1.

Introduction
The multiethnic, multicultural and multilingual character has been a defining feature of American society since the very beginning. Many ethnically diverse groups have found their home in the United States since its foundation, and this trend has continued until the present day, when waves of immigrants entering the country keep bringing their specific contributions to its rich diversity. The demographic transformation intensified considerably in the last decades of the twentieth century. As Marcelo M. Sure !"ro co and Mariela M. #e point out, at the end of $orld $ar %%, the population of the United States consisted mainly of people of &uropean descent '(). *y the year +,,,, however, the situation had changed dramatically. &thnic groups such as African Americans, Asian Americans and -atinos had come to constitute more than one fourth of the entire American population, and the future is supposed to witness an even more remarkable growth. &.perts from the U.S. *ureau of the /ensus predict that by +,0,, they will represent a whole half of the population of the United States 'Sure !"ro co and #e (). 1owadays, the -atino population forms the single largest minority living in the United States. *esides being the most numerous one, it is also the fastest!growing group. %n +,,2, it reached 3( million people, which is a rapid growth when compared to the 44 million of (556 '7More "utreach 1eeded8)9 from (55, to +,,, the -atino population increased by 06 : 'Sure !"ro co and #e +). &stimates show that within the period of two generations, 7the United States will have the second largest number of -atinos in the world ; after Me.ico < and by the year +,0,, a full =uarter of the U.S. population will be of -atino origin9 that is, nearly (,, million people8 'Sure !"ro co and #e (). &ven though non!-atino people sometimes tend to regard all -atinos as a homogeneous group, individuals from many different cultural and national backgrounds form this minority. >or the purpose of this thesis, however, % will perceive -atinos as a single group

that stands in opposition to the dominant Anglo!American segment of American society. % will allow myself this generali ation because the aim of my thesis is to investigate issues connected to a phenomenon that unifies the ma?ority of all individual -atino groups ; the Spanish language. Spanish is one of the most distinctive features that differentiate -atinos from their &nglish!dominant neighbors. As % will argue later, it is also one of the most controversial and conflicting ones. &ven though the status of Spanish as a language of international communication cannot be doubted, its enormous e.pansion in the United States has also met with much opposition and is debated fervently. This ambivalent attitude toward their native tongue further complicates the situation of -atinos in American society. -ike other immigrants, -atinos have to face many difficulties arising from their minority status. They live between two different cultures and between two different languages. The purpose of my thesis is to investigate some of the problems that the -atino population has to deal with due to its distinct linguistic background. % will show how essential language is for the formation of a person@s identity and how different -atinos cope with their position between &nglish and Spanish. % will demonstrate that even though it is very hard, it is possible for the -atino people in the United States to bridge the gap between the two worlds and appropriate an identity that embraces both languages and both cultures. Aenying one@s native heritage means leaving out and important part of one@s identity. The e.pression 7successful hybrid8 in the title of the thesis was taken from Bulia Alvare @s collection of essays Something to Declare. She uses it to denominate herelf ; a person who has managed to reconcile the dual identity. *esides analy ing several literary works written by -atino authors that % am going to introduce later, % will support my thesis by a variety of scholarly articles, essays and studies. /arlos B. "vando@s 7*ilingual &ducation in the United StatesC Distorical Aevelopment and /urrent %ssues8 will serve as the basis for a historical overview of language policies in the

United States. %t will support my argument that bilingual and multilingual speakers have always lived in the United States and that native languages should be perceived as essential constituents of the culture of the distinct linguistic communities. Stephen Erashen@s research 7*ilingual &ducation, the Ac=uisition of &nglish, and the Fetention and -oss of Spanish8 and Bames /rawford@s essays such as 7Dard SellC $hy is *ilingual &ducation So Unpopular with the American #ublicG8 and 7Ten /ommon >allacies about *ilingual &ducation8 further my claim that discussions over bilingualism and bilingual education often arise from misunderstanding of the sub?ect. Advocates of bilingualism and bilingual education do not aim at hindering &nglish proficiency on the part of -atinos9 on the contrary, they regard it as one of their main goals, but insist that the retention of Spanish should be promoted as well. 7Mi hi?a vale dos personasC -atino %mmigrant #arents@ #erspectives About Their /hildren@s *ilingualism8 is a study conducted by Ale?andra Fodrigue !Halindo and Bo $orthy. % interpret their findings to show how much importance -atino parents place not only on &nglish proficiency, but also on the retention of Spanish by their children. The concluding chapter of my thesis which deals with language and identity contains =uotes from Eevin F. Bohnson@s 7Melting #ot or Fing of >ireG8 and Margaret &. Montoya@s 7Masks and Acculturation.8 They support my argument that assimilation and suppression of one@s ethnic heritage can have a devastating effect on the individual. /hapter (.+. provides a brief historical overview of language!related policies in the United States. % will demonstrate that multiculturalism and multilingualism are phenomena with a long tradition in American history. % will point out the most significant events that have shaped language!motivated sentiments of the American population, and % will show that assimilationist tendencies have alternated with attitudes that were more tolerant towards linguistic minorities.

%n chapter +, % will focus primarily on the controversy of bilingual education. % will present arguments of both the opponents and the advocates of bilingual programs, and % will draw attention to the fact that in spite of the heated debate, the competing parties aim at the same goal ; the achievement of &nglish proficiency by the -atino minority. % will also portray the possible benefits and drawbacks of bilingual instruction on two concrete e.amplesC its implementation in /rystal /ity, TI, and in Miami, >-. >rom chapter 4 onwards, % will concentrate on the e.perience of the -atino population itself. /hapter 4.(. is dedicated to -atino parents, their vision of the future of their children in the United States. % will look at their attitude towards bilingual education and bilingualism in general, and % will conclude the chapter by incorporating e.tracts from literary works written by two -atino!American writers that focus on the topic of parental involvement in their children@s education and bilingualism ; Fichard Fodrigue and Bulia Alvare . %n chapter 4.+., % will turn my attention to -atino children, interpreting their own e.perience with school programs that has shaped their education in the United States. % will point out the fact that certain educational practices may have a long!lasting negative impact on the self!perception of minority children, and % will support my view by personal recollections of -atinos such as Fichard Fodrigue and Margaret &. Montoya. The topic of chapter 4.4. is language loss. &ven though much of the opposition to -atino immigration has been based on the an.iety that &nglish might be eventually replaced by Spanish, what % will focus on is the loss of Spanish. As % will show, it is a fre=uent phenomenon in the -atino community, and one that is often underestimated or insufficiently understood. % will discuss the possible causes and solutions to this problem, and again, % will include some passages from works by Fichard Fodrigue , Sandra /isneros and Bulia Alvare . /hapter 4.3. investigates the relations between -atino children and their parents. % will comment on some of the problems specific to immigrant families in which the two

