Premium
Shift Happens: Spanish and English Transmission Between Parents and Their Children
Author(s) -
Hurtado Aída,
Vega Luis A.
Publication year - 2004
Publication title -
journal of social issues
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.618
H-Index - 122
eISSN - 1540-4560
pISSN - 0022-4537
DOI - 10.1111/j.0022-4537.2004.00103.x
Subject(s) - neuroscience of multilingualism , linguistics , linguistic diversity , psychology , sociology , equity (law) , diversity (politics) , identity (music) , gender studies , political science , anthropology , philosophy , physics , acoustics , law
We examined evidence for linguistic bands in Spanish/English language shift. Linguistic bands, defined as the degree of individuals' exposure to a language they may not speak but nonetheless comprehend, facilitate English/Spanish bilingualism and increase linguistic diversity rather than English monolingualism. Data for this study came from the National Chicano Survey ( Arce, 1982 ), the California Identity Project ( Hurtado, Hayes‐Bautista, Valdez, & Hernández, 1992 ), a statewide survey, and a California rural town convenience sample. Our findings strongly suggest that Spanish to English shift does occur from one generation of Latinos to another, but the existence of linguistic bands results, also, in stable English/Spanish bilingualism. Finally, we discuss consequences of advocating “English‐Only” policies and their effects on educational equity and social justice .