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English in Colombia: a sociolinguistic profile

GLORIA VELEZ-RENDON*
ABSTRACT: This paper intends to make a contribution to the study of the spread of the English language
in Colombia. To characterize this social and cultural context, I draw a sociolinguistic profile following the
framework provided by Berns (1990, 1992). Although English has no official status in Colombia and its
functional range is still restricted, it has expanded at a pace not experienced before. There is a growing
consensus that English has a role to play in Colombia's social and economical advancement in the
international arena. This is evidenced in the educational policies and programs contributing to securing a
prominent position for English in the national curriculum as well as in the unprecedented boom of the
English language teaching industry.
The paper begins by providing an overview of Colombia and its linguistic makeup, briefly tracing the
presence of the English language from the eighteenth century to date. Then it goes on to characterize the
users and uses of English documenting how the interpersonal, instrumental, and creative/innovative
functions are manifested in this particular setting. Next, the paper describes the attitudinal range towards
the English language, its speakers, and its study as well as the process of borrowing, adaptation, and
innovation. It concludes by highlighting the need for additional research to further define this particular
socio-cultural milieu of learning and use of English. It is argued that further research has a central role in
informing the determination of relevant and appropriate models for language teaching in Colombia.

INTRODUCTION
A Colombian can travel thousands of Kilometers to the north, or to the south, and visit some 18
or 20 countries, and still be able to converse with almost all the people he meets in Spanish; even if
he travels east, he is quite likely to understand, and be understood, by the Portuguese-speaking
Brazilian. In his reading, he will find much of the classical and higher quality world literature
available to him in Spanish translation and he will find many of the standard textbooks written by
foreign authors also in Spanish translation. It is when he begins to work in a technical field, in
commerce and medicine, or, even more so, in scientific research, that he finds that translated
publications (where they exist) are no longer adequate because they are not up-to-date, and the
literature available to him in Spanish may cover his field of interest neither in sufficient depth, nor
in sufficient breadth. (Schur, 1977: 1718)

Twenty-five years after Hebert Schur wrote this text, the functional range of English in
Colombia is still restricted, yet it seems to be expanding at an unprecedented rate.
Although the phenomenon of the expansion of the English language has reached all the
corners of the world, the main focus of attention has been on contexts belonging to the
outer circle, particularly such non-Western settings as Ghana, India, Nigeria, or Singapore
(Kachru, 1992). Latin American countries seem to be no exception to the expansion of the
English language worldwide. However, documentation of this phenomenon in this
particular setting, with few exceptions (see Busnardo and Braga, 1987; Friedrich, 1996,
2000), is limited. Scholarly work focusing on the spread of English in any of the Latin
American countries is of interest for two reasons. First, it can provide insights into a
* Department of Foreign Languages and Literatures, Purdue University, Calumet, 2200 169th Street,
Hammond, IN 46323-40-94, USA. E-mail: velezre@calumet.purdue.edu
A Blackwell Publishing Ltd. 2003, 9600 Garsington Road, Oxford OX4 2DQ, UK and 350 Main Street, Malden, MA 02148, USA.