generations do not share the same level of language proficiency, and we will see how easily linguistic misunderstanding can develop into a psychological barrier between people. The concluding chapter of my thesis deals with identity problems in relation to language. % will argue that language plays a fundamental role in the construction of people@s identities and % will focus on the issue of dual identity e.perienced by many immigrants. % will show how Fichard Fodrigue addresses this topic in his autobiographical novel Hunger of Memory: The Education of Richard Rodriguez, and % will contrast his views with the e.perience of Bulia Alvare as portrayed in her novel How the Garca Girls ost Their

!ccents, her book of essays Something To Declare and her poem 7*ilingual Sestina.8 The following part of the introduction, as % have already mentioned, provides a brief overview of the development of language!related policies in the United States and serves as a historical background to the topic of this thesis.

1.2. Attitudes to Language-related Policies: A Historical Overview

As /arlos B. "vando, a scholar speciali ing in language policies, second language ac=uisition and bilingual, &S- '&nglish as a Second -anguage) and multicultural education, asserts, the history of the American continent is a history of multilingualism '(). A long time before /hristopher /olumbus landed at the American shores, many linguistically different groups had lived there. $hen the first &uropean settlers arrived in (35+, about +0, to (,,,, 1ative American languages were spoken in 1orth America '"vando (). Such a linguistically diverse history may seem at odds with the general perception of the United States as a monolingual society based on the *ritish culture and the &nglish language. According to >. M. Dechinger, the founding fathers of the United States dreamt of a 7country with a unified history, with unified traditions, and with a common language8 '=td. in "vando +). Aespite this vision of what the early American society should look like, however, the founders did not

constitute &nglish or any other language as the official language of the new state '/rawford, =td. in "vando +). %lan Stavans, an American essayist and cultural scholar, points out in his article 7Dispanic USA8 that 7the word J&nglish@ is found nowhere in the U.S. constitution, nor in any subse=uent amendment. The issue of codifying a national tongue never even came up at the federal convention in #hiladelphia in (K6K.8 De also brings attention to the fact that after the Me.ican!American $ar, both Me.ican and American politicians agreed that the new territories would become bilingual, with &nglish and Spanish as the official languages. This decision, however, was soon broken, and &nglish gained a superior status over Spanish 'Stavans). "vando argues that the development of language!related policies in American history is characteri ed by a lack of a 7consistent ideology ... Lthat would shapeM the nation@s responses to language diversity8 and the development of these policies 7has shifted according to changing historical events8 '+). De supports his argument by providing a historical overview of the development of the policies in his essay 7*ilingual &ducation in the United StatesC Distorical Aevelopment and /urrent %ssues.8 %t is obvious from this account that the liberal attitudes to multilingualism that prevailed during the #ermissive #eriod of the (K,,s;(66,s and the "pportunist #eriod of the (52,s;(56,s alternated with assimilationist tendencies characteristic of the Festrictive #eriod of (66,s;(52,s and the Aismissive #eriod of the (56,s;#resent. % will summari e the main features and events of each of the periods to provide a historical background to the topics of &nglish!Spanish bilingualism and bilingual education discussed in this thesis. Auring the #ermissive #eriod of the (K,,s;(66,s, there was a general tolerance towards the different languages spoken in the United States. %n the second half of the nineteenth century, bilingual education in languages such as Herman, Swedish, 1orwegian,

Aanish, Autch, #olish, %talian, / ech, >rench and Spanish was provided at some schools. The school system, however, did not actively promote bilingual education '"vando 3). The Festrictive #eriod of the (66,s;(52,s brought restrictions on 1ative American languages9 learning Herman was discontinued during $orld $ar %. The strengthening nationalism in &urope resulted in a fear of the introduction of foreign influences into the United States. /alls for assimilationist immigration policies lead to the 1aturali ation Act of (5,2 that established the knowledge of &nglish as a prere=uisite for naturali ation. &nglish!only schools were promoted by the government, and by (5+4, thirty!four states had adopted &nglish!only instruction in both public and private primary schools '"vando 3!2). The "pportunist #eriod of the (52,s;(56,s covers the cold war, during which foreign languages became a priority for defense reasons. This view was made official by the enactment of The 1ational Aefense &ducation Act of (506. The /ivil Fights Movement of the (52,s and the (523 /ivil Fights Act brought a significant change in the attitudes towards minority groups. >ollowing the (520 %mmigration Act, larger numbers of immigrants from Asia and -atin America started entering the country, and a call for bilingual instruction for the minority groups became prominent. The outcome of the /uban Fevolution of (505 led many /ubans to flee to >lorida. Doping to be able to return soon to their native country, the parents considered it very important for their children to retain Spanish. %n (524, this /uban community established a bilingual program at /oral $ay &lementary School in Miami, >-, which served as a model for other schools all over the country. % will talk about this program in more detail in chapter +.+. in order to draw attention to its ideology that is closely connected to other topics discussed in this thesis. The *ilingual &ducation Act of (526 provided financial support to bilingual programs that started to replace &nglish!only instruction. %n (5K3, the Supreme /ourt ruled in the au "# $ichols case that students who did not understand the language of instruction were deprived of meaningful education

