Lexical Borrowing in Caramelo or Puro Cuento

Abstract

The present study intends to analyze the linguistic phenomenon of lexical borrowing in the Chicano novel Caramelo: or Puro Cuento (2002) by Sandra Cisneros. The insertions that Cisneros makes in italics throughout the novel are extracted and studied. As the vast majority of Chicano writers, it is very possible that she utilizes these insertions to make reference to the roots of Chicano culture, which relies on both Mexican Mestizo and Indigenous cultures. Then, by visualizing these insertions from a lexical borrowing perspective, the reader tests the closeness that these insertions have to Mexican culture according to the three existing editions of the New Oxford American Dictionary (2001, 2005, and 2010).