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context scarcely explored and thus contribute to expanding the knowledge base of the
field. Second, it can shed some light on settings that have a very different sociolinguistic
makeup from the contexts studied to date. Unlike the multilingual settings of India,
Ghana, Singapore and countries of the European Union where several different
languages are spoken and English is often used for intranational and pan-national
communication, most Latin American countries, with the exception of Brazil and some
Caribbean islands, share the same language, Spanish. Although there is a wide variation
in lexicon, pronunciation, and syntax both among countries and within countries, any
variety of Spanish `can be readily understood by speakers of other varieties' (Lipski,
1994: 44). As a result, there is no need for a lingua franca to communicate with
neighboring nations. Spanish, which is spoken by more than 300 million people in nearly
22 countries, symbolizes unity, identity, and stability among the various Spanishspeaking countries.
Before examining the spread of the English language in Colombia in detail, a
consideration of the background of the country is necessary for appreciation of its
linguistic and ethnic diversity. From that point, I will draw a sociolinguistic profile to
describe the users of English in Colombia; its functional range; the nature of the linguistic
adaptation and innovation observed in Colombians' use of English; and the attitudes
toward the language, its speakers and its study (Berns, 1990).
Colombia, located at the Northwest corner of South America, is the third most
populous country of Latin America with approximately 38,000,000 inhabitants. Several
languages and language varieties are spoken for wider as well as local communication.
Although most Colombians speak Spanish, the Summer Institute of Linguistics (SIL)
reports that between 200,000 to 250,000 speak 79 of the 98 American Indian languages
classified for Colombia (Grimes, 1988). Colombian sign language is used both by deaf
and hearing people, and has some signs similar to those of El Salvador, Spain, and the
USA. A variety of English `said to be the same as Jamaican Creole' (Grimes, 1988: 115)
is spoken as a first language by the majority of inhabitants of the Colombian islands,
San Andres and Providencia, located in the Caribbean. The highly educated minority
use Standard English, although it is not clear which particular variety of Standard
English it is. Ninety percent of the island inhabitants speak and are literate in Spanish as
well. The new Colombian Constitution, drafted in 1991, establishes that `Spanish is the
official language of Colombia, the languages and dialects of ethnic groups are also
official in their territories' (Article 27 of the Constitucion Poltica de Colombia, 1993:
38; my translation). The law also mandates that in regions where people speak
indigenous languages, schooling be bilingual. Colombia views indigenous languages as
a cultural patrimony to be preserved. The Instituto Caro y Cuervo, a prestigious
Colombian institution devoted to the study of Hispanic literature and linguistics, has
undertaken the study and preservation of Colombia's indigenous languages since the
SIL, which had been in charge of doing so, was expelled from Colombia in 1982. Most
native groups live in very isolated areas of the country, which makes the expansion of
their languages very unlikely; a high percentage is bilingual. Colombian Spanish, as most
of the varieties spoken in Latin America, embodies contributions from native languages,
as well as from the African languages it came into contact with when African natives
were brought to Latin America as a labor force in the sixteenth century (Lipski, 1994).
Colombian Spanish has also been lexically enriched by many borrowings from various
other languages, especially English.
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English presence and contact

Contact with England dates back to the eighteenth century, but became more prominent
after Latin America's independence from Spain in the 1830s. The early twentieth century
marks the beginning of the hegemony of the United States in Latin America with President
Roosevelt's announcement to the Europeans in 1904 that `this region was uniquely part of
the US sphere of influence' (Horowitz, 1985: 54). Thus the beginning of the twentieth
century also marks the arrival of American English and its influence on Colombian
Spanish. Montes (1985) points out that the American hegemony, which became more
prominent after World War II, was particularly accentuated after the Cuban Revolution in
1959 when the Alliance for Progress and the Peace Corps were established. The Romance
(Latin and French) languages, which had enjoyed an undisputed position in the school
curriculum in the first half of the twentieth century, began to be displaced by English in the
subsequent decades.
If the sixties, seventies and eighties saw the growth of the English language in Colombia,
the nineties witnessed what seems to be its heyday. The globalization of communications
and the information revolution have made English language media and information
resources available and accessible to an increasing number of people in Colombia. The
explosion of these technologies and the ready access to information they allow may impact
the expansion of English in Colombia in ways yet difficult to predict. In addition, radical
changes in the educational system, aimed at moving the country ahead socially and
economically and enabling it to secure a place in the new international order, are currently
underway. Consensus that the English language has a role to play in Colombia's
advancement in the international arena seems to be growing. This has been reflected in
the educational policies and programs that are contributing to expand the prominent
position of the English language in the school curriculum as will be discussed later in this
article. It can be evidenced as well in the unprecedented boom of the English language
teaching industry. As in Brazil, a proliferation of language centers testifies to the everincreasing demand for English classes `at all proficiency levels and for all kinds of
purposes' (Friedrich, 1996: 1). The Chamber of Commerce in Medelln, Colombia's
second largest city, reports that the number of English language centers and programs
registered in its offices rose from about 8 in the eighties to more than 40 in the nineties
(Robledo and Echeverry, 1998). Some of these programs enjoy the prestige of being more
effective at language teaching than the formal educational system. The booming English
language teaching industry is capitalizing on the view held by many a Colombian today:
Those without both English and computer skills are illiterate in today's global world.
Some contexts that have traditionally provided numerous opportunities for contact with
English in Colombia are the nine Centros Colombo Americanos located in the major cities.
They are binational centers created under the auspices of the United States Information
Agency for promoting a better understanding of the American culture among Colombians.
The Colombo Americanos have a host of academic and cultural activities related to the
English language. The former include, among other things, English language teaching,
language teacher training, annual ELT conferences, regular seminars, coordination of
exchange or study abroad programs, and administration of American standardized tests,
e.g. the Michigan Test, the TOEFL and the GRE. Art and photography exhibits, theater
plays, concerts, repertory film programs and English book fairs are some cultural activities
programmed by the Colombos. In addition, they provide library services. For example, the
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Colombo at Medelln has a collection of 30,000 English language books, 470 serial titles,
1,000 videocassettes and 2,000 audiocassettes in English that are made available to the
members of the library. The people who benefit from and participate in the activities
programmed by the Colombos are mostly English language students and the Englishspeaking community in each city (personal communication with Martn Alonso Jimenez
Arango, Program Development Team Member, Centro Colombo Americano, Medelln,
February 4, 2002).
THE USERS OF ENGLISH

