The Nature of Code-Switching in Puerto Rican Reggaeton Music (original) (raw)
Related papers
2020
This study examines the role code-switching plays in the creation of song lyrics by Hispanic Bilingual artists that feature more than one language. It points out what functions the switches fulfill and what patterns they produce. Furthermore, it also investigates whether these patterns are affected based on the matrix language of the song. The data collected comes from a variety of songs from different genres that fall under the musical term 'Latin Music'. The data also includes artists from different geographical backgrounds and genders. The study focuses on thirty Hispanic bilingual artists that include both English and Spanish in their songs. The purpose of this study is to observe the use of code-switching by these artists and determine the frequency of each function of code-switching. The results indicate that on average, the expressive function of code-switching is the most commonly used code-switch function used by Hispanic bilingual artists. It was also found that the referential functions occurred with more frequency in song lyrics with Spanish as the matrix language. This was determined to be because of the continued incorporation of English social media words in song lyrics. In this study, the referential function did not show up at all in lyrics with English as the matrix language. Additionally, English matrix songs were found to contain more instances of code-switching than those of Spanish matrix songs. This was shown as there being an underlining desire for Hispanic bilinguals to 'call back' to their cultural roots, by incorporating Spanish into predominantly English songs.
The Use of Spanglish in Latin Rap Music: An Analysis of Inter-and Intraclausal Code-Switching
The Bilingual Review, 2023
The present study sheds light on the linguistic nature of Spanish/English code-switching-one of the multiple manifestations of Spanglish-in music. In contrast to previous work that examines this phenomenon in tracks released within the last two decades, this paper focuses on Latin rap from the 1990s, an era when several U.S. Latino rappers employed Spanglish to assert and show pride in their bilingual linguistic identity and ability to mix their languages. More specifically, we analyzed the grammatical structure of Spanish/English code-switching in Latin rap songs characterized by the productive use of code-switching. To this end, we analyzed 316 switches from 12 songs in order to elucidate the structure and variety of these inter-and intraclausal switches. Results show that whereas interclausal switches favor switching from Spanish to English, intraclausal switches are characterized by unidirectional mixing patterns from English to Spanish. While the matrix language of the dataset was predominantly English, the majority of nouns, adjectives, prepositions, relative pronouns, and coordinate/subordinate conjunctions were realized in Spanish. We discuss the implications of these findings in relation to our current understanding of the diverse language practices that characterize Spanish/English code-switching varieties.
2020
This study examines the role code-switching plays in the creation of song lyrics by Hispanic Bilingual artists that feature more than one language. It points out what functions the switches fulfill and what patterns they produce. Furthermore, it also investigates whether these patterns are affected based on the matrix language of the song. The data collected comes from a variety of songs from different genres that fall under the musical term ‘Latin Music’. The data also includes artists from different geographical backgrounds and genders. The study focuses on thirty Hispanic bilingual artists that include both English and Spanish in their songs. The purpose of this study is to observe the use of code-switching by these artists and determine the frequency of each function of code-switching. The results indicate that on average, the expressive function of code-switching is the most commonly used code-switch function used by Hispanic bilingual artists. It was also found that the refere...
CODE-SWITCHING IN CONTEMPORARY NIGERIAN HIP-HOP MUSIC
While Nigerian scholars have examined code-switching in conversation and in literary language (Akere, 1980; Amuda, 1986, 1994; Goke-Pariola, 1983; O’Mole, 1987; Lamidi, 2004; Ayeomoni, 2006), this study presents a critical examination of code-switching in contemporary Nigerian hip-hop music. In spite of the fact that most Nigerian hip-hop singers use English, they still try to identify with their roots by mixing English with their indigenous languages. We present code-switching in the lyrics of five Nigerian hip-hop musicians: Sunny Nneji, Weird MC, D’Banj, P Square and Styl Plus. The objectives are to examine the nature of the phenomenon of code-switching, to examine the reasons for code-switching, to discuss the stylistic effects of this trend, and to examine the implications of this practice for communication through music. Our findings reveal that while most code-switching is done in three languages – English, Nigerian Pidgin and Yoruba – Yoruba plays a prominent role. This makes the language the vehicle for the elaboration of themes within the songs. We also observe two major kinds of code-switching; ones in which chunks of ideas in different languages feature in turns, (inter-sentential code-switching) thereby producing switches at discourse boundaries; and ones in which expressions from other languages are sandwiched between those of a dominant language (intra-sentential code-switching). The study concludes that the unique identities created by code-switching in Nigerian hip-hop have positive local and global influences for music and artists, and reflect the ethnolinguistic diversity of the Nigerian nation.
