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Reported Literacy, Media Consumption And Social Media Use As Measures Of Relevance Of Spanish As A Heritage Language, Isabel Velázquez

Spanish Language and Literature

Aims and objectives: This paper explores one dimension of language maintenance among college-aged heritage speakers of Spanish (HSS) in three communities of the U.S. Midwest. The aim was to understand whether Spanish was relevant at a point in life in which they were developing their own networks away from their families. Research questions: Were reading and writing in Spanish relevant for the participants? Did they use Spanish when on social media? Did they text in Spanish? Was Spanish relevant for them when consuming content on electronic media?

Methodology: This analysis is part of a larger study on HSS in communities …

Heritage Speakers Of Spanish In The Us Midwest: Reported Interlocutors As A Measure Of Family Language Relevance, Isabel Velázquez, Marisol Garrido, Mónica Millán

Spanish Language and Literature

This article presents the results of an analysis of reported interlocutors in Spanish in a group of heritage speakers (HS), in three communities of the US Midwest. Participants were college-aged bilinguals developing their own personal and professional networks outside the direct influence of their parents. Responses are compared with those from two control groups: college-aged native speakers (NS) and college-aged second-language learners (L2). Seventy-seven per cent of HS reported speaking primarily in Spanish with 4–5 interlocutors on the week of the study. HS and NS reported more interactions in Spanish with older relatives, and more interactions with peers outside their …

Maternal Perceptions Of Agency In Intergenerational Transmission Of Spanish: The Case Of Latinos In The U.S. Midwest, Isabel Velázquez

Spanish Language and Literature

This article examines the ways in which a group of first-generation Latino immigrants to the U.S. Midwest conceptualized their role in their children’s bilingual development. Respondents were asked to identify the individuals or institutions on which their children’s language and academic development depended, as well as household practices perceived as conducive to Spanish maintenance, and perceived obstacles to their children’s use of Spanish in the domains of home, school, and community. Discussion centers on maternal perceptions of agency because of the centrality of the mother in intergenerational minority language transmission. It is argued here that immigrant mothers’ perceptions of agency …

Individual Discourse, Language Ideology And Spanish Transmission In El Paso, Texas, Isabel Velázquez

Spanish Language and Literature

This paper reports the results of an analysis of the use of metaphors, metonyms, referential strategies, and expressions of deixis used by a group of middle-class bilinguals in the border city of El Paso, Texas, when speaking about use of Spanish and English in their city and in their home. A total of 234 metaphors referencing processes, institutions, and ethnic groups related to Spanish/English use were included. The goal of this study was to analyze how speakers conceptualized language use and language users in their community, and to examine if and how individual discourses map onto larger linguistic ideologies. The …

Mother’S Social Network And Family Language Maintenance, Isabel Velázquez

Spanish Language and Literature

Abstract This article reports the results of a social network analysis (SNA) performed on the mother’s primary network of interaction in 15 Mexican American families in the city of El Paso, Texas, the neighborhood of La Villita, in Chicago, and the city of Lincoln, Nebraska. The goal of this study was to examine potential opportunities for Spanish use by her children as well as sources of information and influence that might shape her views about the benefits and drawbacks of linguistic maintenance in her family. The network features of primary language of exchange, density, strength of ties, level of integration …