Colombia falls under the category of the expanding circle countries due to the
pedagogical status of English as a foreign language, its lack of official status, its restricted
uses, and the increasing number of learners (Kachru, 1992). Like the majority of the
countries belonging to this circle, Colombia relies on inner circle varieties, especially the
American variety, to provide the standards and norms to which users seek to conform
(Cardenas, 1994). This is evidenced in part by the enormous prestige English native
teachers enjoy among administrators and students in spite of the fact that on many
occasions they are not qualified for language teaching. That is to say, they are often hired
without possessing any previous teacher preparation and/or experience. Dependency upon
an inner circle model is also manifested in the almost exclusive use of textbooks and
materials published in inner circle countries. Silva (1996) indicates that the only two series
designed by Colombians that gained some recognition in the eighties were Express It in
English (Ruiz, Pappenheim, and Agel, 1983) and Looking Around (Silva, 1985). The
reliance on a native model makes Colombian English a performance variety.
The British Council (1999) reports that around 3 percent of the Colombian population
can use English and the overwhelming majority are people whose ages range between15
and 30. Most of the users are concentrated in the largest cities like Medelln, Cali, and the
capital of the country, Bogota, a cosmopolitan center that hosts a series of international
events and where all the main governmental and diplomatic offices are based. Users can
also be found in Caribbean coastal cities, like Cartagena and Santa Marta, which attract
most of the international tourism.
The workplace and academia are domains in which the users of English are growing
increasingly. Forty percent of students enrolled at the Centro Colombo Americano in
Medelln report they are studying English because it is required at the workplace (Robledo
and Echeverry, 1998). The growing internationalization of Colombia's economy since 1991
has greatly increased foreign trade and commerce and has opened the market for foreign
investment thus expanding the need for English. Proficiency in the language is required by
an increasing number of jobs. The classifieds of major Colombian newspapers regularly
run ads for a variety of jobs in which knowledge of English is either a must or is desirable.
Major corporations as well as smaller companies are encouraging their employees to study
English by providing tuition fees and allotting time for pursuing the courses. Other
companies have established their own on-site language programs tailored to the specific
needs of their employees. Private classes are also actively sought by individuals and small
groups of workers and professionals who can afford the fees charged by a tutor. These
employees need English in the workplace for communicating via phone, fax and e-mail
with foreign suppliers, investors and/or customers; interacting with visitors; translating
manuals and documents; attending international meetings and conferences; and accessing
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updated information in their fields. Similarly, English is paramount for scholars and
researchers in the academic realm, particularly science and technology, to keep abreast of
the latest developments in their fields of expertise, to collaborate with other scholars
abroad, to publish in well-respected journals with an international readership, and to
participate in international conferences. Those planning to pursue graduate studies in
English-speaking contexts also experience a critical need to develop advanced English
language skills to meet the language requirement for admission in universities abroad.
Colombia has the third largest group in Latin America, after Mexico and Brazil, of
nationals pursuing graduate studies in the USA. Reading proficiency in English is also an
entrance requirement for graduate programs in the vast majority of local universities.
Besides those who need English language skills for employment, advancement in the
workplace and academic purposes, an increasing number of people study English because
it is fashionable and allows for access to the different media in English language available
now in Colombia, as illustrated below.
Users' socio-economic status and proficiency level
Motivations such as the ones described above coupled with opportunities rendering a
meaningful contact with the English language are determinant factors in the development
of proficiency levels in the Colombian context. A privileged socio-economic status in this
setting provides access to such opportunities as study abroad, exchange programs, quality
English classes, private tutors, satellite or cable television, Internet, family vacations
abroad and so on. For example, a trend among young upper-class professionals is to
spend a year in England or the USA after graduation to polish English language skills. It
is believed that this can significantly increase their prospects for employment and
advancement.
THE USES OF ENGLISH

