00
Context: Ramiro, Octavio’s brother, and his friend, rob a bank. However, they do not have a brilliant plan. Therefore, they suffer the consequences. As I have stated previously, Ramiro, along with his brother, Octavio, try to obtain money illegally. Ramiro promised his family that he would stop and work at the supermarket making an honest living, but he could not ignore his ways. He wanted to get more money and was not content with what little he had.
Ramiro: ¿Qué chingados haces?
Friend: ¿Cómo que qué chingados? Pues poniéndome la…
Ramiro: ¡No seas pendejo! Por qué mejor no te pones un letrero de voy a robar. Los bancos los robas así sin nada.
Friend: ¿Así con mi cara de pendejo? Si tú lo dices…
Ramiro: al suelo, hijos de su puta madre. Esto es un asalto, cabrones. Esto es un asalto, culeros. ¡Al suelo, cabrones! ¡Al suelo, cabrones!
Amigo: ¿Qué me ves buey? Que me ves la cara de idiota. Al suelo bueyes. Ramiro: ¡Saca la cartera, pendejo! Te hablo a ti, buey. Saca la cartera, buey. (Ramiro diez)
Commentary: As mentioned before, the use of the word chingadois prominent in Mexican Spanish, as well as the word, pendejo (asshole). Chingado is this sense means “what the hell” or “what are you doing?” This was a very small scene of violence, where both men were shooting offensive phrases, while their intonation increased. Amores Perros, is dramatized; however, I believe it follows colloquial Mexican Spanish. For example, chinga/chingue (bad quality) is constantly used throughout the film to describe a bad situation or a violent one. David Carpenter states that, “violent is usually attributed to social factors, including poverty, poor education, and family instability” (Carpenter 260). One of my research questions, outside of the linguistic area, was to try and figure out if violence had a correlation with a specific social class. Presumably, although violent behavior is something that is innate in humans and will constantly be around us, it is more prevalent in the lower-class society (Carpenter 260-261). Carpenter states, “Violence takes a major toll on society, and violent crime (murder, rape, robbery, and assault) is a
particular problem in teenagers and young adults, and especially in young males” (Carpenter 260). This aspect of violence is predominant in each film, as males are more often likely to pursue violent endeavors.
El Infierno
#2 El Infierno 00:12:06
Context: Benny first goes to work with his godfather in a car factory. It is small but, initially, Benny wants to make an honest living for himself and his mother. His godfather clearly remembers Benny, even though he has been gone for a quite long time.
Transcription:
Benny: De haber sabido, me quedó del otro lado.
Godfather: Me cae que no tienes idea en lo que se ha convertido este país. Benny: No puede estar peor que cuando me fui, padrino.”
Godfather: Pues, no más imagínate… crisis, desempleo, violencia. Si no más en lo que va del año ya van como trece mil muertos. Casi, casi como una guerra civil. Todos contra todos.” Benny: Nos cayó la maldición.
Godfather: Pero, cuéntame de ti. ¿Cómo te trataron los gringos? Veinte años son muchos. Te forraste de lana
tantas cosas.
Godfather: Lo último que supe es que dejó el rancho de tu jefa, quesque porque ya no quería ser pobre. Se vino pa San Miguel, se juntó con gente MUY, pero MUY MALA: narcos, puelas, asesinos. Todo el mundo lo conocía como el diablo.
Benny: ¡No chingue!
Godfather: Y se hizo de una fama, que hasta miedo daba. Hasta que un día apareció muerto. Sesenta balazos dicen que le dieron.
Benny: ¡Sesenta balazos! ¿Yquién lo mató?
Godfather: Pudo ser cualquiera. En este pueblo te matan no más por cualquier cosa. Benny: ¿Quién me podrá contar algo?
Godfather: Tu carnal vivía con una vieja cuando lo mataron. Se llama Guadalupe Solís y trabaja en el Salón México. Un pinche tugurio de mala muerte en la zona roja de San Miguel.
Benny: ¿Una prosi?
Commentary: This is a conversation between Benny and his godfather about violence. Even though there was no active violence (such as sexual or physical violence) in this scene, it is important to highlight how prevalent it is in their lives. When both men speak to each other, it refers back to Lipski’s study of northern Mexican Spanish. Idioms like me cae que no tienes idea, te forraste de lana, mi carnal, no chingue, or un pinche tugurio y prosi are popular expressions used in Mexico.
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