CHICANO ENGLISH IN CONTEXT
Carmen Fought
June Hurt ENG 525 Fall 2013
Introductory Video
WHAT IS CHICANO ENGLISH?
What it ain’t is Spanglish,
or ‘messed up’ English OR Spanish!
Photo by Reed Saxon/AP
A LITTLE HISTORY
Chicano English is a contact dialect that arose from the linguistic settings in which there is contact between Mexican Spanish and American English.
It is not simply English influenced by Spanish.
Speakers of Chicano English are native English speakers who speak a variety of English found in their community.
It is a variety of English spoken by fluent English speakers who are not English learners.
CALIFORNIA WAS ONCE PART OF MEXICO
Some Chicano English speakers have ancestors that have been in America longer than many ethnicities in the eastern U.S.
LATINO POPULATION IN THE U.S.
Fastest growing minority in the United States
Distinctive demographic profile
Native born outnumber immigrants
historically by wide margin
L.A. COUNTY HAS A GROWING
LATINO POPULATION
FOUGHT DID HER FIELDWORK IN CULVER CITY
Near the intersection of two major freeways
Fairly stable population size
Above LA County median income
Westside Park High School
An alternative school for students with ‘issues’
Has a small student body and small staff
Tight-knit community
Students treated with dignity
About 55% Latino
SOCIAL STRUCTURE IN LATINO FAMILIES
Majority of young adults live at home until married
Parents have strict rule systems Role of siblings part of the role of family Positive value placed on family relationships
Opposite end of spectrum would be gang members
Middle class
Lower middle class
Working class
Lower working class
Low income
SOCIAL CLASS DIFFERENCES AMONG CHICANOS
COMMUNITY DYNAMICS
Born in the community-Immigrant
-Recent immigrant Racial tensions
Degree of assimilation
Gang membership
Social class tensions
THE GANG SUBGROUP
Gang members
Wanna-bes/back-up: may one day be members
Wanna-bes/hangers-on: will NEVER be members
Straights/nobodies
OTHER AFFILIATIONS
The moms
Mexican nationals
Speakers from outside of the high school
MI HIJO SPEAK NO ESPANGLISH
Molina Speaks comes from a Mexicano-Chicano background and is a first generation college graduate. He teaches college-level courses in Chicano Studies, Hip-Hop Studies, and Media Justice.
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