Spanish

Abstract

Spanish has a global projection in terms of demographic presence, as well as to transnational, cultural, human, economic, and social value. How have historical and socio-economic parameters coalesced in the Asian-Pacific, and more specifically within Japan? The Spanish-speaking community in Japan is heterogeneous, linguistically and by national background. It includes the most numerous, e.g. ethnically Japanese-descended migrants, Nikkeijin but also others such as ethnically non-Japanese migrants, Japanese returnees, and students that hold Spanish as a L2 in Japan. Spanish is typically the language of blue-collar factory workers. Spanish is widely taught in language schools, in some secondary schools for children of Latin American heritage and in higher education supported by professional associations. Spanish is found in the Internet and print media as well as the language of (Catholic) church worship. There is widespread code-switching and mixing among long-term residents.