A Lingustic Study of the Language of a Group of Mexican-Americans: a Report on Field Research
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Authors
Mitchell, Janice
Issue Date
1974
Type
Thesis
Language
en_US
Keywords
Alternative Title
Abstract
The English language, which is the dominant language in the
United States, exerts a profound influence on the languages of
minority groups, and the effects it has on them is worth studying.
This work will discuss some of the transformations that take place
in the Spanish spoken by the Mexican - Americana of the Saginaw
area. The Mexican - Americans are one immigrant population in
the United States that has managed to hold on to its language and
culture to a certain degree for some time. Frequent new arrivals
from Mexico help reinforce this retenti0n, and keep the language
in a constant state of renewal and change. It is not a static
situation, because the new arrivals come in contact with those
Mexican - Americans who were born here, and the two groups come
in contact with the Anglo culture. There is a certain amount of
pressure on new arrivals to learn English if they do not already
speak it, because of employment, school, etc. There is a particular amount of pressure on school-age children to learn English,
as it is the language of instruction. Unfortunately, many never
get a chance to learn it well, and consequently suffer educationally.
However, most Mexican - Americana achieve at least some
degree of bilingualism (if not total bilingualism), with the consequent
influence on the speech and writing of both languages.
Description
iii, 20 p.
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