A practical proposal for the analysis of the usage og Anglicisms and public attitudes towards them

Abstract

This article discusses the use of fieldwork as an instrumental as well as pedagogical tool in the context of university teaching. We describe how a group of 15 students taking the Degree in English Studies use this resource in order to meet the work requirements: to contextualize the phenomenon of lexical Anglicisation. At the same time, we pay particular attention to the process of selfreflection prior to interviewing informants, considering issues such as the graphemic or phonological adaptation of words of English origin or the perception of such lexis as a threat to the language, since, without this conscious detachment, it is easy to fall prey to the mere projection of students’ own ideas onto the analysis of the data compiled. We thus examine their answers and consider to what extent the activity was successful. Finally, we offer some suggestions for improvement to be incorporated into future experiences.