The Role of Age and Gender in the Attitude of Spanish Speakers towards Loans: Can Popular figures like Rosalía Influence the Use of Anglicisms?

Abstract

[eng] Lexical borrowing has always existed as a result of close contact between cultures. In recent decades, globalization and the use of English as a universal language have resulted in an exponential growth of the number of words borrowed from English by other languages. The high prestige of English, seen as the language of social progress, has increased its use especially among the younger population. An instance of this can be found in the raising frequency of Anglicisms by Spanish-speaker singers who often combine English and Spanish in their songs. My hypothesis is that the extensive use of code-switching by some popular referents (such as successful singers) may have influenced the frequency of Anglicisms among the Spanish population. For this reason, this thesis focuses on the use of Anglicisms by the Spanish singer Rosalía, with the double aim of (i) analyzing her combination of integrated and non-integrated borrowings, and (ii) measuring the degree of influence that her songs may have on the adoption of English terms by Spanish speakers, with a special focus on the role played by age and gender