IntraLatino language and identity
Subtitle: MexiRican Spanish
By: Kim Potowski
Series: IMPACT: Studies in language and society -- volume 43; Impact, studies in language and society -- 43.
Publisher: John Benjamins Publishing Company; Benjamins Publishing Company, John
Published: 2016
Place of publication: Amsterdam; Philadelphia
Language: eng
Number of pages: 278
ISBN-13: 9789027258359; 9789027266187
Subjects: Spanish language; Variation; Dialects; Latin Americans; Language; Ethnic identity; Languages in contact
Description: The increasing diversity of the U.S. Latino population has given rise to a growing population of "mixed" Latinos. This is a study of such individuals raised in Chicago, Illinois who have one Mexican parent and one Puerto Rican parent, most of whom call themselves "MexiRicans." Given that these two varieties of Spanish exhibit highly salient differences, these speakers can be said to experience intrafamilial dialect contact. The book first explores the lexicon, discourse marker use, and phonological features among two generations of over 70 MexiRican speakers, finding several connections to parental dialect, neighborhood demographics, and family dynamics. Drawing from critical mixed race theory, it then examines MexiRicans' narratives about their ethnic identity, including the role of Spanish features in the ways in which they are accepted or challenged by monoethnic, monodialectal Mexicans and Puerto Ricans both in Chicago and abroad. These findings contribute to our understandings of dialect contact, U.S. Spanish, and the role of language in ethnic identity.
Notes: Includes bibliographical references and index.