Last Weeks Class

Last week we were talking about having Spanish written in a book that is primarily English.  Is it really  necessary; does the Spanish add to the book or distract the reader from the English words, interrupting the flow of the reader...

I am reading a book for my ENG 379 class right now called, Desert Blood The Juarez Murders By: Alicia Gaspar de Alba.  This book is about "an epidemic of murdered women [that] has plagued the Juarez-El Paso border since 1993" (pg. v).  This is not a children's literature book; however, this book relates to our discussion and coursepack readings because this book has Spanish words, phrases, and song lyrics in it then, the author gives the translation in English.  

I do not think that the Spanish in this book bothers me or the flow of which I am reading the book.  I think the Spanish makes the book more authentic and also, similar to what Barrera and Quiroa said in their article, The Use of Spanish in Latino Children's Literature in English: What Makes for Cultural Authenticity?, "that some events in his life were not originally experienced in English, and that particular meanings and emotions could only be conveyed in Spanish..."I simply use the language [Spanish] because it comes naturally to me, and there's no translations for it"" (pg. 1).  I like that the author has added in some Spanish because this book is a fictionalized account of true events; the Spanish makes the book more realistic because Spanish is the language spoken at these accounts of tragedy, and it was the language heard by the victims as well.