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Anglicisms

THE INFLUENCE OF ENGLISH ON MODERN SPANISH

REACTION TO FOREIGN ELEMENTS
According to The Longman dictionary, Anglicism is “an English word or phrase that is common use in another language”.In Spain the adoption of English words is extremely common as we will discover later when speaking about the history of language contact between both countries. However, the adoption of foreign terms in Spanish, and in particular the influence of loans from English, has traditionally met with opposition of linguists and lexicographers as well as of social and political institutions. The criticism against it is basically founded in their exotic nature.
Foreign terms should be considered not only from a linguistic perspective but also from a more social angle. Also, anglicisms evoke the hegemony of Anglo-Saxon countries, especially the United States, and this may trigger purists attitudes.
The first strong reactions against foreign elements were felt in response to the avalanche of French in the 18th century. This led to the foundation of the Real Academia Española (1713),which received strong official support and quickly published its first dictionary, the so-called Diccionario de autoridades (1726-39).This criticism was puristic rather than nationalistic.And, during the 19th century, this influence was a normal pattern and when anglicisms first appeared they were not identified as such, as they were mostly mediated by French. Words such as biftec, dandy and tilbury were considered Gallicisms.
After the Civil War and up until 1950, the Home Ministry of the Franco regime issued regulation against the use of foreign words,especially in the field of sports.As a result, a good number fell into disuse : encuentro replaced match, defense replaced back, and locator replaced speaker , but the attempt was not successful in the case of cóctel, sandwich, record, and football.
After the sixties the regime eased its restrictions. But, the unexpected avalanche of foreign terms which...