The Many Faces of Language: More than Just Words.
September 13, 2005
The way people organize and create words that convey thoughts, emotions and understanding has long been a source of interest for social scientists. Throughout the years, it has been realized that language is more than just a way to exchange words and thoughts, but a way to convey cultural identity and connection. This paper will focus on the roles of code-switching, the Sapir-Wharf theory and cultural memory, and how they relate to language and the Hispanic market.
Code Switching
Code switching has been defined as the alternation between the grammatical and lexical systems of two or more languages (Koike, 1987). The languages are usually defined and formal with an established syntax. Hispanics in the U.S. often use code-switching contextually in an effort to be understood. This is similar to Spanglish, which involves mixing Spanish and English in the same word or sentence (Korzenny and Korzenny, 2005).
A look at code-switching beyond just the linguistic combination of Spanish and English may show a focus on putting forth a certain image or perception. In the book Shifting, the authors conducted a study of how black women use code-switching as a way to adjust between dialects, language and styles of communication. The authors found that code-switching is a result of the pressure felt to shift back and forth in order to meet conflicting codes, demands and expectations of different groups (Jones and Shorter-Gooden, 2003). Applied to the Hispanic in America, it could be deduced that code- switching involves more than just trying to achieve verbal understanding, but it may also be a way to avoid discrimination and ridicule from mainstream America; another use of code-switching could be an emotional bonding with others who have the same level of acculturation.
Sapir-Whorf Theory
It is always important for marketers to look beyond the applied, primary data they have gathered and explore various secondary data such as theories and models that could be relevant. One such theory that is relative to determining how effective Spanish, English or both languages would be in an advertisement is the Sapir-Whorf theory.
This theory states that language determines the way people think, and that because of this determinism, members of different cultural groups would think and perceive the world relative to their language. Therefore, the experience of members of different linguistic groups or cultures would be different enough so that their thinking would not necessarily converge (Korzenny and Korzenny, 2003). While this may be a bit strict and there would obviously be exceptions to the rule, it does touch on why certain Spanish words do not translate well in English. The English language has been known to be one of the most difficult languages to learn because of the varied meanings of words, the use of slang and other idiosyncrasies.
It is debatable whether language determines what we think, but it does have an effect on how people shape and organize their world. It would seem possible that language is an attitude that serves as a knowledge function of attitudes in that it helps organize information into manageable parts (Perloff, 2003).
Since language is often wrapped in images, connotations, experiences and emotion, it is important that marketers use the correct language to elicit the right motivational appeal from the target audience. According to many in the Hispanic marketing industry, it is more productive to communicate in Spanish, even with those Hispanics who are fluent but not monolingual in English (Korzenny and Korzenny, 2003). It is understood that there is an emotional connection that is better established when using the Spanish language.
Cultural Memory
The emotional and psychological connection established when speaking Spanish may have its roots in what some psychologists call cultural memory. Cultural memory has been defined as a collective concept for all knowledge that directs behavior and experience in the interactive frame-work of society and one that obtains through generations in repeated societal practice and initiation (Assman, 1995).
Many times, ethnic groups such as Hispanics, Africans and Asians operate in a collectivist behavior where the family or community is extremely influential in all aspects of life. According to Assman, every individual memory constitutes itself in communication with others. These “others”, however are not just any set of people, rather they are groups who conceive their unity and peculiarity through a common image of their past (1995).
Conclusion/Marketing Implications
Marketing implications surrounding the Sapir-Whorf theory would include gathering data regarding how the intended target market uses certain products and services and how these products and services are verbally communicated within the family/community; thereby determining the best choice of language to use in an advertisement.
The marketing implications for marketers concerning code-switching would include a focus on how Hispanics prefer to receive marketing messages. An understanding of when Hispanics use code-switching could be influential in the language used for certain product selection.
It would seem that cultural memory can include all objective and subjective aspects of a culture, which would include language. Therefore, when a certain language is used, an affective appeal that includes cultural memory has been tapped. Marketers should use this information to create affective ads that accurately arouse the Hispanic consumer.
On a final note, marketers should be aware that avoiding English language in ads targeted to Hispanic consumers may not always be the best course of action. Depending on the product and the consumer’s reference groups, acculturation levels and use of such concepts as code-switching, Spanish, English or a combination of both may be more effective.
Monica McDonald MN***@*ol.com
ADV5415 Hispanic Marketing Communication
Student in the Hispanic Marketing Communication Program at Florida State University
WORKS CITED
Assman, J. (1995). Collective memory and cultural identity, New German Critique: Cultural History/Studies, Volume 65, (pp. 125-127).
Jones, C. & Shorter-Gooden, K. (2003). Shifting: The double lives of black women in America. New York: Harper Collins Publishers, Inc.
Koike, D.A. (1987). Code switching in the bilingual chicano narrative, Hispania,
Volume 70, No. 1, (pp. 148).
Korzenny, F. & Korzenny A. (2005). The Role of Language in the Hispanic Market”. In (Ed.), Hispanic marketing: a cultural perspective (pp.85-127). : Butterworth-
Heinemann/Elsevier.
Perloff, R.M. (2003). Attitudes: functions and consequences. In L. Bathgate (Ed.), The dynamics of persuasion: communication and attitudes in the 21st century (pp. 74). Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates, Inc.
