Ponlo To' Junto: Humor and Language Among Puerto Rican TikTok Content Producers

Abstract

This study examines two Puerto Rican TikTok content creators, SammySolo and CarlosCalderon who aim to engage bicultural and bilingual millennials and Gen Zers Latinx audience. I am interested in the way these TikTokers develop a unique linguistic ideology regarding the use of Puerto Rican vernacular, specifically the use of Spanish, Spanglish, and accents. This work analyzes how humor is used as a tool to critique hegemonic linguistic ideologies regarding the use of Spanish in the United States and as a pedagogical tool and emphasizes its ability to convey culturally the complexities surrounding the linguistic experiences of young Puerto Ricans, in contrast to the hegemonic linguistic ideology. This ideology favors “neutral Spanish,” stripping regional accents, Spanglish, and cultural nuances to create a homogenized, standardized form that aligns with commercial and media interests. This article highlights the power of humor in cultural translation, its resistance to dominant narratives related to language, and the Puerto Rican linguistic ethos (the linguistic choices, including vocabulary, syntax, grammar, and pronunciation). Furthermore, it examines whether the use of humor might serve as a means of critiquing traditional media's monolingual and unaccented linguistic legacy, exploring if these influencer-led content channels can act as alternative media platforms that transition content, formats, and language away from mainstream norms.