Macaronic

Word of the Day for Thursday, April 12, 2012

macaronic \mak-uh-RON-ik\, adjective:

1. Composed of a mixture of languages.
2. Composed of or characterised by Latin words mixed with vernacular words or non-Latin words given Latin endings.
3. Mixed; jumbled.

noun:
1. Macaronics, macaronic language.
2. A macaronic verse or other piece of writing.

The tradition is even more significant in Folengo's Italian works and especially in his macaronic writings.
-- Mikhail Bakhtin, Rabelais and His World

The macaronic mode swivels between different languages. I believe Beckett chose French against English for similar reasons to those of Jean Arp in selecting French against German.
-- W. D. Redfern, French Laughter: Literary Humour from Diderot to Tournier

The journalistic multiplicity of voices found in the Magazine corresponded with the poetic multi-vocality of Fergusson's macaronic compositions, texts that combined elements of neo-classical English and vernacular Scots diction.
-- Ian Brown, The Edinburgh History of Scottish Literature

Macaronic is related to the word macaroni. Specifically, the pasta is named after the Southern Italian dialect maccarone, which was also associated with a mixture of Latin and vernacular languages.

Thanks to: http://www.dictionary.com/