Bilingualism: A Growing Trend in Global Entertainment Industry - Essay Sample

Introduction

Current examples of the marking of Spanish and English bilingualism globally are not very difficult to come across. The entertainment industry is producing a lot of bilingual content, such as movies and music. Use of bilingualism comes as an indication of a shift towards acceptance in an industry that has been overly monolingual for a long time. Language mixing is undoubtedly part of the symbolic capital that producers and pop stars are selling to their audiences. The aspect of bilingualism has become a popular trend in the music industry over the past few years, and more artists are composing bilingual music. This has been very profitable since the bilingual music audience prefers this kind of music. Beyond the united states in countries like Spain, and Mexico, bilingual music is thriving as the viewers are becoming more receptive to Spanish-English pop music.

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This paper will focus on two Spanish/English songs and how the two languages have been weaved into the songs excellently how the combination of the two languages affects the songs. Multiple languages in music are respected as bridges through which people from various cultural backgrounds can sing along to one tune. Bilingualism in music allows the audiences to be able to see the world from a new perspective and learn how to express emotions and thought diversely. Bilingual songs are inherently more nuanced than monolingual songs.

Briefly describe the two Songs; singer, Album, Lyricist, year and content

Reggaeton Lento Remix is a pop song composed and sang by a Latin-American boyband CNCO featuring the Little mix girl band. This song is the bands second single from their self-titled second album. Initially, the song appears in their debut album Primera Cita. The remix was released on 18th August 2017 as a track in the Album: Glory days. Marc Klasfield directed reggaeton Lento Remix, belonging to Pop Music Genre

The other bilingual song is Echame La Culpa, composed by Alejandro Rengifo and musicians Luis Fonsi. The song features Demi Lovato. The duo worked together and produced an English Version for their English only speaking fans. From the use of the Spanish language in the introduction of the song, it gives it a prominent Latin flavour and a deep cultural authenticity with the use of banjo strums and guitar. Andres Torres and Mauricio Rengifo produced the song and released through Universal Music Latin Entertainment on 17th November 2017.

To what extent do the various languages contribute to the "poetic effects" (e.g. rhyming, marking line divisions in repetition or parallelism, highlighting a contrast between two items)?

It is not unusual to compare or contrast music and poetry simply because the similarities between music and poetry are far more significant when given a closer look. Both music and poetry are similar basing on the poetic feeling that music itself has. The most common music genre that closely relates to poetry in style is pop music, and this becomes even more fascinating when the song is bilingual. Infusing two different languages in the same song might not seem ideal for style any rhyme or any of the musical features that writers take into consideration.

In the Songs reggaeton Lento and Echame La Culpa there is an infusion of the Spanish language into both songs. An analysis of the lyrics shows that the use of two languages has significantly impacted both songs. In both songs, the use of English mainly brings out strong and powerful rhyme. For example, in the song Echame La Culpa by Demi Lovato and Luis Fonsi, the bridge takes the English language, and the is the use of rhyming English Words at the end of the lines:

Okay, I don't really, really wanna fight anymore

I don't really, really want to fake it no more

Play me like The Beatles; baby just let it be

So come on put the blame on me

The use of two languages has been used in both songs to enhance its musicality while enriching the musical style. The songs use repetition of lines and verses in the different languages to develop on the tune of the two items. However, the two pop songs differ in the ways that they infuse English and Spanish into them. In reggaeton Lento, the use of both languages is considerable while in Echame La Culpa the artists mainly use the Spanish language and only incorporate in English for the Bridge part of the song.

To what extent does English act as an attention-getter or ear-catching device?

There is a broad Spanish audience for pop music that uses pure Spanish; however, with the need to reach a wider audience, artists tend to use both English and Spanish in their music. Bilingualism is not only good for marketing the music to a bilingual audience; it also communicates with the purely English audience. Instead of translating the song into English, mixing the two languages grabs the attention of English Audience. Not only does it allow them to understand the general concept of the song, but it also enables them to enjoy it as well.

In the song Echame la Culpa, English as been used in mainly as the chorus, this works to improve the rhyme and musicality in the song. Any English speaker can easily relate to the song and as a result, be interested in listening to the song. English in both songs is used to get the attention of an English audience rather than have the songs limited only to a Spanish audience.

To what extent do the various languages "mark" different parts of a song (e.g. song title, beginning of the song, main verses, backup voices/complementary verses, chorus, etc.)?

The fusion of English and Spanish in both languages has been used in a significantly different way. The songs differ in the order and various parts where the styles have been used but also have minor similarities. Both songs use Spanish as the language for the song title, i.e. Echame La Culpa and Reggaeton Lento.

