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How does our president use the Spanish language to divide society and further his agenda?

By: Sev Kiroglu, Samantha Bartolo, and Nicolas Carranza
Course: Language & Politics (Ling 3800)
Advisor: Prof. Adam Hodges
LURA 2020

For our research project, we created a in which we analyzed Trump鈥檚 use of mock Spanish along the campaign trail and during his time as president.听 Previously, Trump has been both divisive and dismissive about the Spanish language and its speakers.听 During a Republican Primary debate in late 2015, Trump criticized Jeb Bush for speaking Spanish on the campaign trail:

鈥淭his is a country where we speak English, not Spanish.鈥�

At a campaign rally in March 2016, Trump conveyed prejudice against languages other than English, and discussed language as a tool of forceful assimilation:

鈥�... [W]e鈥檙e a nation that speaks English, and I think while we鈥檙e in this nation, we should be speaking English, and that鈥檚 how assimilation takes鈥� that鈥檚 how we go onto that next stage and next phase.鈥�

Furthermore, last fall, Trump seemed to express his view of Spanish-speaking persons as separate from the rest of the nation:

鈥淲ho do you like more, the country or Hispanics?鈥�

Despite these attitudes, Trump does use some Spanish. Well, he uses mock Spanish, employing one or two-word phrases from the language in his speeches and statements.听 Beyond his infamous 鈥渂ad hombres鈥� comment, Trump often attempts to incorporate Spanish words into his lexicon.听 Past interview footage shows him using words such as silencio, loco, and adios amigo; often, he uses these words with a negative connotation or in a negative context.

Our project drew on the work of Jane Hill and her discussion of mock language, an 鈥榓rtificial鈥� linguistic variety that is produced through imitation or parody of an 鈥榓ctual鈥� variety.听 In her work, Hill proposes four 鈥渟trategies鈥� of mock Spanish that index negative concepts like vulgarity and cheapness and work to reproduce negative stereotypes.听 These strategies include phenomena such as substituting a Spanish word in place of an English word that鈥檚 deemed offensive (e.g. 鈥渃aca鈥� or 鈥渃ojones鈥�) or intentional mispronunciation of a Spanish word (e.g. 鈥渇leas navidad鈥�).听 Though covert, these linguistic mechanisms still convey racist attitudes and opinions.

We also considered how Trump鈥檚 use of mock language creates a divide within our country.听 Based on his comments above, Trump clearly views language as an opportunity for assimilation.听 For those who don鈥檛 assimilate, Trump creates an 鈥淯s鈥� vs. 鈥淭hem鈥� binary, wherein Spanish speakers constitute an othered 鈥淭hem鈥� group. This also creates the dynamics of in-group and out-groups.听 If Spanish speakers choose to assimilate to conform to Trump鈥檚 ideologies, they risk exclusion within their own community.听 If they don鈥檛 assimilate, however, they face exclusion from society.听 Trump鈥檚 dangerous language ideologies place Spanish speakers in front of a double-edged sword.

In conclusion, our project claims that while Trump holds prejudiced views against the Spanish language and its speakers, he has no problem utilizing the language for his own agenda.听 The use of Mock Spanish by Trump on the campaign trail and during his time as president serves as a tool of covert racism that allows him to evade unmistakeable racist rhetoric while furthering his harmful and divisive ideology.

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听Link to podcast: 听

Opening photo credit: time.com