'"vando K!(,). The verdict resulted into the approval of the &=ual &ducational "pportunities Act of (5K3 which stated that 7no state shall deny e=ual educational opportunity to an individual on account of his or her race, color, se., or national origin, by ... the failure of an educational agency to take appropriate action to overcome language barriers that impede e=ual participation by its students in its instructional programs8 '=td. in "vando (,). Aespite all these efforts, however, bilingual education remained a controversial topic during the opportunist period, and, as the Secretary of &ducation Terrel *ell asserted in (56+, 7only about a third of the Lnon!&nglish minorityM children aged 0 to (3 ... LwereM receiving either bilingual instruction or instruction in &nglish as a Second -anguage8 '=td. in "vando (+). %n the (56,s, which mark the Aismissive #eriod, the opposition to bilingual education became more prominent, and the government policies followed this trend into the (55,s. A significant shift in federal funding from bilingual to &nglish!only programs took place. Activists all over the United States started to advocate the sink!or!swim method and the melting pot ideology. Anti!bilingual groups such as &nglish "nly, &nglish >irst, or U.S. &nglish emerged. %n (553, /alifornia passed #roposition (6K under which undocumented immigrants were denied full social and educational services. #roposition ++K passed in /alifornia in (556 established &nglish as the main language of instruction for minority children. %ts initiator, Fon Un , e.plained that students who stay too long in bilingual programs fail to master &nglish. The proposition is seen as the predecessor of similar measures implemented in other states such as Massachusetts, Ari ona or /olorado '"vando (+!(3). The 1o /hild -eft *ehind Act of +,,+ focuses, according to the chairman of the /ommittee on &ducation and the $orkforce Bohn *oehner, more efficiently on the needs of language!minority students. The compulsory testing of all children in basic &nglish skills after three years of schooling should encourage schools to ensure high =uality education '*oehner). Dowever, the measure also has its opponents. "ne of them is Bames /rawford, a

?ournalist and a defendant of bilingual education, who argues that the act will probably discourage states from instruction in minority languages and force them to implement &nglish!only programs '7Dard Sell8). %t is evident from the introduction that the attitude toward multilingualism in American society has been changing throughout history. There has always been a discussion whether immigrants should be officially encouraged to maintain their native languages and culture, or whether a unity based on &nglish and Anglo!American culture should be promoted instead. &nglish has maintained its superior status over the other languages spoken in the United States even during the periods of linguistic tolerance. This fact supports my view that bilingualism or multilingualism do not threaten the status of &nglish and conse=uently should be promoted. % will demonstrate in chapter 4.(. that -atinos living in the United States are well aware of the necessity to become &nglish!proficient, but that they also consider it very important to maintain their Spanish skills. The following chapter focuses on today@s debate over bilingualism and presents the arguments for and against bilingual education. %t also points out the parado.ical character of the dispute.

2. The Battle over Bilingual Education

%t is evident from the previous chapter that there has always been a serious discussion about how to educate language!minority children. The whole debate between the advocates and the opponents of bilingual education may seem =uite parado.ical, considering that both of the competing groups aim at the same goal. 1either of the parties disputes the fact that it is necessary for -atino children to master &nglish. $hat, however, is the best way to achieve this proficiencyG $hat are some of the ob?ections to bilingual programs, and how do the defendants of bilingual education address themG % will communicate the opinions and findings of cultural and linguistics scholars Bames /rawford and Stephen Erashen, and % will also demonstrate the benefits and drawbacks of bilingual instruction on two concrete e.amplesC the implementation of bilingual programs in /rystal /ity, TI and at /oral $ay &lementary School in Miami, >-. % will argue that since Spanish forms an inseparable part of -atino identity, a claim that % will elaborate on in chapter 3, good bilingual education ensures not only &nglish proficiency, but also promotes the values of -atino culture and strengthens -atino children@s awareness and self!esteem. /rawford considers the lack of ob?ective information provided to the public about bilingual programs to be one of the main problems, and he is convinced that much of the opposition results from the incomprehension as to how these programs work '7Dard Sell8). De supports this view by claiming that 7A generation of research and practice has shown that developing academic skills knowledge in students@ vernacular supports their ac=uisition of &nglish8 '7Dard Sell8). Erashen believes that many people that supported #roposition ++K in /alifornia were not voting on bilingual education, but rather 7felt they were voting for &nglish8 '=td. in /rawford, 7Dard Sell8). $hen asked to e.plain why they voted in favor of the #roposition, K4 : of the respondents saidC 7%f you live in America, you need to speak &nglish8 ' os !ngeles Times %oll, =td. in /rawford, 7Dard Sell8). These people, /rawford

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e.plains, do not understand that bilingual programs are designed to reach precisely this goal ; to teach minority children &nglish. Erashen points out this misconception in his essay 7*ilingual &ducation, the Ac=uisition of &nglish, and the Fetention and -oss of Spanish.8 De claims that mass media often present the advocates of bilingual education as people who try to prevent minority students from learning &nglish. They assert that bilingual programs do not work, and see 7immersion8 as the only educational method. % will focus on the immersion method in chapter 4.+., where % will show that it can have a very negative impact on the students that e.perience it. To the ob?ection that large numbers of immigrants in the past mastered &nglish without any special help Erashen responds that a second language is much more easily ac=uired if the child@s first language is developed and used. The knowledge ac=uired by children through their mother tongue will help to make &nglish more comprehensible. -iteracy can also be transferred from the primary language to a second language, which might help children in mastering even the basic skills such as readingC 7*ecause we learn to read by reading, by making sense of what we see on the page, it is easier to learn to read in a language we understand. "nce we can read in one language, we can read in general8 'Erashen). Apart from literacy and the knowledge of sub?ect matter obtained through one@s native tongue, the third component of a successful bilingual program, according to Erashen, is the assistance in &nglish language ac=uisition through &nglish as a second language classes. Another problem mentioned by Erashen is the labeling of bilingual programs. #eople insisting on the fact that earlier immigrants did not get any special attention often do not reali e that many of those children came to the US after attending schools in their countries of origin. %n American schools, they were usually placed in lower grades, thus being able to draw on the knowledge ac=uired in their primary language. %n a certain way then, they did

