Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

Estudio Comparativo De Actitudes Hacia El Español En Los Estados Unidos: Educación, Política Y Entorno Social, Andrew Lynch, Carol A. Klee

Andrew Lynch

This study explores attitudes toward Spanish with respect to language education, language policy and language use in two different United States urban settings—one bilingual and another essentially monolingual. A 50-item sociolinguistic questionnaire was administered to 359 Hispanic and non-Hispanic university students at different levels of Spanish language study in Miami, Florida and Minneapolis, Minnesota. Analysis revealed broad acceptance of Spanish in US public life in both cities. However, more conservative attitudes toward ‘English only’ education and Official English policies were expressed by Miami students and by beginning-level students in general. Findings suggest that intense language contact in Miami foments a …