English speech or writing peppered with Japanese words, outside of an explicitly Japanese or academic context. Typically the Japanese words used will be limited to only the most common words and phrases found in
anime that have become more-or-less common parlance among otaku.
Japanglish is distinguished from the simple use of Japanese-specific vocabulary by its frivolity: it is using Japanese words for the sake of saying something in Japanese, even if it is only a single word in an
English sentence. Contrary to the speakers' intention, which is to associate themselves with Japan and all that they connect with it, Japanglish is more often than not a strong indicator of poor-to-nonexistent comprehension of the Japanese language, as those competent in Japanese will usually refrain from using Japanese terms except when speaking Japanese or when dictated by necessity.
Japanglish is stereotypical of wapanese, though its speakers
may simply be overzealous
anime fanboys or fangirls.
ALTERNATELY:
English as spoken by a native Japanese speaker, characterized by some or all of the following: inversion (or non-distinction) of "r" and "l" sounds, lack (or inversion) of definite and indefinite articles, non-agreement of number and
gender, use of loanwords from
English in their Japanese sense (
e.g. "mansion" for "condo"), and poor word choice. It may not necessarily be "broken"
English, but it is not spoken with complete fluency or comprehension, either. This sense is far less common in contemporary slang.
"Did you see that
fangirl simply fawning over the cosplayer back there? She glomped him and squealed that he was "sooooooo
kawaii" along with other random Japanglish nonsense."
-or-
"Our new business partners tried to humor us by speaking our language, but their Japanglish was so
broken that we couldn't make heads or tails of what they were trying to say."
