[Download] "Acculturation and Communicative Need in the Process of Language Shift: The Case of an Arizona Community (Report)" by Southwest Journal of Linguistics ~ eBook PDF Kindle ePub Free
eBook details
- Title: Acculturation and Communicative Need in the Process of Language Shift: The Case of an Arizona Community (Report)
- Author : Southwest Journal of Linguistics
- Release Date : January 01, 2005
- Genre: Language Arts & Disciplines,Books,Professional & Technical,Education,
- Pages : * pages
- Size : 236 KB
Description
ABSTRACT. This study looks at the lesser-known variables of acculturation and communicative need in an effort to better understand their influence in the process of language shift. Using a sociolinguistic approach, Spanish language use by Hispanics residing in this community is examined and compared to another community with a similar profile located in northern California. Specifically, three variables serve as the focus of this study: generation, communicative need, and acculturation, as they relate to Spanish language use in the home domain. Results show a strong correlation between generation and the participant's reported level of acculturation as well as communicative need, which in turn has a significant effect on the use of Spanish in the home. INTRODUCTION. The various issues and factors involved in the maintenance or shift of Spanish among Hispanic populations in the United States continue to challenge sociolinguists, as we strive to better understand the many forces at work in this shift continuum. Thanks to the contributions of numerous studies that look at the area of Spanish maintenance and shift in the United States, researchers have been able to determine and agree on certain variables that have shown to be correlated directly to the retention or loss of the Spanish language within specific speech communities.