Digital culture and English influence drive Spanish language evolution

The Spanish language is undergoing a transformation driven by digital tools and internet culture. This evolution manifests in two primary ways: the adoption of technical terminology and the integration of internet slang.

Technical terms such as ‘API’ or ‘two-step verification’ are becoming standard in professional environments. Simultaneously, social media platforms like TikTok have introduced slang terms derived from gaming, such as ‘aura’ (referring to charisma), ‘farming’ (repeating actions to accumulate resources), and ‘nerfing’ (weakening something).

Beyond individual words, there is a growing trend of linguistic calques, where English sentence structures are translated directly into Spanish. Examples include using ‘hacer sentido’ instead of ‘tener sentido’ (a literal translation of ‘make sense’) and ‘al final del día’ (from ‘at the end of the day’). Experts note that while some changes involve borrowing words like ‘streaming’ or ‘spoiler,’ others involve adopting English ways of organizing ideas, often influenced by the consumption of content from digital influencers.