Historias alternativas en el Pacífico: el español en la Isla de Pascua y las islas Marianas

Abstract

This paper studies two situations where Spanish is or has been spoken in the Pacific: the Marinas (Northern Mariana Islands and Guam) and the Easter Island (Rapa Nui). A historical, sociolinguistic, and grammatical overview will provide insights into the global expansion of Spanish and the ways Spanish has been used and modified in different social settings and contact situations. The similarities and differences between these lesser known varieties of Spanish are compared and, finally, the overall results are discussed in a critical framework of Spanish as a global language.