Power and Norm-Setting in LSP: Anglicisms in the Language of Fashion Influencers

Abstract

The norm in languages for specific purposes, i.e. acceptability in terms of language use at all levels, from pronunciation and lexis to genre structure, is usually established in terms of the power over discourse exerted by user communities. However, in “non-hierarchical” or even “non-regulated” professions or areas of LSP, there is a gradation between lay and professional users which makes for boundaries that are moveable. “Influencers”, who use social media (Instagram, Twitter, etc.) to disseminate their ideas about fashion, are a case in point: they rarely (if ever) have any academic qualifications in fashion design, but may progressively become empowered, through their influence on social media, to determine language use in the language of fashion. The consequences of this empowerment of “outliers” would affect, amongst other components, the normativization of certain specialized languages: as influencers progressively approach the core of the profession, they may bring with them a host of borrowings—mainly Anglicisms in the case of Spanish influencers—which they then disseminate, in spite of what purists might argue. In our paper, we shall use the language of fashion as a case in point to show that the establishment of a norm is not necessarily subject to traditional hierarchies, and discuss the creation of (em)power(ment) dynamics which lead to visible results in language practices.