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receive bilingual education. %n this conte.t, Erashen looks critically at a newspaper article that appeared in the os !ngeles Times on Banuary (4, (555, and its opening paragraph that stated a clear success of #roposition ++K. After reading the whole article carefully, Erashen noted that even though children picked up verbal &nglish =uite fast, their knowledge of academic &nglish was often not sufficient for them to understand what they were taught. Some teachers admitted that 7new concepts still had to be presented in the primary language,8 and that they had to reduce the content of some classes 'Erashen). %t is obvious that the goal of education ; to instruct the students in academic language ; failed. %n other words, Erashen clearly supports the idea of bilingual education, stressing that 7when LbilingualM programs have the three components described above 'sub?ect matter teaching in the first language, literacy development in the first language, comprehensible input in &nglish), they succeed especially well.8 %n (556, Bames /rawford published a report entitled 7Ten /ommon >allacies about *ilingual &ducation8 in which he listed and clarified ten most common myths about language use and bilingual education in the United States. &ven though all of these presumptions are important for the debate over bilingual education, % would like to mention only those that bear a closer relation to the issues discussed in this thesis. The first myth that 7&nglish is losing ground to other languages in the United States8 is refuted by the historical overview presented in chapter (.+. '/rawford, 7Ten /ommon >allacies8 (). /rawford admits that nowadays the number of languages spoken in the United States is higher than it has ever been. "n the other hand, though, the history of the United States has always been a history of multilingualism, and even though bilingual schools e.isted in the past too, 7&nglish survived without any help from the government, such as official!language legislation8 '7Ten /ommon >allacies8 ().

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71ewcomers to the United States are learning &nglish more slowly now than in previous generations8 is another claim held against bilingual programs '/rawford, 7Ten /ommon >allacies8 +). According to /rawford@s findings, current immigrants learn &nglish faster than their predecessors did, and conse=uently, while the number of non!&nglish native speakers increases, the number of bilinguals fluent in &nglish grows even more rapidly. %n an article published in Guardian &nlimited in +,,(, /rawford points out the fact that non!&nglish speaking immigrants have always understood that their chances of success in American society depended largely on their &nglish literacy. Their rate of acculturation rises very fastC 7$hile one in seven U.S. residents now speaks a language other than &nglish at home, bilingualism is also on the rise. A century ago the proportion of non!&nglish speakers was nearly five times as large8 '7A 1ation Aivided by "ne -anguage8). % will support this opinion held by /rawford in chapter 4.(. by bringing evidence to the fact that most -atino parents are well aware of the necessity of &nglish proficiency for their children@s advancement in the United States. According to another assumption, 7The best way to learn a language is through Jtotal immersion@8 '/rawford, 7Ten /ommon >allacies8 +). /rawford insists that there is no proof that the larger the e.posure to &nglish is, the more a child will learn '7Ten /ommon >allacies8 +). Dis opinion goes in line with Erashen@s findings mentioned above that better results are achieved when sub?ect matter is first e.plained in the native tongue, and only after that in &nglish. As % have already suggested, % will discuss this topic from the perspective of the students themselves in chapter 4.+. The last myth that % want to comment on asserts that 7-anguage!minority parents do not support bilingual education because they feel it is more important for their children to learn &nglish than to maintain the native language8 '/rawford, 7Ten /ommon >allacies8 0). The problem, according to /rawford, consists in the way the parents are asked about these

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issues, the =uestions being sometimes misleading. All immigrant parents will opt for the necessity to learn &nglish. Hood bilingual programs, though, try to achieve students@ proficiency in both languages, and it has been proved that 7student@s native language can be maintained and developed at no cost to &nglish8 '7Ten /ommon >allacies8 2). /rawford insists that when this is e.plained to the parents, most of them are definitely in favor of such instruction. More evidence in favor of /rawford@s views will be brought up in chapter 4.(. in which % will also argue that bilingualism, not &nglish monolingualism, is preferred by the ma?ority of -atino parents. The two following chapters portray two institutions in which bilingual programs were implemented in the past. % include them in order to e.amine the controversy attached to the issue of bilingual instruction, to show the pros and cons of the programs on concrete e.amples, and to draw attention to other issues discussed in the thesis, such as identity, self!worth and ethnic pride as connected to language.

2.1. r!stal it!" T#: A $ourne! %ro& English to '(anish and Bac) to English
The essay 7Teacher 1arratives of Mo"imiento %deology and *ilingual &ducation8 by Armando -. Tru?illo focuses on the gains and changes achieved by a three!week walkout organi ed by Me.ican American students in /rystal /ity, TI, on Aecember 5, (525, in protest against discrimination in public schools. Supported by their parents and the Me.ican American Nouth "rgani ation, the students presented a petition to the school board re=uesting e=ual =uality education, which would consist in providing bilingual and bicultural education, the creation of a Me.ican American history course, and the establishment of September (2 as a Me.ican American holiday. ( $ith this petition, the activists sought to
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September (2, (6(,, is the beginning of the Me.ican $ar of %ndependence, which lasted ten years. "n this day, Me.ico celebrates its independence from the Spanish rule 'Der ).