For a clearer picture of the range of uses of English in Colombia, the functional
framework previously proposed by Kachru (1981) and adopted by Berns (1990) is useful.
The framework encompasses four categories that describe distinct uses of language. They
are the regulative function, the instrumental function, the interpersonal function, and the
imaginative/innovative function. All the functions, with the exception of the regulative, are
realized in the Colombian context.
The instrumental function
The instrumental function can be defined as the `status of a language as a medium of
instruction' (Berns, 1990: 60). Although this seems to be changing, a Colombian's main
contact with English has been traditionally through the classroom. English is used as the
medium of instruction in several subjects in an increasing number of bilingual schools in
Colombia's major cities. It is also the vehicle of instruction in most of the coursework of
English language programs at the university level. The results of a recent survey conducted
at 29 of the 33 universities offering language teacher education programs indicates that the
use of English as a medium of instruction for methodology courses rose from 63 percent in
1994 to 72 percent in 1996 (Grupo de Investigacion Interinstitucional, 1997). English is
also used as a medium of instruction in EFL and other graduate programs to which native
English-speaking scholars are regularly invited to teach seminars or intensive courses.
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Berns (1990: 60) suggests that the instrumental function of a language `can also be
described by its place in the school curriculum.' Colombia's educational system regards
foreign languages as an important component of the curriculum and essential for a wellrounded education. Their study, mandatory at the secondary and university level, has been
extended to the elementary level by the 1994 General Law of Education. English is by far
the most widely taught foreign language followed at considerable distance by French.
During the sixties and seventies English was taught in the first through the fourth years
and French in the fifth and sixth years of high school. Subsequent reforms first eliminated
French from secondary schools only to restore it later. Currently, schools have the
autonomy to decide which language to teach; English has been overwhelmingly the
language of choice for most schools. By the time a typical high school student in Colombia
graduates, he/she will have been exposed to a minimum of 306 hours of English, although
it is very likely that he/she has been exposed to many more. The frequency at most schools
is three hours per week with some private high schools offering more (Gonzalez, 1996).
At the university level, three semesters of foreign language instruction are compulsory in
most programs. While the range of languages available to students in a few universities
includes French, German, Italian, Japanese, and Classics, most university offerings are
limited to English. Some private schools have recently taken the step of establishing an
English language requirement for graduation. Students are to demonstrate a minimum
proficiency level through tests such as the TOEFL and the Michigan Test. For example,
students at the Escuela de Administracion y Finanzas (EAFIT), a private university in
Medelln, must score above 75 in a version of the Michigan Test. Preparation for the
proficiency test is up to the students, who can either take university courses or enroll in
language teaching centers.
A number of developments and initiatives that have taken place in the last decade
further illustrate the increasing importance of the English language in the curriculum. The
first development is the 1994 reform of the educational system that now mandates the
teaching of a foreign language starting at the primary school level. The importance
attached to English is reflected in the interpretation many have chosen to make of the law.
Although the decree literally reads `Understanding and being able to express oneself in a
foreign language' (Ley 115 de 1994: 28; my translation and emphasis), teaching a foreign
language in Colombia has come to mean teaching English to most people involved in the
language teaching profession. This is illustrated by statements such as the following: `Now
that the teaching of English has become mandatory in the school curriculum . . . ' (Escorcia
de A, et al., 1995: 45). `The General Law of Education emphasizes the importance of
English and mandates its teaching starting at the elementary level' (Silva, 1996: 2; my
translation). ` . . . the need to train non EFL major teachers to teach English in the
elementary school level, as required by a new national law' (Gonzalez, 1996: 54).
The second development that evidences the stature of English presently in Colombia is
the continued efforts of the Ministry of Education to improve English language teaching
through better preparation of language teachers and through appropriation of resources.
Two programs resulting from this effort are the COFE Project (Colombian Framework for
English) and the Program of Bilingualism and Information Technology.
Recognition of the low standards of English language teaching led the Ministry of
Education to sign an agreement with the British Council in 1991. The COFE Project which
emerged from this agreement set out to survey the state of the art of language teacher
education in Colombia with the participation of 29 of the 31 universities running teacher
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education programs (COFE-ELTO Project Update 3, 1992). The COFE was initially
designed to last four years but was subsequently extended until 1997 in order to guarantee
its impact and sustainability. A 1997 evaluation of the qualitative changes in participating
universities reports significant improvements in the overall quality of the language teacher
education programs. They include (1) reform of curricular components to enhance the
development of prospective teachers' language and pedagogical skills; (2) the use of
English as a medium of instruction in most coursework; (3) the inclusion of a research
