¹ Mayra Alejandra Rodriguez is used to seamlessly toggling between Spanish and English in conversation. If she doesn’t know the Spanish version of a word, she’ll use the English, and vice versa. The mishmash, known as Spanglish, comes naturally. Those around her understand her, at least most of the time.

² The Silver Spring, Md., resident is the kind of young Hispanic voter attracting increasing attention from political operatives who advocate that campaigns use the blended language in advertising and other outreach as the 2024 election cycle accelerates.

³ The language — a portmanteau of English and Spanish that blends words, grammar and dialects from both tongues — is growing in popularity in the United States as the country’s Hispanic population grows. Currently, 19 percent of the U.S. population identifies as Hispanic, a new high according to the Pew Research Center, which also found that 63 percent of Hispanics in the United States speak Spanglish at least sometimes in their day-to-day life. Forty percent say they speak it often.

4 Operatives who are urging campaigns to reach young voters in Spanglish argue that its use not only reflects the nation’s changing demographics, but is also a way to meet voters with a lingo that feels more familiar and approachable.