Mexican Americans and Language

by Martinez, Glenn A.

• ISBN13: 9780816523740
• ISBN10: 0816523746
• Edition: Bilingual
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2006-04-06
• Publisher: Univ of Arizona Pr

Summary

When political activists rallied for the abolition of bilingual education and even called for the declaration of English as an official language, Mexican Americans and other immigrant groups saw this as an assault on their heritage and civil rights. Because language is such a defining characteristic of Mexican American ethnicity, nearly every policy issue that touches their lives involves language in one way or another. This book offers an overview of some of the central issues in the Mexican American language experience, describing it in terms of both bilingualism and minority status. It is the first book to focus on the historical, social, political, and structural aspects of multiple languages in the Mexican American experience and to address the principles and methods of applied sociolinguistic research in the Mexican American community. Spanish and non-Spanish speakers in the Mexican American community share a common set of social and ethnic bonds. They also share a common experience of bilingualism. As Martínez observes, the ideas that have been constructed around bilingualism are as important to understanding the Mexican American language experience as bilingualism itself. Mexican Americans and Language gives students the background they need to respond to the multiple social problems that can result from the language differences that exist in the Mexican American community. By showing students how to go from word to deed (del dicho al hecho), it reinforces the importance of language for their community, and for their own lives and futures.

Author Biography

Glenn Martinez is an associate professor of Spanish and linguistics at the University of Texas-Pan American in Edinburg, Texas.

Table of Contents

List of Illustrations	vii
Introduction	ix
Language Ideologies	3	(17)
Bilingualism and Language Experience	3	(5)
Features of Language Ideologies	8	(9)
Concluding Thoughts	17	(3)
Discussion Exercises	18	(1)
Suggested Readings	18	(1)
Notes	19	(1)
Language Attitudes	20	(20)
Attitudes and Ideologies	20	(5)
Attitudes about Language and Identity	25	(5)
Attitudes about Language Variation	30	(5)
Attitudes about Language Maintenance	35	(2)
Concluding Thoughts	37	(3)
Discussion Exercises	38	(1)
Suggested Readings	39	(1)
Language Maintenance and Shift	40	(21)
Language Shift	40	(4)
Motivations for Language Shift	44	(6)
Language Shift in the Mexican American Community	50	(3)
Language Shift and Immigration: Illusion or Infusion?	53	(6)
Concluding Thoughts	59	(2)
Discussion Exercises	59	(1)
Suggested Readings	60	(1)
Mexican American Spanish	61	(18)
Language Variation	61	(3)
Proficiency Discontinuities	64	(3)
Stylistic Discontinuities	67	(4)
Social Discontinuities	71	(5)
Concluding Thoughts	76	(3)
Discussion Exercises	77	(1)
Suggested Readings	78	(1)
Mexican American English	79	(15)
Vernacularization in Mexican American English	81	(3)
Minority Dialect Convergence in Mexican American English	84	(2)
Regional Dialect Convergence in Mexican American English	86	(2)
Acts of Identity in Mexican American English	88	(3)
Concluding Thoughts	91	(3)
Discussion Exercises	92	(1)
Suggested Readings	93	(1)
Mexican American Code Switching	94	(15)
The Forms of Code Switching	95	(5)
The Functions of Code Switching	100	(7)
Concluding Thoughts	107	(2)
Discussion Exercises	108	(1)
Suggested Readings	108	(1)
Conclusion	109	(2)
Glossary	111	(4)
Bibliography	115	(8)
Index	123