PHENOMENON OF GLOCALIZATION OF THE SPANISH LANGUAGE: NOTION AND REPRESENTATION IN MEXICAN ADVERTISING DISCOURSE

Abstract

The present research dwells on the principles of contact linguistics engaging with the paradigm of translanguaging in the context of global communication. We aim to conceptualize the term “glocalization” for linguistic inquiry, thereby establishing a framework to analyze the dynamics of pluricentric languages and to examine its concrete linguistic realizations in Spanish-language advertising discourse. The study traces the evolution of “glocalization” as a scholarly notion appealing to its inherent duality - the simultaneous and interrelated processes of globalization and localization. In this paper, glocalization is viewed as a robust analytical means to demonstrate concurrent convergence and divergence phenomena within a language system, using Spanish as a case study. 218 slogans were selected from the Mexican bookstore chain Gandhi and classified as glocal texts. A multi-level linguistic analysis was performed on different levels of language: spelling, phonetics, morphosyntax, lexis, and pragmatics. The findings display an asymmetrical distribution of glocal features across these levels - a pattern interpreted through the interplay of local linguistic practices within a broader translingual space. The analysis demonstrates the strategic tendency in advertising discourse to harmonize global and local elements to maximize persuasive efficiency. Qualitative observations are supported by quantitative data pinpointing specific mechanisms through which the Mexican national variant of Spanish undergoes glocalization.