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change the language of instruction, which had been &nglish only, and to get a formal recognition of the contribution of Me.ican Americans to the culture and history of Te.as and the United States. %n the local elections of (5K,, the Me.ican American community achieved an important political victory by getting control of the school board and the city council 'Tru?illo 00!0K). After this success, a variety of reform programs were introduced, among which educational programs became prominent. The Me.ican American leaders were well aware of the importance of schools in maintaining Spanish, promoting Me.ican culture, and in constructing Me.ican American identity. Angel HutiOrre , the school board president of the /rystal /ity School Aistrict from (5K, to (5K+, e.pressed his view of the role of education by saying that 7&ducation in this kind of society is mandatory if not a prere=uisite for survival. L%tM is also the fountain of sociali ation where our values get distorted and cultural imposition takes place. ... we want to substitute that with our own values, which are ?ust as dear and important8 '=td. in Tru?illo 02). The proponents of the new system wanted to stop the assimilative and acculturative processes promoted by the old schooling system, and to 7cultivate a new /hicano worldview8 'Tru?illo 06). %n other words, they sought to produce 7a /hicanoP/hicana educated person, specifically a bilingual, culturally proud, community!oriented individual8 'Tru?illo 06). This new bilingualPbicultural pro?ect introduced by the Me.ican American leaders and educators in the (5K,s was at first accepted with enthusiasm. -ater, however, both parents and teachers re?ected it. Tru?illo interviewed teachers from four different schools 'elementary school, middle school, ?unior high, and high school) that had personal e.perience with the new school system in /rystal /ity. The ma?ority of them agreed that the change was a positive one, and that the new bilingual program helped to increase educational aspirations of the Me.ican American community. *esides, it also raised cultural awareness and ethnic pride of the

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people 'Tru?illo 2+). Sara -u?an, a teacher and a student leader during the walkout in (525 proclaimedC 7>or me, it made me know who % was, appreciate my roots and be proud of them. %t gave me the confidence that ... % could do anything % wanted to do in life, which % didn@t have before. 1ow, % no longer felt less than somebody that was totally &nglish speaking or Anglo ... the way they use to make us feel8 '=td. in Tru?illo 24). -u?an e.plains that before the walkout, she considered herself inferior to the Anglo American population9 she felt to be living on the margin of the society. After the walkout and the conse=uent takeover of the political power by the Me.ican American community, though, she gained a new self!confidence, and she became proud of being Me.ican American. She reali ed that she had the right and ability to obtain higher education and to improve her social and economic standing. Some teachers, such as Bavier Qele , talked about gaining more awareness of their ethnicity, which motivated them to pursue college education and come back to serve the Me.ican American community. Qele also points out that he ceased seeing himself as a second!class citi en, and started to consider himself as an e=ual member of the American societyC 7% didn@t have to take shit ?ust because %@m a /hicano ... %@m an American. L...M $hat@s your ethnic backgroundG They would ask me that. /hicano, okay, but %@m an American first. % didn@t have to stand for people telling me you@re not an American, you@re Me.ican, and you@re not a first!class citi en, you@re a second!class citi en8 '=td. in Tru?illo 20!22). Aespite this overall positive acceptance of the whole struggle and the new school system, the bilingual program eventually gave way to &nglish!only instruction and a mainstream curriculum 'Tru?illo 22). Among the most important problems and reasons that eventually led to the restructuring of the original program were shortages of =ualified bilingual teachers, a dispute that gradually developed over the language of instruction and the

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curriculum and standardi ed testing of students. Some educators started to notice that since so much emphasis was placed on Spanish, children were not improving enough in &nglish. Denri=ueta Toralva, a former /rystal /ity Digh School graduate and a teacher, e.plainedC They wanted our children to learn ... the Spanish language to learn about la cultura de ellos and all of this was fine. *ut it got to a point that they wanted two programs 'ue fueran one!to!one, en un ni"el# $hat happened was that a lot of our students could not handle las dos idiomas Lboth languagesM at the same time. There was a time where le esta(an )oniendo muchas emphasis en el Spanish LandM the &nglish language was staying behind. '=td. in Tru?illo 25) Hradually, a program that originally provided Spanish instruction through the twelfth grade was reorgani ed in the (56,s into a pre!kindergarten through first grade program. -imited!&nglish speaking children were transferred to &nglish!only classes by the end of the first grade, even if they had not become fully proficient in &nglish. Students from bilingual classes generally did not do too well in national and state tests, which alarmed many teachers and parents 'Tru?illo K,). Since these tests were in &nglish, parents and teachers blamed the lack of success on the children@s insufficient knowledge of &nglish. "ne of them was Bessica Fimares, a fourth and fifth grade teacherC 7"ur &nglish scores in our achievement test were real low. And we needed to do something drastic at that point to bring them up. ... $e felt that the students weren@t getting enough practice as far as reading or con?ugating or anything in &nglish, not enough practice was occurring8 '=td. in Tru?illo K,). The parents of the children enrolled in bilingual programs complained about their children@s low scores and inability to speak and read &nglish well. They started to call for more &nglish instruction, reasoning that proficiency in &nglish was indispensable for their children@s success in the society 'Tru?illo K(!K4).

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As we can see, the changes of the (5K,s in /rystal /ity were brought up by a strong nationalist ideology, a desire to raise pride and self!confidence in the Me.ican American community. The Spanish language and Me.ican American culture were celebrated and incorporated as ma?or components of the school curriculum. Auring the (56,s, however, a shift to an increased &nglish!language instruction occurred for practical reasons, as teachers and parents became aware of the fact that students from bilingual classes did not become proficient in &nglish =uickly enough. %n a sense, we can perceive the changes of the (5K,s as a struggle for cultural distinctiveness and an e.altation of /hicano identity based on language and culture. The (56,s, on the contrary, can be seen as a turn to American mainstream society. This battle between the desire to promote one@s national and ethnic values on the one hand, and the desire to be accepted into the mainstream and en?oy all the privileges that come with it, is an ever!present phenomenon that all immigrant groups, not only Me.ican Americans, have to deal with.