component; (4) the extension of the teaching practicum to two semesters; (5) the creation
of resource centers to support teachers' continuous professional development through
workshops, in-service courses, seminars, and updated bibliography; and (6) the strengthening of cooperation among institutions offering English teacher education programs
(Grupo de Investigacion Interinstitucional, 1997: 6).
The Program of Bilingualism and Information Technology launched in 1997 aimed at
improving English language teaching and integrating it with the use of technology. This
initiative targeting 1,600 public and technical high schools, hopes to impact 1,400,000
students by providing them with computer labs equipped with hardware and software for
the study of English. Additionally, the program is making provision for three-month
training courses for 1,600 English teachers both in the United States and Canada. The
training is geared toward developing both English language teaching skills and technological skills (personal communication with Hector Jaime Rendon, computer consultant
for the Program of Bilingualism and Information Technology, October 14, 1997).
It may be years, however, before the actual impact of these developments can be
observed and assessed. Escorcia de A. et al. (1995: 5) point out that the bulk of the
attention of the COFE Project is on pre-service training, thus leaving in-service training
considerably neglected. According to the authors, `there does not exist a framework within
which in-service training can take place.' The creation of sound professional development
programs is the crux of any lasting reform in English language teaching in Colombia in
order to address the needs of all teachers. Many practitioners have voiced their concern
both about the lack of opportunities for maintaining the language and the lack of
in-service training programs available to them (Gonzalez, 1996). The necessity to create
a framework for in-service training is underscored by the implementation of foreign
language teaching at the elementary level. Presently, most public schools have to rely on
available all-round-subject teachers, who neither know the language nor know how to
teach it. Private elementary schools, most of which had included foreign languages in their
curriculum long before the law was passed, can hire specialists for doing the job (Gonzalez
et al., 2001). This leads to another serious problem affecting English language education in
Colombia. There is a widening gap between private and public education. This breach
greatly determines the proficiency level students may achieve through classroom instruction. Students at select private schools and bilingual schools, to which only the middle high
and upper social classes have access, can expect to attain English proficiency levels that
range from intermediate to superior or native-like. The vast majority of Colombian
students are exposed to methodologies emphasizing rote learning, repetition and memorization, which inevitably result in students' failure to cope with a simple communicative
situation after several years of classroom instruction. In a comparative study of English
language teaching in the private and public sectors, Gonzalez et al. (2001) found that
private school EFL teachers perceive themselves as possessing an adequate proficiency
level in the language and as teaching highly motivated students, who are sometimes more
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proficient in English than the teachers themselves. Public school EFL teachers, in contrast,
view themselves as having very low proficiency, if any at all, as teaching non-motivated
students and constantly facing challenges that come with such lower socio-economic
conditions as gang violence, lack of support and resources, overcrowded classrooms, lack
of adequate space and quality materials, and low morale.
The interpersonal function
The interpersonal function has two roles: to serve as a link language and to symbolize
prestige and modernity. The role of English as a link language in Colombia is limited.
Although Colombians studying English expect to use it to communicate with native
speakers of languages other than Spanish (Castillo, 1989), the opportunities for so doing
are rather scarce within the Colombian context. English language students wanting to
establish and maintain connections with native speakers have to make an effort to do so
(Gonzalez, 1996). Using English to communicate with other Colombians when no
foreigners are present is appropriate and acceptable only when done for practicing the
skills learned in the classroom. Outside of this context, it may be considered unnatural or
snobbish.
The media has been crucial to the expansion of Colombians' contact with English and is
an important medium through which the interpersonal function is realized. An increasing
number of households around the country can now access English language broadcasting
through cable and satellite television and through radio. More than a dozen Englishspeaking channels, which include Discovery, CNN, Arts & Entertainment, Cinemax,
HBO, among others, are available to people subscribing to cable television. Similarly, a
number of households, schools in remote places, academic institutions and companies are
connected to information resources worldwide via the Internet (Escorcia de A. et al., 1995).
Other sources related to the media that have contributed to the spread of English are
American films and rock and pop music. Although the vast majority of English language
films shown in theaters either have subtitles or are dubbed, occasionally movies targeting
English-speaking audiences are shown at small theaters. Live rock music in English is
performed at bars in the major cities. A few radio stations featuring only pop or rock music
in English are immensely popular among the younger sector of the population. Several
papers publish the lyrics of the top hits in English weekly with the corresponding
translation in Spanish.
Contact with English is also fulfilled through the reading of English language publications circulating in Colombia. The Colombian Post is a weekly newspaper targeting about
10,000 readers. Other English language publications are those aimed at ELT professionals,
