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Sociolinguistic Perspectives On Decisions Of Correctness In New Mexico Spanish, Leslie Merryl Kravitz

Language, Literacy, and Sociocultural Studies ETDs

The purpose of the present investigation was to examine the attitudes of Spanish speakers of an Albuquerque community toward local and standard Mexican Spanish. The preferences expressed and the linguistic elements involved in such decisions were explored. Sociolinguistic factors related to individual and group choices were also considered.

In order to probe the relationship between social and linguistic facts, a single community was investigated. Martineztown, a small, insular Albuquerque Spanish-speaking community was first observed with regard to availability of formal models of Spanish. Sociolinguistic and ethnographic interviews were then conducted. Additional interviews were completed in other New Mexico communities to …