El engañolyel cuco: metaphors in the nexus between language and status in Puerto Rico

Abstract

The year leading up to the 2012 plebiscite on Puerto Rico's political status coincided with the proposal of a project to 'guarantee' bilingualism through English instruction in the schools. The intimate nexus between the Island's political status and issues of language was highlighted during that time not only in the news media on the Island but also in the US presidential campaign speeches during which candidates divulged their perspectives. This paper analyzes metaphors on language in Puerto Rico, including, among others, those based on el engañol or el cuco, particularly where these appeared in connection with the plebiscite on status, focusing on news articles and opinion columns published between December 2011 and April 2013, from the time the plebiscite was announced through the follow-up coverage several months after it was held. The paper concludes that the debates on language as related to status in Puerto Rico maintain some well-known metaphors, but that other, third-way metaphorical expressions are also being used to clarify and give shape to the controversy.El año previo al plebiscito del 2012 sobre el status político de Puerto Rico coincidía con la propuesta de un proyecto para 'garantizar' el bilingüismo por medio de la enseñanza en inglés en las escuelas. El nexo íntimo entre el status y la cuestión del idioma se recalcó no sólo en la prensa isleña sino también en los discursos de las campañas presidenciales estadounidenses durante los cuales los candidatos divulgaron sus perspectivas respecto al asunto. Este trabajo analiza las metáforas publicadas en la prensa en cuanto al idioma en Puerto Rico, que incluyen, entre otras, las que se basan en el engañol o el cuco, particularmente donde aparecieron en conexión con el plebiscito, con un enfoque en las noticias y opiniones publicadas entre diciembre de 2011 y abril de 2013, desde el anuncio del plebiscito hasta la cobertura del tema unos meses después de que se llevó a cabo el mismo. El trabajo concluye que la polémica se aferra a algunas metáforas ya conocidas, pero que se emplean también otras expresiones metafóricas con la intención de aclarar y dar forma al debate.

Language Attitudes Towards Spanish and English in Puerto Rico

“…In sum, the failure in the teaching of both languages could be interpreted as a result of the linguistic conflict between Spanish and English: linking both languages to certain ideologies of cultural assimilation has not permitted an effective educational project in Puerto Rico. Within this ideological context, Spanish has been seen as a symbol of national identity (Shenk, 2015;Valdez, 2016) that serves as a pitfall for the assimilation and annexation to the United States. e ideology in defense of the vernacular goes in hand with a rejection and fear of English.…”

“…Spanish and English are both official languages in Puerto Rico since 1993. is political decision has generated many debates and multiple discussions given the issues of identity, resistance, repression, mobility, social and economic opportunities, and cultural clashes that the history of these two languages raises in the island (Delgado Cintrón, 1989;Negrón de Montilla, 1990;Pousada, 2008;Ríos Ávila, 1995;Rivera Ramos, 2007;Shenk, 2015;Valdez, 2016). While nowadays many Puerto Ricans are bilinguals, Puerto Rico cannot be considered a bilingual society (Carroll, 2009(Carroll, , 2016González-Rivera & Ortiz López, 2018;López Laguerre, 1997).…”