e.g., HOW: A Colombian Journal for English Teachers, ASOCOPI Newsletter (Asociacion
Colombiana de Profesores de Ingles: The Colombian Association of Teachers of English)
and the COFE-ELTO Newsletter. Additionally, papers such as The New York Times, The
Wall Street Journal, The Herald Tribune, and Today are available at specialized shops
(British Council, 1999).
English as a symbol of prestige and modernity is mainly realized in Colombia through its
use in advertising, names for businesses, and clothes brand names. English in advertising
and for business names is probably the most visible realization of the symbolic prestige of
English. An increasing number of ads using English words or expressions can be found on
television, radio, newspapers, magazines, billboards, and store windows. The number of
businesses bearing English language names is growing in spite of the efforts made by the
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Colombian Language Academy.1 Florez (1977) lists such examples as John's, Henry's,
Pepe's bar, and argues that there is a propensity for using the possessive form 's in front of
any name or word. An example in which this use clearly deviates from the native speaker
norm is Show's Internacionales. Additional examples of deviations found in business names
are: Drug Store, Coffe Shop, and Broadsted Chicken. A more recent compilation of names
in major commercial centers indicates that clothing stores provide the most examples of
businesses featuring English language names. Baby Boom, Boys & Girls, Double Deck,
Sport Wear, Paseo Drive, Team, Sailing, Express, Rostock-Authentic Clothing and Splendor
are a few of the examples. This probably can be explained by the immense prestige
attached to American clothing brand names which leads to the third use of English as a
symbol of prestige. Well-known brand names such as Levi's, Guess, The Gap, and Banana
Republic are considered a symbol of one's status and are very fashionable. People who can
afford it are willing to pay high prices for clothes bearing prestigious names.
The use of English by characters in immensely popular Colombian soap operas is
another instance of its prestige. Some characters in `Betty la fea', `La baby sister', `Pedro el
escamoso', and `Ecomoda', consistently insert English words and expressions in their
speech for no discernible reason other than sounding fashionable.
The imaginative/innovative function
Like most expanding circle countries where English is a performance variety, Colombia
does not have a body of literature written by Colombians in English. Some attempts at
writing short stories or poems in English are made by English language majors.
Occasionally, these pieces are published in the language department newsletters. A use
of the English language in the Colombian context that I believe fulfills the imaginative/
innovative function is the deliberate insertion of English words and expressions in
newspapers and magazine article titles to create a particular effect. Three examples serve
as illustration: The first, `EL ``Colombian way of life'' ' (Perea, 1996: 24) is an interesting
example because an equivalent expression for way of life exists in Spanish. However, I
would speculate the author opted for this title for two purposes: first, to call attention to it,
thus awakening the reader's interest and curiosity and, second, to set the mood and the
tone for the contents of the article, which addresses in a very humorous manner the
contrasting nature of Colombians' idiosyncrasies, the conflicting nature of their identity,
and their propensity to overestimate things American. The second example, `El ingles ya
no es moda, es casi una obligacion: Do you speak english?' (Robledo and Echeverry, 1998:
1D), which can be translated as English is not a fashion anymore, it's almost an obligation:
Do you speak English?, is the title of an article stating that learning English is not only
fashionable but essential in today's global world. The third, `Goodbye ilegales' (Sierra,
1997: 5A), translated as Goodbye illegal aliens, describes the drama of illegal immigrants in
the United States as experienced by two Colombian families.
Linguistic innovation and adaptation
The influx of English loanwords into Spanish began during the nineteenth century.
Words such as ticket and court entered Colombian Spanish and were nativized as tiquete
and corte (Montes, 1985). According to the author, the borrowing process has been
accomplished via translations, news agencies, film dubbing, and the speech and writings of
people who have resided in English-speaking countries. One of the most common reasons
for borrowing is to fill lexical gaps resulting from changing communication needs.
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Inventions, discoveries, and the adoption of new ideas or attitudes create the demand for
new words. Colombian Spanish, like other languages, needs to borrow words, especially in
the scientific and technological domains. The example that most readily comes to mind is
the lexicon related to information technology. Fax, modem, software, and hardware are
some common examples. These terms have been adopted with only slight modifications at
the phonological level.
Two loanwords increasingly used in Colombia and seeming to reflect the adoption of
new attitudes are light and gay. The former is used to refer to things, attitudes and beliefs
that are `easy', `lighthearted', `superficial', as opposed to `serious', `boring', `dense', and
`heavy'. The term gay has gained acceptance as attitudes toward the gay community
become more open among some sectors of the population. Other terms traditionally used
to refer to gays are either offensive and insulting or too clinical. Gay seems to provide a
more neutral option.
Patterns observed in Colombia regarding the linguistic borrowing process include the
adoption of the loanwords with modifications in accordance with the morphological,
phonological and orthographic Spanish forms. The list in Table 1 offers examples of
loanwords that have been assimilated into Spanish.
Table 1. English loanwords assimilated into Colombian Spanish
basquetbol
biste
bluyines
bleiser
buldoser
casete
computador/a

