Sociolinguistic analysis of examples of the use of anglicisms in Ecuadorian journalistic texts

Demianova Polina Ivanovna ORCID: 0000-0001-9698-2835 Lecturer; Institute of Foreign Languages; Patrice Lumumba Peoples' Friendship University of Russia Postgraduate student; Institute of Foreign Languages; Patrice Lumumba Peoples' Friendship University of Russia 141410, Russia, Moscow region, Khimki, Druzhby str., 5, sq. 246 demianova_pi@pfur.ru

Modern globalization processes, which led to the formation of a new format of intercultural exchange, as well as the rapid development of information technology, influenced the emergence and popularization of English-language borrowings in many languages. Being among the most common, Spanish is also no exception to this process. In particular, on the territory of the Republic of Ecuador, as in other Latin American countries, Anglicisms have been introduced into almost all spheres of life, affecting both everyday communication, fiction and even official documents. However, within the framework of this study, the functioning of Anglicisms in Ecuadorian journalistic texts is of the greatest interest, since the media not only reflect the current linguistic norm, but also actively influence how the information presented in them is perceived by the population of the country.

Sociolinguistics is an interdisciplinary field of scientific knowledge that studies, as the name implies, the relationship between language and society. It is noted that domestic and foreign linguistics give slightly different interpretations of the subject and object of its research. Thus, Russian-speaking scientists claim that the boundaries of this discipline have not been definitively defined, and a large proportion of ambiguity still remains ^{[1, p. 9]}. Nevertheless, it is obvious that the tasks of sociolinguistics are to study linguistic variations and linguistic norms, as well as to analyze the influence of social factors on linguistic behavior, while while the purpose of this science is to form an understanding of how social class, education, gender, age affect the use of certain linguistic units in various contexts. In addition, it should be mentioned that this discipline also examines the impact of globalization and cultural interaction on the linguistic dynamics of the modern world. Finally, scientists have formulated a number of issues of particular interest in modern sociolinguistics, which include:

1. the problem of social differentiation of language;

2. the interaction of language and culture;

3. the problem of the social aspects of bilingualism;

4. The problem of language policy ^{[2, p. 102]}.

The main reason for the spread of Anglicisms as a sociolinguistic phenomenon is the widespread influence of English-speaking culture. Such borrowings are penetrating many languages, including Spanish, as English becomes the leading medium of intercultural communication in science, business and pop culture. Among the specific reasons for the spread of Anglicisms in other languages, one can list external ones, such as close political, trade, economic and cultural ties, as well as internal ones - the simultaneous coexistence in the language of a loan and a native word, the meanings of which are similar, but the ways of using which differ (universal – total, story–reportage, hobby – hobby, etc.) ^{[3, p. 31]}. It is noted that at the moment, the existence of about 15% of English-language borrowings in the receptor language is explained by the lack of a concept in it to describe a particular phenomenon of modernity ^[4].

The penetration of Anglicisms into the Spanish language is also being strengthened by the media, the Internet and the educational process. This manifests itself, as a rule, at the lexical and grammatical level. Given the wide range of auditory and visual platforms through which Anglicisms can enter the Spanish language, nowadays it often seems impossible to determine the original way of borrowing words ^{[5, p. 3]}. So, Anglicism can get into the Spanish language through movies or podcasts, commercials and blogs. Researchers who have reviewed television advertising also note that the Anglicisms presented in it prove their ability to penetrate the Spanish language simultaneously through auditory and visual channels ^{[6, p. 276]}. Geographical proximity to the United States also affects the introduction of English loanwords into the Spanish language of Latin American countries, which is why researchers are increasingly talking about the wider influence of the English language in this region rather than in Spain ^[7]. Thus, an analysis of the use of Anglicisms in Spanish-language newspaper articles from Spain and Latin American countries showed that the Spanish press uses fewer Anglicisms. In addition, a study in which native speakers from different Spanish-speaking countries filled out a lexical questionnaire showed that participants from Madrid noted fewer Anglicisms compared to participants from Latin American capitals such as Mexico City, Santiago and San Juan ^[8]. It seems that it is the economic colonization of vast regions of South America by the United States that plays a significant role in this phenomenon ^[9].

