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.
Definition The term "Mock Spanish" was popularized in the 1990s by linguistic anthropologist Jane H. Hill. This naming convention led to similar cases being referred to as "Mock-Languages". Increasing globalization in modern history has contributed significantly to the spread and study of Mock-Language in linguistic anthropology. More languages are being encountered in daily interactions, and more people are able to travel. To show one's global perspective, it is common to incorporate words of foreign languages into one's speech. When using mock language, the speaker is showing their 'cosmopolitanism' or global knowledge. Mock language borrows words from different languages and uses them in the speaker's context. In contrast with usages of languages that effectively borrow terms, mock language does not show awareness of the cultural or social meanings behind the words spoken. Using words outside the speaker's native language often ignores the context of the conversation, the meaning of the word or phrase, or any conceptual knowledge including historical injustices to the borrowed language, culture, or physical surroundings. The usage of mock language may reinforce language ideologies. For example, an American speaker who uses mock language is indexing a language ideology that all Americans should speak English or that other languages are secondary in the US. A dominant language ideology is that English should be the official language spoken in the United States, establishing English as a hegemonic language. This hegemony creates a dominance of the hegemonic group over the ones that do not conform. Mock language reinforces this ideology, as it takes language and culture out of context to show the speaker's worldly knowledge, but does not celebrate or effectively use the language. The dominant ideology does not allow these groups to celebrate their language, yet "mock language involves borrowings and wordplay by speakers who require little comprehension of the other language."
Research
Inner and outer spheres In a 1998 study, Hill analyzes the 'inner sphere' and 'outer sphere' in which Puerto Ricans living in New York use their bilingualism. In the inner sphere, such as neighbors, family, and close friends, the boundaries between English and Spanish are blurred formally and functionally. However, in the outer sphere with strangers or government officials, the usage of Spanish becomes marked and "sharply objectified" to the point where the boundaries are so distinct that bilingual speakers may become too scared to speak at all. This study investigates the hegemonic power of English as a predominant language in America and how Spanish speakers feel vulnerable and powerless to use Spanish. In contrast, when English speakers mock Spanish, their agency extends beyond English hegemony and into the power an English speaker holds in American society. Hill also discusses how semantic domains index a state.
Mock White Girl "Mock White Girl" is a type of mock language that is inspired by the stereotypical "white girl's" vernacular. It commonly uses features such as 'like' in excess to imply that the speaker is not well-spoken or articulate. It also features uptalk, creaky voice, blondeness, and a stereotypical association with Starbucks. Mock White Girl is commonly used in movies where teenage girls speak in standard English with vocal fry and are portrayed as privileged, popular, and in power. In a 2018 study of Mock White Girl, researcher Tyanna Slobe discussed the implications of a "mock language" whose target language is an English dialect rather than a foreign language. Slobe describes the phenomenon as "...complicating the moralizing gaze with which linguists have approached mock as uniformly reproducing white supremacist ideologies." Mock White Girl satirizes a white, upper-class, suburban, spoiled young adult demographic and conveys a shared meaning that the language the speaker is mocking is subordinate and not to be taken seriously. It indexes the characteristics of a stereotypical white girl and uses the n+1 level of Indexicality for the public to make the connection between the mockery and the speech community.
Language crossing Another semantic domain is language crossing. "Language crossing involves code alternation by people who are not part of the group associated with the second language that they are using. Code switching into varieties that are not generally thought to belong to them. This kind of switching involves movement across social or ethnic boundaries, which raises issues of legitimacy where participants must negotiate in their encounter." This is similar to mock language as the people code alternating are not members of the group. How mock-language speakers are English speakers not members of the language they are mocking is similar to this.
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