CODE-SWITCHNIG IN CONTEMPORARY NIGERIAN HIP-HOP MUSIC
2009
While Nigerian scholars have examined code-switching in conversation and in literary language (Akerethis study presents a critical examination of code-switching in contemporary Nigerian hip-hop music. In spite of the fact that most Nigerian hip-hop singers use English, they still try to identify with their roots by mixing English with their indigenous languages. We present code-switching in the lyrics of five Nigerian hip-hop musicians: Sunny Nneji, Weird MC, D'Banj, P Square and Styl Plus. The objectives are to examine the nature of the phenomenon of code-switching, to examine the reasons for code-switching, to discuss the stylistic effects of this trend, and to examine the implications of this practice for communication through music. Our findings reveal that while most code-switching is done in three languages -English, Nigerian Pidgin and Yoruba -Yoruba plays a prominent role. This makes the language the vehicle for the elaboration of themes within the songs. We also observe two major kinds of code-switching; ones in which chunks of ideas in different languages feature in turns, (inter-sentential code switching) thereby producing switches at discourse boundaries; and ones in which expressions from other languages are sandwiched between those of a dominant language (intra-sentential code switching). The study concludes that the unique identities created by code-switching in Nigerian hip-hop have positive local and global influences for music and artists, and reflect the ethnolinguistic diversity of the Nigerian nation.
Yo soy de P FKN R: Mainstream Reggaeton artists' use of coda [l] as a raciolinguistic marker
Borealis -- An International Journal of Hispanic Linguistics, 2022
Based in a sociophonetic analysis of lyrics performed by eight male Reggaeton artists of Puerto Rican origin, this study combines raciolinguistic and variationist frameworks to examine the frequency of occurrence and underlying linguistic, musicological, and poetic factors conditioning the distribution of the lateral variant of syllable-and word-final alveolar tap /ɾ/. Given that this trait is regarded as a distinctive characteristic of Puerto Rican Spanish capable of indexing in-group membership alongside positive assessments of Puerto Rican national identity, the study explores the implementation of this feature in popular performances of Puerto Ricanness in the context of global Latin Urban Music (Delgado Díaz et al. 2021, Medina Rivera 1997, Valentín Márquez 2015).The results show that lateralization is more frequently used by contemporary reggaetoneros like Bad Bunny and Ozuna, whose professional careers began in an era in which Reggaeton enjoyed global accessibility, contrasted to the pioneering artists of the genre such as Daddy Yankee and Nicky Jam, who use the variant significantly less frequently. Additionally, the results suggest that, while the most recent tracks performed by newer artists exhibit the highest rates of occurrence, the inverse is true for artists whose careers began in the early 2000s before the global consumption of Reggaeton, who are documented as decreasing use of [l] in what is interpreted as an attempt to distinguish their works from younger performers. This work contributes to the growing literature regarding the linguistic construction of performative identities permeating the popular music industry, offering insight into the racialization of [l] as a distinct Puerto Rican feature relative to expressions of ethnonational pride.
Linguistic diversity of reggaeton songs: Their lyrics, their performers, and their audiences
2025
This dissertation analyses three categories of reggaeton-specific elements that appear across mainstream songs performed by artists from diverse geographic and linguistic backgrounds, representing different artistic generations. I also examine how linguistically and subculturally diverse audiences perceive, understand, and interpret these elements. The analysis is based on a wide spectrum of data, including a corpus of 26 reggaeton songs from Billboard year-end charts (2017–2020); 26 reggaeton concerts in 11 countries (available on YouTube or attended in person); media texts featuring reggaetoneros/as as well as those produced by listeners and musicologists (e.g., podcasts, TV series, memes, and magazine articles); digital activities of reggaeton performers and listeners; and interviews conducted with reggaeton artists and listeners in Medellin, Colombia.
Multilingual Codeswitching in Quebec Rap: Poetry, Pragmatics and Performativity
International Journal of Multilingualism, 2006
Quebec rap lyrics stand out on the world Hip-Hop scene by virtue of the ease and rapidity with which performers in this multilingual, multiethnic youth community codeswitch, frequently among three or more languages or language varieties (usually over a French and/or English base) in the same song. We construct a framework for understanding 'artistic code-mixing' in Quebec Hip-Hop, which may involve languages rappers do not profess to speak fully and upon which they have no ethnic 'claim'. Lyrics were analysed according to their functions in respect to pragmatics (rapper signature, vocative, discourse-marking), poetics (facilitating internal rhyme), and performing multiple identities. Analysis was by origin of lexical item, type of switch (lexical, morphological, syntactic, phonological), and discourse function (getting attention, rhyming). Language choices made involve both codeswitching and the choice of languages themselves. Switching strategies perform functions of both 'globalisation' and 'localisation', and is exploited by individuals in different ways, but are fundamentally linked by a positioning of multilingualism as a natural and desirable condition. This study is the first to explore Hip-Hop codeswitching in the linguistic-sociopolitical context of post-Bill-101 Quebec. It illuminates a new way in which Québécois youth are challenging official definitions of ethnic and speech communities.