Mock language (original) (raw)

Mock language is a way of using a language not spoken by or native to a speaker. When talking, the speaker includes words or phrases from other languages that they think fit into the conversation. The term "Mock Spanish" was popularized in the 1990s by Jane H. Hill, a linguist at the University of Arizona. Mock Spanish is the most common form of mock language in the southwestern United States, where Hill first researched the phenomenon. The term "Mock" has since been applied to other languages, and the umbrella term "Mock language" developed. Mock language is commonly viewed as a form of appropriation, and is used to share meaning between the speaker and audience about the speech community the speaker is mocking.