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Fought Carmen Palgrave Macmillan, New York, 2003288 pp, PaperbackISBN 0-3339-8638-5
As the population of Latino/as in the United States continues to expand, comprehensive linguistic studies of the language varieties spoken by Latinas and Latinos in the United States are vital. They provide important information for educators and policy makers concerned with promoting the academic success of this population and recognizing and enhancing their literacy skills. In addition, such studies further our understanding of processes of identity formation and the construction of language ideologies. Of the studies on US Latino language that do exist, most focus on Spanish language varieties spoken by Latinos, rather than the English language varieties in their linguistic repertoires. In contrast, Carmen Fought's Chicano English in Context offers an in depth sociolinguistic analysis of Chicano English (CE). Fought describes the phonological, syntactic and semantic features that mark this particular variety of English. She also explores the interaction of certain linguistic variables with social factors and their impact on the presentation of identity for speakers in the Chicano community of Culver City, Los Angeles. Finally, she addresses issues of Spanish use and language attitudes in her impressive study.
The text begins by dismantling misconceptions about CE. As Fought sees it, CE is a variety spoken by native English speakers who may be monolingual or bilingual. This variety has been influenced by contact with Spanish, California Anglo English, and African American English, but is its own separate entity. While it is usually identified as a non-standard variety, CE encompasses a range of more to less standard versions. Interestingly, while the variety is usually acquired in a bilingual community, the variety does not necessarily contain Spanish words or structures, nor do CE speakers necessarily code-mix with Spanish; indeed, many CE speakers are monolingual English speakers. Fought also disabuses the reader of the stereotype that CE is a variety spoken primarily by gang members. CE speakers can be from any social class and may or may not belong to gangs.
The data for the study comes from a variety of sources. Fought...