Language Contact and Change: Spanish in Los Angeles
Languages in a situation of contact, whether receding or being maintained by their speakers, are characterized by constant and rapid change. Thus, they provide a testing ground for hypotheses about processes of linguistic change. In this original study of an intergenerational sample of Spanish-English bilinguals in Los Angeles County, Carmen Silva-Corvalán explores in depth the linguistic, cognitive, and social processes underlying language maintenance, as well as changes characteristic of...
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Languages in contact are characterized by constant and rapid change; thus, they provide a testing ground for hypotheses about processes of linguistic change. In this study, Silva-Corvalán looks at an inter-generational sample of Spanish-English bilinguals in Los Angeles County. Bringing together analytical techniques employed in sociolinguistics, functional syntax, and discourse analysis, she uncovers the linguistic, cognitive, and social processes underlying language maintenance, as well as changes characteristic of language shift and loss.
AbbreviationsList of Tables1Language Contact and Change12Tense-Mood-Aspect Across the Spanish Continuum203The Effect of Tense-Mood-Aspect Simplification on Narrative and Hypothetical Discourse564Exploring Internal Motivation for Change925Exploring External Motivation for Change1336Conflicting Loyalties1687Conclusion207App. 1 Tape Contents and Speaker Coding222App. 2 Verb Test227App. 3 Factors Included in the Coding of Subject Expression230App. 4 Attitude Questionnaires232References240Index250
