Frespañol forms part of a structure of sociolinguistics, it is a social and cultural code born from the contact of French and Spanish speakers. In its early days, the Frespañol was used in individual form meaning there was no set form to follow, everyone used their own variant of it. Now, it is more commonly used amongst the first generation of immigrants who utilize it more so when speaking Spanish. Calques are introduced by bilinguals, switching from one language to another words are borrowed. For example, in this phrase in French "Je m'assome à la fenêtre” we see the spanish word "asomarse" adapting to the sentence. These code changes are adapted to the context of the speaker. Some ways that the two languages are implemented together is sometimes minute. Looking through the chart, The word for cake in Fragnol, gató, is predominately french based such as other words listed. But, the thing that makes it more in tune with Spanish is the uses of the accents and the stress when pronouncing the word. Some other words such as dèpanor is also more alike to the french word for store, but the ending or pronunciation of the words can go through a morphological change and have more Spanish tones and pronunciations, or vice versa.
English word
French word
Spanish word
Fragnol
Insurance
Assurance
Seguro
Asségourance
Unemployment
Chômage
Paro
Tchomás
Slippers
Pantoufle
Zapatillas
Pantúnflas
Mrs.
Madame
Señora
Madán
Peas
Petits pois
Guisantes
Petipuás
Backpack
Sac-à-dos
Mochila
Sacodó
Cake
Gateau
Pastel
Gató
Galician Pie
Tourte galicienne
Empanada
Èmpanade
To speak
Parler
Hablar
Habler
School
École
Escuela
Escuele
Store
Dépanneur
Tienda
Dèpanor
Convenient store
Épicerie
Mercado
Epicería
Apple
Pomme
Manzana
Pomma
Identity
The use of Frespañol is often reflective of a minority group with two cultural identities regarding language. Similar to Spanglish, the hybrid language of Frespañol incorporates French and Spanish as a subset of both languages, which then has created a separate individuality and selfhood of heritages and cultural backgrounds. This often helps individuals of Frespañol with their identification of either group, or both at the same time while creating a separate identify of their own. As with Spanglish, this association allows for speakers to code-switch and also implement heritage, with the ability to shift when it is needed most and depending on environment. Apart from code-switching and creating a subset of the languages used, it allows for a separate identify in both heritage and cultural. This dual identity is reflected in and other platforms. As the hybrid language of Frespañol grows and gains a prominent recognition, access to it has been made available in audio and online formats. This identification and association to Frespanol allows for identification of mistakes from non Frespanol speakers and visibility to inclusion or exclusion to be able to identify as a Fragnol speaker. Common example mistakes include taking the wrong word due to its similarity in one language and the assumption it translates the same with the other. For example: Me exprimire to mean, "I express myself", as the French translation is m'exprimer. However, in standard Spanish, exprimire is translated to: squeezing. It is understood that Frespanol speakers would not make this mistake and be aware of the appropriate phrase to use.
History
Frespañol is an acronym of French and Spanish, Fragnol in French. This dialect is the effect of a blend of two cultures. It began during the 20th century hundreds of thousands of Spaniards migrated to France in search of better living conditions. It first began with men migrating to France and then later on they would migrate their families into the country. It should also be noted that the people from Spain that migrated to France did not all pick up the French language. Post WWI France needed to be rebuilt, which paved way to a lot of job opportunities for the Spaniards in France.The spaniards had their own communities in cities such as Paris, Toulouse, Bordeaux and Lyon, where they spoke their mother tongue. The rise and development of Frespañol was in 1960s-1970's. The Spanish workers knew very little French and the French employers knew very little Spanish, regardless they had to communicate with each other, that's when Frespañol surged naturally and it was commonly found used with people working everyday jobs such as maids, construction workers and in the automotive sector. The people that spoke it were typically from lower class communities.
Boundaries and cultural impacts
The main geographic boundary where Frespañol first presented itself was along the border of Spain and France. As mentioned previously in the page, the initial flow of Spanish immigrants to France from the beginning of the 20th century up until the 1960s–70s occurred for economic reasons and was the origin for this hybrid language. These migrations were the primary source for Frespañol, originating with the Spanish incorporating their language of origin with that of their new home country. The migrations caused an incline in the merge between the languages, resulting in the creation of this new culture for people who lived through and could share their similar language experiences. As the Spanish working class migrated deeper into France, Frespañol begun to appear in more populated cities, like Paris
