I agree. The Spanish spoken in the US is a really interesting topic. We are currently considering the possibilities of presenting some forms of Spanish spoken in the US. Here are a few things to consider as a preface to the study:
1) The Spanish spoken in the US is very much related to a given speaker's country of origin. In California, for example, the Spanish spoken has a strong Mexican influence. So, the regional forms of speech proper to Mexican Spanish play an important role in the way that it's spoken in California. However, the same is not the case for Spanish spoken in Miami, for example, where there is a large population of Caribbeans and South Americans. There, the spoken Spanish is a complete melange of regional forms, plus the influence of American English.
2) Another noteworthy characteristic of Spanish spoken in the US is the incorporation of English words into the language. To most Spanish speakers in Spanish-speaking countries, these would be unintelligible. For example, certain words are "españolizadas" like "to chill out", as in "to relax", which some forms of American Spanish may render "chilear", but again, this would probably not be recognized in too many places of the Spanish speaking world.
As for the presence of classes like "Español para hispanohablantes", I was always under the impression that they were offered in places where there is a large Spanish speaking population, whose Spanish has received such a strong influence from English (or another language) that these speakers no longer can tell what is correct and what is not. As an English speaker, I think these are great classes to take part in: there will be few opportunities in which you'll be able to observe the particularities of Spanish with greater scrutiny (save, perhaps, for our Regional Series at SpanishPod101.com
). I
In any case, this is a lively topic, and it's my hope that we continue to develop on it.
Thanks for the interesting and provocative comments.
Saludos,
Joseph