basketball
beefsteak
blue jeans
blazer
bulldozer
cassette
computer

eslacs
estres
filme
folclor
folder
futbol
tenis

slacks
stress
film
folklore
folder
football
tennis

lonchera
nailon
polucion
pulman
sanduche
sueter
volibol

lunch box
nylon
polution
pullman
sandwich
sweater
volleyball

Source: Florez (1977)

Loanwords recently accepted by the Colombian Language Academy included in the

2001 edition of its dictionary are: cederron `CD-ROM'; fan `fan'; jazz `jazz'; and
stripts `strip tease'. Other words that are consistently used in the Colombian press with
no modification include rating, ranking, outsourcing, lobbying, boom, look, fashion, set, and
penthouse.
Patterns of borrowing in Colombia also include calquing. Montes (1985) analyzed a
corpus of 140 instances drawn from newspapers, magazines, journals and books representing this process of transferring at the semantic level only, while substituting the morphological and phonological levels completely by Spanish elements. The corpus examined by
Montes includes instances such as aplicar `apply', asumir `assume', evidencia
`evidence', falsear `falsify', whose meaning has been imported from English.
ATTITUDES TOWARDS ENGLISH

Colombians' attitudes towards the English language and the United States can be best
characterized as mixed and contradictory. In an intercultural study comparing Colombian
and American college students, Colombian students' perceptions about the United States
were found to be ambivalent (Szalay, 1982). On the positive side, the United States was
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associated with such concepts as development, progress, modernity and prosperity. On the
negative side, it was associated with exploitation, oppression, domination and imperialism.
Bitter resentment toward the double-standard US foreign policy and unilateral decisionmaking on issues affecting both countries has existed alongside feelings of admiration for
and fascination with things American. While some avidly consume American cultural and
material products, others denounce American cultural imperialism and demonstrate their
animosity by attacking such symbols as the flag and institutions where English is taught. If
the last few decades have seen the expansion of the English language in Colombia, they
have also witnessed the exacerbation of the anti-American feelings that have swept the
country since the 1903 conflict between the two nations, which resulted in the secession of
Panama to the United States (Randall, 1992). During 1996 and 1997, the relationship
between the two countries was at its most deteriorated stage ever due to the war on drugs,
which led the United States to decertify Colombia and revoke the US visa to several
Colombian governmental officers including the president. More recently, Plan Colombia,
a US military aid package for reportedly financing the war on drugs, has met with strong
opposition in some sectors of the population, who view it as a declaration of war on the
Colombian people, particularly poor peasants, and as another US government effort to
intervene in Colombia's internal affairs and maintain power in this geographically strategic
region. The increase in human rights abuses and growing environmental damage resulting
from Plan Colombia have been denounced by local and international human rights groups
and nongovernmental organizations (See Cordoba-Ruiz, 2000; Dieterich, 2000; Miranda,
2001; Vargas-Velasquez, 2001). Some sectors of the population, unfortunately, would
favor a more active US involvement in Colombia's conflict. The rise of anti-American
feelings has given way to a stronger presence of British English in Colombia in the last few
years. `Although American English remains the most popular variety chosen by schools,
British English is becoming more attractive because of deteriorating relations between
Colombia and the USA' (British Council, 1999: online). This presence is being consolidated through the expansion of the services offered by the British Council and the
promotion of British products. They include English language teaching, teacher training,
English language tests administration, consultancy, British textbook marketing, and study
abroad in British schools. Although more expensive and farther away than the USA,
England is becoming a favorite destination for those young upper-class professionals
wanting to enhance their English language skills.
Similarly, a polarization of positions represents attitudes toward the influx of English
loanwords into Spanish: On the one hand, some welcome the flow of borrowings into
Spanish, regard it as lexical enrichment and enjoy the prestige accrued to using loanwords,
and therefore are instrumental in the process of linguistic innovation and assimilation. On
the other hand, the language purists deplore the encroachment of English into Spanish and
regularly express their preoccupation with and distaste for the proliferation of English
loanwords, for the businesses bearing English language names, and for the increasing use
of English in advertising. They regard people prone to using English loanwords as being
snobbish and having a colonialist mind (Florez, 1977; Montes, 1985). Policies emanating
from preoccupations of this sort include the 1975 Law in Favor of the Spanish Language
in Colombia dictated by the Colombian Language Academy, and the 1979 and 1980
governmental policies aimed at protecting the Spanish language from loanwords. This
legislation, which is not easily enforced, did not meet with much success (see Arias, 1999;
Florez, 1977).
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Attitudes towards the influx of loanwords into Spanish are also reflected in the ongoing
debate about the threat posed by the increasing encroachment of Anglicisms in the domain
of technology. Calls have been made to unite efforts in the Spanish-speaking world `to
cleanse' Spanish from the `contamination' of such terminology. This debate has received
some attention in the Colombian press (see Agencia EFE, 1999: 1: B; Gonzalez, 1998: 1D).
Concerning the attitudes toward English language learning, some authors (see Gonzalez,
1996; Gonzalez et al., 2001; Oviedo, 1980; Stansfield, 1978) point out that English has
traditionally been one of the most disliked subjects by high school students in Colombia,
particularly in public schools. The use of methodologies emphasizing rote learning and
word-by-word translations, the focus on grammar, and limited or nonexistent opportunities for using the language in meaningful ways have enormously contributed to students'
lack of motivation and distaste for English. A somewhat similar situation is experienced at
the university level where most students are required to study English for three semesters.
Many view it as an imposition and a bothersome requisite to be met. Although English for
Specific Purposes (ESP) courses, which supposedly emphasize the development of reading
skills, were implemented prior to 1977, the focus on grammar and specialized terminologies is still prevalent in some schools (Pineda and Nunez, 2001). This results in students'
failure to achieve the reading proficiency level required to access texts in their field of
expertise. Escorcia de A (1985) argues that ESP students in Colombia do not experience
any pressure or need to read in English at the beginning of their programs where English
courses are placed. At this stage they see no importance in English for their future careers.
A more positive picture regarding attitudes toward English learning is offered by
students in informal contexts, for example, language centers and continuing education
programs. Most students enrolled in such courses show a more positive and enthusiastic
attitude toward English language learning. This is due partly to the fact that most of them
both choose to study the language and experience a real need for using it.
CONCLUSIONS

