Language evolves - and languages mix, as do cultures. Eng...

Language evolves - and languages mix, as do cultures. English is chocked full of words and expressions that come from other languages or simply are made up and catch on in popular usage. The same is true for Spanish. Although it may be common knowledge to many, I was surprised to find out that "iony" is a Spanish word. It's slang, but still a word used and recognized in many places. It is a knock off of the famous New York City marketing logo, which was introduced in 1977. Switch out the heart for an "o" and voilà, new slang is born. Quite interesting!

From what I hear, the word "iony" possibly originated but definitely was popularized in southern Ecuador. It describes the attitudes, fashions, and accents adopted by Ecuadorian immigrants who return home from the USA. This phenomenum is discussed in more detail in a book written by anthropologist Jason Pribilsky. As one blogger summarized:
"Jason Pribilsky, an anthropologist, discusses the term in his book 'La Chulla Vida,' about the immigration wave from Ecuador to Queens. 'Iony' refers not just to personal style, but to the deeper concept of modernity, and the profound changes caused by migration. His book explores the changes in farming, family dynamics, wealth and status, “a perceived rupture from the past” in the area of Deleg, Ecuador. He writes that, 'in addition to presenting powerful ideas of adventure and sophistication, iony modernity is viewed like so many Horatio Alger stories, promising modern rewards in exchange for hard work.' But it’s not that simple for an undocumented immigrant in Queens. 'Rather than unlimited choices, the iony life abroad offers few options, requiring instead that migrants perform a balancing act that is difficult to master,' Pribilsky writes. This is not exactly the New York experience that state marketing officials had in mind. But this logo seems to have a life of its own."
http://immigration.lohudblogs.com/2008/05/23/our-state-logo-a-modern-word-in-spanish/
With all this cross-fertilization of languages and cultures going on, I can't help but wonder what kind of new slang would result from US gringos returning to the States after living a while in Ecuador.
Mashing up gringo sensibilities with the beautiful, garden of eden nature of the Ecuadorian countryside, plus throwing in a popular Ecuadorian motto, and let's see what we get.

..."Ama La Vida" becomes -- "In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida"
Published on September 08, 2017 08:46
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