2.2. A Two-wa! Bilingual Progra& at oral *a! Ele&entar! 'chool in +ia&i" ,L

$hile in /rystal /ity the initial reasons for the implementation of bilingual instruction had nationalistic overtones, the /oral $ay &lementary School in Miami, >-, introduced two!way immersion bilingual programs primarily for business motives. Aue to the rising importance of Spanish as a world language, being &nglish!Spanish bilingual is a huge advantage at the ?ob market, especially on the American continent. "ne of the first cities to take an official notice of this was Miami, where the -atino population 'especially of /uban descent), is very high. Moreover, much of the city banking and e.port business deals with -atin America, which turns Spanish into the preferred language of business 'Shorris (6+). The following statement by Bulia Menende , the principal of the /oral $ay &lementary

(6

School, was taken from the *ilingual School "rgani ation and #arent Signature form issued in (565, and it stands as the basis for the school@s teaching methods until todayC 7Sabemos =ue a=uellos =ue dominan ms de un idioma tendrn mayor oportunidad de avan ar en la vida L$e know that those who know more than one language have a better opportunity to advance in their lives.M8 '=td. in Shorris (K+). According to this motto, bilingualism goes both ways, and so -atino children should have the opportunity to master &nglish while maintaining their Spanish proficiency, but Anglo!American children should also have the right and chances of becoming bilingual by taking Spanish classes. That is why the Anglo!American students of this school attend immersion classes where they learn Spanish, and -atino children go to &S- immersion classes 'Shorris (6+). Shorris emphasi es that this system is based on the ideology of e=uality between different languages and cultures and that it professes the right to e=ual economic opportunities '(6+). Spanish is spoken not only in selected classes9 its use is also encouraged in ordinary communication, ensuring thus that it is not perceived as a language inferior to &nglish, but as its e=ual. This boosts the self! confidence and ethnic pride of -atino students who are made feel e=ual to their Anglo! American peers. Such system and ideology stand in sharp contrast to submersion educational programs e.perienced by other -atino children that will be mentioned in the following chapters of this thesis. &ven though the reasons for establishing bilingual programs at /oral $ay &lementary School and in /rystal /ity differed, and even though the outcomes of the programs at these two institutions are distinct, what is important is the ideology that lies behind them. As % will prove in the last chapter of this thesis, language is an important part of one@s identity, and has to be treated as such. $hile &nglish is necessary for living a successful life in the United States, everybody should have the right and the possibility to maintain his or her native language as well. *ilingual instruction should not be an automated process assigning a

(5

superior position to &nglish and an inferior position to Spanish ! eventually both of the languages should be perceived as e=ual.

+,

-. Bilingualis&: O(inions and E.(erience o% the Latino o&&unit!

%n this chapter, % will focus on the attitudes and e.perience of the -atino people themselves. % will look at the opinions held by -atino parents concerning their children@s education and bilingualism, and % will show how the children perceive the different educational programs that they attend. % will also address the problem of the loss of Spanish, a common phenomenon among -atinos in the United States, and % will discuss some of the factors that lead to it. -astly, % will concentrate on the relationship between -atino children and their parents, and on how this relationship may be affected by language and linguistic skills.

-.1. Latino Parents/ 0iews o% Their hildren/s Bilingualis&

Many studies such as those by Rulmara /line and Buan 1ecochea, Shannon >it simmons, Ale?andra FodrSgue !Halindo and Bo $orthy or *arri Tinkler show that one of the key factors that play a role in children@s education is the attitude and involvement of the students@ parents. This is particularly true 7for the parents of poor and minority youth, where lack of student achievement is often directly associated with the virtual absence of parental involvement8 '/line and 1ecochea). %t is also evident from these studies that not even among -atino parents is there a unity as to the preference of bilingual or &nglish!only instruction programs. Their aim, however, is the same ; all -atino parents want their children to become proficient in &nglish 'Shorris (K5). -earning &nglish is one of the first ma?or tasks all immigrants in the United States have to complete in order to get good employment and arrange for daily matters. A person without this knowledge is generally left outside the ma?ority society, both materially and in a figurative sense of the word. As % will demonstrate in this chapter, however, most -atino parents also want their children to retain Spanish. *etter +(

chances at the ?ob market, ability to communicate with Spanish!speaking relatives, importance of the mother language in the formation of the child@s identity ; these are some of the most fre=uently =uoted reasons. Some parents also added that they needed older children to help their younger siblings with school homework, since it was often too difficult for the parents themselves, due to their limited knowledge of &nglish 'Fodrigue !Halindo and $orthy 06,!66). Ale?andra FodrSgue !Halindo and Bo $orthy interviewed si.teen immigrant -atino parents whose children were attending the fifth grade of a bilingual school program in Te.as. All of them said that 7&nglish proficiency and bilingualism were keys to social and economic advancement and that speaking Spanish represented an essential tie to familial and cultural roots,8 insisting thus on the bilingualism of their children 'Fodrigue !Halindo and $orthy 0K5). Although the mother languages of immigrants in the United States have been often perceived as inferior and denigrated, 7maintaining and continuing to develop home language proficiency is important to immigrant parents for a variety of reasons, including communication with immediate and e.tended family and community, ethnic pride, and cultural maintenance8 'Fodrigue !Halindo and $orthy 06(). All of the parents in the study were actively involved in their children@s education and language learning and retention. All of them also admitted that their intention was to become proficient in &nglish as well, and all of them enrolled in &nglish classes after arriving in the United States. Dowever, due to their busy schedules, they found themselves to be progressing very slowly, and while their children picked up the new language =uite =uickly, none of the parents interviewed felt comfortable speaking &nglish 'Fodrigue !Halindo and $orthy 06K). As D. S. $rigley points out, many of the parents, especially those living in poverty, find enormous obstacles in learning &nglish after immigrating to the United States, and most of them do not learn &nglish well enough to be able to obtain well!paid employment. /onse=uently, they often have to contract two or

++

more ?obs, which leave them with no time to study '=td. in FodrSgue !Halindo and $orthy 06,). This is a real problem in many -atino families, and one that should be actively addressed by the school authorities. Tinkler insists that language barriers should not prevent -atino parents from participation in their children@s education, and schools in areas with high density of -atino population should provide a possibility of bilingual communication with the parentsC Any written materials sent out to parents should be in both &nglish and Spanish, there should be bilingual staff available to talk with parents when they come into the school, and interpreters should be provided at meetings and events ... the school should offer Spanish language training for teachers and &S- training for parents. %n a study of si. high schools that were successful with -atino students, parents cited Spanish!speaking staff as one of the reasons for their involvement. Foberto #. Moreno adds that otherwise, 7a Jknowledge gap@ may be created as a result of a Jlanguage gap@ between -atino parents and their children@s schools8 '64), which, according to 1. Dyslop, makes 7many Dispanic parents feel intimidated8 '=td. in Tinkler). M. A. Hibson critici es educators for simply labeling -atino students and their families as problematic, without being aware of their own lack of preparedness for working with them '=td. in Tinkler). %n (552, officials in one of the -os Angeles school districts were thinking about abolishing bilingual study programs and replacing them with &nglish!only instruction. A group of Me.ican immigrant and Me.ican American women formed #arents for Tuality &ducation group, and ensured the maintenance of bilingual classes until (556, when #roposition ++K was passed '"choa ((4). The group was organi ed by Fa=uel Deinrich and %rene Fenteria!Sala ar, vehement defenders of bilingual education. Deinrich, who immigrated

