The Language of Reputation and Scandal: Translations of Lived Experiences in Spanish, English, and Spanglish Oral Narratives

The aim of this study is to understand a framework for the structure of oral narratives that operate in different languages, cultures, and topics as translations of lived experiences. Interviews were conducted in English, Spanish, and Spanglish in North and Latin America about gossip and scandal. Oral personal narratives are translations of lived experiences—coded information that negotiate, build, or destroy credibility, relationships, or the self; they manage reputations. This examination is framed under Labovian narrative analysis and the pragmatic implications on the management of reputation in narratives about gossip and scandal are addressed.