This study aimed at providing an overview of the expansion of the English language in
Colombia. In so doing a sociolinguistic profile that follows the model proposed by Berns
(1990) was drawn to characterize the users of English in Colombia; their attitudes towards
the language; the way it is used; its functional range; and the process of borrowing,
adaptation, and innovation. Data collected for this profile suggests that the role of English
is expanding at a pace not experienced before in the Colombian context. Several
developments that account for the importance attached to English are increasingly
contributing to securing its status in the curriculum. Additionally, the growing need for
English language skills in the workplace and in the academic domain coupled with
Colombians' desire to participate in the global community are propelling the thriving
English language teaching industry as well as expanding the contact with the language
outside of the classroom.
Further empirical research is needed to more clearly and precisely define this particular
socio-cultural milieu of learning and use of English in order to create pedagogical
responses that are more appropriate for the country and that better address the real
needs of all learners at all levels (Berns, 1990). For example, needs analysis research is
essential to create effective, relevant and locally constructed responses to the needs of
Colombian learners and users. The trend has been to rely on models imported from abroad
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that emphasize conformity to the standards and norms of an idealized English native
speaker as the ultimate goal of language competence. Needed is also in-depth research on
attitudes towards English in Colombia and how their conflicting nature affects the learning
process. As in Brazil, issues concerning the power and status of the English language have
to be addressed so that learners can better position themselves vis-a-vis the English
language (Busnardo and Braga, 1984; Friedrich, 1996, 2000). Research efforts of this
nature are crucial both for developing a coherent language policy and for implementing
effective language teacher education reform in Colombia. This is all the more relevant in a
country torn by social injustice and with an elitist educational system that provides access
to quality language education to a privileged few while denying it to the rest. English
language education, or any kind of education for that matter (see Freire, 1992; Giroux,
1988), needs to be a vehicle for transformation and empowerment for all.
NOTE
1. The Colombian Language Academy founded in 1871 has 27 active members and 8 honorary ones. One of the
main functions of the academy is to preserve the integrity of the Spanish language and to prescribe standards
for its use. The academy works closely with the other 22 existing Spanish language academies and meets
regularly `to cleanse, fix and give splendor' to the Spanish language (Zarate and Ordonez, 2000: online).

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