+4

to the United States at the age of eighteen, pointed out that bilingualism is indispensable for -atino children to be proud of their ethnic ancestry, and that it also gives them 7multiple life and career opportunities8 '"choa ((2). Fenteria!Sala ar was born in -os Angeles to immigrant parents, and Spanish was the first language she learnt. She recalls 7feeling e.cluded in classes and by &nglish!speaking students to argue that bilingual education fosters high self!esteem and positive intraethnic relations between Me.ican Americans and Me.ican immigrants8 '"choa ((2). Many of the parents that supported the fight for bilingual education were motivated by their own e.perience of discrimination and pre?udice. They saw bilingual education as a way to ensure that -atino children would be able to 7defend themselves against the humiliation encountered by their parents8 '"choa ((5). %n other words, #arents for Tuality &ducation emphasi ed the economic, social and psychological benefits of bilingualism, and they saw it as a chance to enhance their children@s lives. %rene Fenteria!Sala ar sums it up in the following wordsC 7% think that bilingual education boosts the morale of the child, the confidence level. %t also makes them be more of an e.trovert ... L%tM opens doors to ?obs, to help other people that are not &nglish!speaking8 '=td. in "choa (+(). Deinrich also stressed the economic and psychological benefitsC The importance of Lbilingual educationM has a lot to do with making sure the child will have a career that has no limits. Daving a child be fluently bilingual will not only open the doors in this country, but anywhere else... &very child should be able to have two languages, and what better language than Spanish which is one of the most spoken LlanguagesM around the world... L*eing bilingualM helped me ... and now, more than ever, % am the most proud to be bilingual. So, % can have that pride and know that my children, when they become bilingual, they are going to feel proud of themselves.

'=td. in "choa (+()

+3

%n the preceding paragraphs, % have presented the findings of several studies to demonstrate the general attitudes held by -atino parents towards their children@s bilingualism. They support my view that even though the knowledge of &nglish is necessary for leading a successful life in the United States, the retention of Spanish is another priority held by most -atino immigrants. -et me now look briefly at how the topic of parental involvement in the children@s bilingualism and education is manifested in the works by two -atino American writers ; Fichard Fodrigue and Bulia Alvare . %n his autobiographical novel Hunger of Memory: The Education of Richard Rodriguez, the Me.ican American writer Fichard Fodrigue recalls with much clarity and detail the moment when his parents decided to take a radical step in helping their children to become proficient in &nglish. Since Fodrigue did not make much progress in learning the new language during the first si. months of school, his teachers decided to visit his parents in their house to talk about the necessity for the family to speak &nglish instead of Spanish at home. The parents agreed without hesitation, because 7what would they not do for their children@s well!beingG ... %n an instant, they agreed to give up the language ... that had revealed and accentuated our family@s closeness. The moment after the visitors left, the change was observed. J!hora, speak to us en ingl*s,@ my father and mother united to tell us8 '+(). At first, the whole family regarded speaking &nglish at home as a kind of a game. The turning point in Fodrigue @s learning the language, however, was to hear his parents speak it in a regular conversationC 7"ne Saturday morning % entered the kitchen where my parents were talking in Spanish. % did not reali e that they were talking in Spanish however until, at the moment they saw me, % heard their voices change to speak &nglish. ... % felt my throat twisted by unsounded grief. ... *ut % had no place to escape to with Spanish 'The spell was broken.)8 '+(!++). The parents, following the teachers@ advice, decided to sacrifice the family@s mother tongue in order for their children to become fluent in the new languageC

+0

7Again and again in the days following, increasingly angry, % was obliged to hear my mother and fatherC JSpeak to us en ingl*s#+ 'S)ea,#) "nly then did % determine to learn classroom &nglish8 '++). %t is evident that in Fodrigue @s case, the role of the parents in his learning &nglish was crucial. The impulse for his appropriating the new language had to come from them9 school instruction was not enough to convince him of the necessity to become a fluent &nglish!speaker. % will show in chapter 3, however, what affect this change had on Fodrigue , his family life and the relationship between him and his parents. Bulia Alvare portrays a slightly different situation than Fodrigue . The transition from Spanish to &nglish, as described in her novel How the Garca Girls ost Their !ccents, seems to be less radical and traumatic. $hile the mother encourages her daughters to learn and speak &nglish and keeps talking to them in &nglish, even though 7her &nglish was a mishmash of mi.ed!up idioms and sayings that showed she was Jgreen behind the ears,@ as she called it,8 the father insists on the necessity for the girls to retain Spanish '(40). Though proficiency in &nglish is promoted, Spanish is never given up altogether as in Fodrigue @s case. %n Something to Declare, Alvare recalls her own mother, herself an educated woman who studied at Abbot Academy for several years, flying from the Aominican Fepublic to the United States. 1ot surprisingly, 7she knew the value of speaking perfect &nglish8 '2+), and made sure that her daughters@ 7&nglish skills soon met school re=uirements8 '24). The daughters are sent to an &nglish school while still in the Aominican Fepublic, and conse=uently, the linguistic shift after immigrating in the United States, though very difficult, is not as dramatic as for Fodrigue . % can conclude from both the studies presented and from the literary works mentioned that -atino parents play a crucial role in the ac=uisition of &nglish and the bilingualism of their children. The e.perience of having to master a second language is undoubtedly very stressful for all immigrant children. As it will be discussed in chapters 4.+. and 3, however,

+2

the ways in which these children cope with the situation and the eventual impact the language shift can have on them vary considerably.