All this led to the fact that many researchers and native speakers began to express some concern about such a serious influence of English on the local language and culture, which is why the Spanish-speaking community actively regulates the use of Anglicisms, striving to preserve its own linguistic identity ^{[10, p. 265]}. However, it is important to note that this process is not one-sided: Spanish also has an impact on other languages, including English, as a result of migration and cultural exchange. Thus, Hispanics in English began to appear in the XIII century, but their flow became constant only at the turn of the XVI-XVII centuries, which was associated with the growing dominance of Spain in the military, naval, political and economic spheres ^{[11, p. 83]}. Thus, the interaction of the Spanish and English languages illustrates complex sociolinguistic processes.

The spread of English-language borrowings in the Spanish language of Ecuador is associated with establishing contacts with English-speaking countries. So, in the XIX-XX centuries. Ecuador experienced the economic and political influence of the United Kingdom and the United States, which led to the gradual penetration of Anglicisms into the local version of Spanish, especially in areas related to business, technology and international relations ^{[12, p. 542]}. In addition, as mentioned earlier, sociocultural factors also play an important role in the spread of Anglicisms in Ecuador. Urbanization and the globalization of the economy have contributed to the growth of the middle class, which largely focuses on Western cultural models and perceives English as a symbol of prestige. In the Ecuadorian educational system, English has become an important element at all stages of education, which has increased its influence on the lexical composition of the local version of the Spanish language. In addition, young people seeking cultural and professional mobility actively use Anglicisms as a marker of belonging to a global culture.

The use of Anglicisms in Ecuador has its own specific features that distinguish it from other Latin American countries. Despite the fact that the penetration of Anglicisms into the Spanish language is typical for the entire region, the extent and forms of their use vary depending on the country. In countries such as Mexico and Argentina, where cultural and economic ties with the United States and Europe are historically stronger, Anglicisms have penetrated deeper and cover a wider range of areas, including not only business and technology, but also everyday speech. In Ecuador, Anglicisms are concentrated mainly in professional vocabulary and media, which reflects a more cautious perception of English-language borrowings, which is why the journalistic genre was chosen as the material of this study. Thus, to analyze the use of Anglicisms in Ecuadorian journalistic texts, a sample of materials from news articles published on the websites of the most widely read newspapers in Ecuador was conducted. According to statistics, their list includes the following publishers: El Comercio, El Diario, El Tel égrafo, El Universo and Expreso. The criteria for the selection of texts were their themes reflecting key aspects of the modern way of life in Ecuador, such as economics, technology, culture and sports. In each of the publishing houses, 100 news texts were reviewed in order to detect Anglicisms in them, after which the following data were obtained:

Fig. 1. Statistics on the use of Anglicisms in Ecuadorian journalism

Thus, these statistics confirm the fact described above that the Ecuadorian national version of Spanish was less susceptible to Western influence in comparison with other Latin American variants. Nevertheless, Anglicisms are still found in texts related to politics, economics and technology. First of all, lexical Anglicisms were identified – direct borrowings of words from the English language. These terms are widely used in articles devoted to those areas of life where English is dominant. Some examples: el marketing, el streaming, el startup, el freelance.

In addition, there are morphological Anglicisms, such as the adaptation of English words to Spanish grammar. For example, using suffixes to create new forms: "emailar" from "to email". It is also worth noting that Anglicisms are most often found in headlines, which can be explained by the desire to draw readers' attention to current topics. Examples of such borrowings include:

Table 1. Morphological anglicisms

Finally, the context of the use of Anglicisms is interesting in cases where it is possible to use a native Spanish word, for example:

Table 2. Anglicisms having a Spanish counterpart

This trend can be interpreted as the desire of the authors of the articles to make the text more attractive to a young audience of readers, since, as noted earlier, it is this social stratum that tends to use Anglicisms in their speech and more readily accepts new Western borrowings included in Ecuadorian Spanish.

Thus, during the analysis, the key features of the use of Anglicisms in the Ecuadorian national version of the Spanish language were identified. Borrowings that actively penetrate it have a significant impact on various aspects of the country's linguistic and cultural space. The specifics of their use depend on many factors, including genre specifics and the target audience of the texts.

The importance of Anglicisms in modern Ecuadorian society goes beyond simple lexical borrowing. They reflect the processes of globalization, cultural exchange and technological development. Anglicisms also become indicators of social change and reflect the willingness of society to assimilate with other cultures. However, according to local experts, the excessive use of such borrowings can create language barriers and threaten the preservation of cultural and linguistic identity. In this regard, the Government of the Republic of Ecuador is pursuing an active policy of establishing ties with the indigenous peoples of the region in order to maintain and develop their cultural identity.