However, Reggaeton Lento has significantly used the English Language in various parts of the song. Most of the verses in the song such as verse on and two have used English, the chorus, chorus reprice and the post-chorus use a mixture of English and Spanish and the Bridge uses English only. Therefore, the major part of the song is in English, and this makes it easy and relatable to the English Language speakers while the mixture of Spanish infuses in the song a Latin authenticity.

On the other hand, Echame La Culpa by Luis Fonsi and Demi Lovato makes use of the Spanish language in most of the parts. The introduction of the song is in Spanish; this introduction automatically gives the song a prominent Latin flavour. In this song, the first verse, the chorus and the post-chorus are done in pure Spanish while only the bridge of the song is in English. The song is dominantly Spanish, and the addition of English into the bridge gives it a commercial flair and grabs the attention of the audience.

Does code-switching convey a sense of playfulness or humour?

The language choice of a bilingual or multilingual speaker has to reflect a range of variables. Through the intersections of different languages, it is possible to identify the culture and identity of a person. Code-switching can be defined as the systematic use of two or more languages during an oral and written speech. According to Dunkel (2000), a lot of code-switching comes about as a result of the desire of humour and sheer human playfulness. Despite the intrinsic difficulty of philosophical proof, humour and playfulness should not be underestimated as motivation for code-switching. Code switchers tend to utilize the linguistic resources available to them to engage in a playful alternation of the two languages in use, i.e. English and Spanish. Often, code-switchers are associated with frivolity or lightheartedness and may be considered as humorous. However, Code-switching has an essentially metalinguistic character as it seems to predominantly occur in the context in which the language norms are used. Code-switching involves conscious manipulation of language and linguistic rules.

Does code-switching or English convey a certain kind of identity presumed by the singer(s) or the lyricist(s)?

In the case of bilingualism in music, switching codes can be a means through which musicians can reconstruct aspects of their identities. Contrary to popular belief, Artists can also use code-switching in music to highlight fractional roles that are not necessarily contrasting. According to Giddens (1991), the complexity of linguistic practices of bilinguals can be captured well if the idea of identity is approached in a poststructuralist way. In the Song Echame La Culpa, Demi Lovato is seen switching codes between English and Spanish effortlessly. This kind of Code-switching in music shows how the artist is performing the variability and multiplicity of their identity.

One of the positions that bilinguals associate with English is positivity and evidence of the artist's linguistic identity as well as identification with a particular language group. In this musical context, Demi Lovato switches to English when expressing the part of the song that can be looked at as emotional. Showing the profoundly emotional aspects of the song using English is most likely a result of a socialization process by which the singer adopts some cultural values of the Native English audience. The structure and delivery of the song lyrics are energetic and entertaining and correctly supports Fonsi's stance in using the song as a reflection of his cultural identity as Puerto Rican. Bilingual music is a powerful piece of art through which audiences can capture glimpses of bilingual cultures; for example, Echame La Culpa blends Spanish and English. As a result, there is a reflection of the seamless mix of the Latin- American identity of the artists.

Summarize the similarities and differences between the two songs and suggest some reason(s) for the similarities or the differences.

Both songs selected for this paper make use of English and Spanish in the lyrics; however, they both have some unique similarities and differences in many ways. First, both songs are titled in Spanish, many audiences are quickly receptive to the Spanish language, and therefore, for this reason, many bilingual musicians tend to title their songs using Spanish. It is common knowledge that the Latin community is made up of exotic and energetic dance. Therefore it is no surprise that both these songs are highly active and full of dancing. From the dance and hype of the music, it is clear that the songs are a true reflection of the Latin culture. Considering that artists sing both Songs of Latin origins in association with artists from other cultures, there is clear and bold use of code-switching in both songs. In the Song Reggaeton Lento, the artists effortlessly switch from English to Spanish and from Spanish to English the same as it is done in Echame LA Culpa by Demi Lovato. This switching of codes in both songs brings the audience into close interactions with the Latin- American bilingual culture.

However, in as much as the songs are similar in some ways, they contain some differences that make them unique in style. Reggaeton Lento begins with an English introduction which instantly gives the song an association with the English speaking audience. Echame la Culpa, on the other hand, uses an introducing verse that is done in Spanish, this gives the song a quick relation with the Latin community. Although both songs are bilingual and make use of Spanish and English, the ratio that these two languages are used in the songs significantly differs.The use of Spanish dominates Echame la Culpa with a little infusion of the English language. Consequently, the song is governed by the Spanish language and therefore gives a deeper reflection of the Latin roots of the artists. Reggaeton lento re...