The linguistic and social aspects of Spanish in the United States have been the topic of compelling cultural and political debates in recent years. These debates have attempted response to such popular questions as: What is ‘Spanglish’, who speaks it, and why?; How much and how well do US-born Hispanics/ Latinos speak Spanish and English?; What is involved in learning and using Spanish in the US setting? Is there such thing as ‘United States Spanish’?; In what ways do political and ideological factors serve to shape the Spanish language in the US?; Is Spanish becoming the predominant language in some parts of the country such as South Florida?. These are the sorts of questions that over the past decade have driven my research. On this website you may access several of my publications related to some of these issues and, under Links, hear some of my observations and opinions. The philosophical basis of my thinking is that language, society, and identity are inextricably bound up together in human existence. To understand the nature of language, one must look to social conditions. Conversely, to understand society, one must contemplate the structures and forms of language.
Spanish Language Contact
El español en contacto con otras lenguas (with Carol A. Klee) (2009)
El español en contacto con otras lenguas is the first comprehensive historical, social, and linguistic...
The Subjunctive in Miami Cuban Spanish: Bilingualism, Contact and Language Variability (Ph.D. dissertation, University of Minnesota) (1999)
This sociolinguistic study offers an account of the situation of bilingual Miami and analyzes the...
Spanish in the US
A Sociolinguistic Analysis of Final /s/ in Miami Cuban Spanish, Language Sciences (2009)
This study analyzes the variation of syllable- and word-final /s/ among two generations of Cubans...
Expression of Cultural Standing in Miami: Cuban Spanish Discourse about Fidel Castro and Cuba, Revista Internacional de Lingüística Iberoamericana (RILI) (2009)
This study draws upon Claudia Strauss’ (2004) model of cultural standing to analyze opinions regarding...
La demografía hispánica en suelo norteamericano: Los mexicanos; ‘Latinos’ e hispanohablantes: Mexicanos (with Carmen Silva-Corvalán), Enciclopedia del español en Estados Unidos (2009)
La demografía hispánica en suelo norteamericano: Otros países de ámbito hispánico; ‘Latinos’ e hispanohablantes: Otras procedencias, Enciclopedia del español en los Estados Unidos (2009)
Estudio comparativo de actitudes hacia el español en los Estados Unidos: educación, política y entorno social (with Carol A. Klee), Lingüística Española Actual (2005)
This study explores attitudes toward Spanish with respect to language education, language policy and language...
Spanish as a Heritage Language / Second Language
The Linguistic Similarities of Spanish Heritage and Second Language Learners, Foreign Language Annals (2008)
This article addresses the situation of lower-proficiency heritage language learners of Spanish in terms of...
Estudio comparativo de actitudes hacia el español en los Estados Unidos: educación, política y entorno social (with Carol A. Klee), Lingüística Española Actual (2005)
This study explores attitudes toward Spanish with respect to language education, language policy and language...
The Relationship between Second and Heritage Language Acquisition: Notes on Research and Theory Building, Heritage Language Journal (2003)
This article, published in the first issue of the Heritage Language Journal, presents questions and...
Toward a Theory of Heritage Language Acquisition: Spanish in the United States, Mi Lengua: Spanish as a Heritage Language in the United States (2003)
The sociolinguistic realities of English and Spanish, at the national and world levels, have evolved...
Social Factors and Language Proficiency in Postsecondary Spanish Immersion: Issues and Implications (with Carol A. Klee and Diane J. Tedick), Hispania (2001)
A number of SLA studies indicate that social factors play a crucial role in the...