Date of Award

2026-05-01

Degree Name

Master of Arts

Department

Language & Linguistics

Advisor(s)

Natalia Mazzaro

Abstract

Language attitude studies have been a vital aspect of Sociolinguistics research along the U.S.-Mexico border, with significant contributions having been made by Hugo Mejias and his colleagues in the Lower Rio Grande Valley (1986; 2003) and Hidalgo (1986) in Ciudad Juarez. However, there has been a lack of updated language attitude research in the region in recent decades, particularly in the city of El Paso, which, up to now, has not been the subject of a general language attitude survey. The present project seeks to investigate the language attitudes of bilingual Spanish-speakers living in the El Paso region through the use of an anonymous online questionnaire. This questionnaire focuses specifically on two types of language attitudes: personal use, which describes factors that motivate bilinguals to use Spanish, and public perception, which describes bilinguals' feelings of comfort, safety, and shame when speaking Spanish in public places. This research offers vital insights into the sociolinguistic landscape of the El Paso region, including the following factors: bilinguals' attitude towards Spanish, their desire to maintain Spanish and pass it down to their children, their sense of connection to their Spanish-speaking culture, and their sense of safety using Spanish in public spaces.

This project, both in its initial design and in the lens through which I have analyzed the results, is framed by the current cultural and political backlash against the Spanish language in the United States, fueled by broader anti-immigrant rhetoric from both the Federal government and the state government of Texas, including the recent language policies passed by the Federal government, including President Donald Trump symbolically enshrining English as the official language of the United States, and targeted funding cuts directed towards bilingual programs in school districts with large populations of bilingual students by President Trump's administration. One of the goals of the present research is to determine whether these policies have affected the language attitudes of bilinguals living in El Paso, especially their sense of safety as Spanish-speakers living in the United States.

Language

en

Provenance

Received from ProQuest

File Size

72 p.

File Format

application/pdf

Rights Holder

Dalton S. Ascone

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