THE ECHOES OF THE WORLD: LEXICAL BORROWING AND CULTURAL EXCHANGE IN MARQUEZ, ONE HUNDRED YEARS OF SOLITUDE

Abstract

Language functions beyond basic communication because it reflects both historical elements and power structures that unite with cultural traditions. Throughout One Hundred Years of Solitude, Gabriel García Márquez combines Spanish indigenous languages and African dialects with English vocabulary in his story creation. The paper employs William Labov’s Sociolinguistic Variation Theory (1966) to examine how borrowed lexical items display Macondo’s evolving social order together with its colonial relationships and economic transformations. According to Labov, language variation is influenced by historical circumstances, social status, and identity markers. Elite members of society in One Hundred Years of Solitude speak traditional Spanish while the underprivileged combine indigenous and foreign words in their language. The arrival of the banana company introduces English words to Macondo thereby symbolizing rising contact between global capitalism and exploitation. Through the combination of code-switching, style- shifting and linguistic prestige Márquez enables words to act as narrators that demonstrate both colonial influence and indigenous resistance and cultural development patterns within his novel. Lexical borrowing in Márquez work serves more than mere decorative purposes since the author uses it to develop textual meaning that examines identity transformation alongside institutional oppression as well as cultural modernization. The author creates richer storytelling layers through language mixture to display Macondo’s struggle between traditional beliefs and modern changes which define its social complexion. One Hundred Years of Solitude presents an extended tale since the author expresses that his work encompasses the complete linguistic record of Latin America in history.

Keywords: Language Variation, Lexical Borrowing, Linguistic Prestige, Sociolinguistic

Variation Theory, Power Structures