-.2. Latino hildren/s E.(erience with English-teaching Progra&s

-earning a new language is never an easy task, but for non!&nglish speaking immigrants to the United States, it can be very frustrating and difficult, especially since mastering &nglish needs to be achieved as fast as possible. According to investigations carried out by Ale?andro #ortes and FubOn H. Fumbaut, 7language has often been cited as the principal initial barrier confronting recent immigrants8 '(6(). -atino parents, who themselves struggle with the new language, are well aware of their children@s difficulties. Though their own knowledge of &nglish is often limited, they watch with much attention their children@s progress and notice all the problems and frustration the children might go through. Apart from talking directly to the children or their teachers, they observe any changes in their children@s behavior that might signal that the child is not coping well. Many parents from the study conducted by Fodrigue !Halindo and $orthy reported that their children felt fear going to school in their first year of study or talking to strangers in &nglish. "ne of the mothers recalled how her daughter &speran a cried when she took her to school. 7... she said that she couldn@t learn &nglish, that she wanted to go back to Me.ico, that she would never learn &nglish8 'Fodrigue !Halindo and $orthy 05,). Starting school can be especially intimidating for children attending submersion classes in which most other students are &nglish!dominant, and the classes are taught in &nglish. >or some of them, the conse=uences of this initial traumatic e.perience can stretch far into the future and have a negative impact on their self!esteem. >or Awilda "rta, school was a place of darknessC 7$hen % went to the first grade ... % had a vision that the room was split. There were no lights on my side of the room. % sat in darkness. Many years later, % went

+K

back to visit the nuns, and % saw the room again. "n the side where % sat, there were floor!to!ceiling windows9 the room was bathed in light. % reali ed then that % felt myself in darkness, because % spoke no &nglish8 '=td. in Shorris (K+). Another -atino woman, Sylvia Sasson, was the only child in her class with a Spanish last name when she started school. She recalls the feeling of shame at being different from the rest of the children, at not fitting inC 7% remember the sound of the other children@s names ... % was so different. The lunches my grandmother fi.ed for me were an embarrassment9 % never got peanut butter and ?elly like the other kids. >or a while, % wanted to be anything but Spanish9 at one time % thought of telling people % was &stonian8 '=td. in Shorris (K+). "ther people of -atino descent, such as Eevin F. Bohnson, a professor of law and Me.ican American studies at the U/, and Margaret &. Montoya, a professor of law at U1M who teaches courses on languages, race, ethnicity and gender, have also negative memories of their school years. Montoya remembers that not only was &nglish the sole language of instruction, but that speaking Spanish anywhere at school was 7frowned upon and occasionally punished. Any trace of an accent when speaking &nglish would be pointed out and sarcastically mocked8 '7Masks and Acculturation8 34K). Der father was beaten in kindergarten for speaking Spanish and students at Tuscon ?unior high were swatted while they had to bend down and hold their ankles. %n a 1ew Me.ico town in the (50,@s, any student who spoke Spanish had to stand on tiptoes while the teacher drew a circle at the height of hisPher nose and made the student stand with hisPher nose in that circle 'Montoya, 7-aw and -anguage's)8 0K3). -ike Sylvia Sasson, Montoya also hated her typical Me.ican lunches that her mother packed her for school, and hid them from her classmates '7Masks and Acculturation8 342). She admits that as a little girl, 7it all seemed connected somehow Lto herM ; Spanish!ness, sickness, poverty and ignorance8 '7Masks and Acculturation8 34K).

+6

Such refusal and denigration of one@s mother language and culture can have devastating effects on the children@s perception of their -atino heritage that is considered inferior. The students, taught to devalue their own language and culture, are placed under an intense pressure to accept the new language and the new culture imposed by the school. Shorris critici es this 7murderous system8 '(K0) 7which sets out to destroy every vestige of the old language and culture8 '(6() and in which most fail, for it being e.tremely cruel, but admits that 7enough succeed to keep the method from being thrown out8 '(K2). "ne of such survivors of the submersion method, and one of its defendants, is Fichard Fodrigue . %n his autobiography, he gives a vivid recollection of his first day of school in Sacramento, in a class 7where all ... classmates were white8 '((). *esides being the only -atino student in the class, he started with a very limited knowledge of &nglish, 7able to understand some fifty stray &nglish words8 '((). -ike other -atino children who share this e.perience, he was first a self!conscious student, too timid to answer his teachers@ =uestions in &nglish '+,). As an educated adult with a doctorate degree in &nglish Fenaissance literature, however, he has become overtly supportive of this educational method. De admits that it would have been more comfortable for him if the teachers had addressed him in Spanish, that he would have been less scared. Dowever, one of the important things that school had to teach him was that 7he had the right ; and the obligation ; to speak the public language of los gringos8 '(5). %nstruction in Spanish would have delayed too much his understanding of this fact. % will come back to Fodrigue and this topic in chapter 3, though, where % will discuss the loss concerning his family life that Fodrigue e.perienced due to his education.

+5

-.-. The Loss o% '(anish

The horrible memories of -atino children of being punished for speaking Spanish at school, recounted on the previous pages, bring out the following =uestionC $hy is there so much opposition to Spanish, and is this opposition well!groundedG According to scholars such as Bames /rawford and Buan >. #erea, language functions as a powerful national symbol, and &nglish is 7a crucial symbol of the ethnicity of America@s dominant core culture8 '#erea, 7American -anguages8 0K+). Many Americans see the waves of immigrants bringing their own languages as a threat to language and national unity '#erea, 7American -anguages8 0K,). /rawford, nevertheless, points out that worrying about the status of &nglish is unfounded, considering that &nglish continues to spread as the language of international communication, and immigrants now learn &nglish faster than ever in American history '7Dold Nour Tongue8 02,). -inguist *etty *imer also supports this statement by claiming that while the first two generations of immigrants are bilingual to a certain degree, third!generation immigrants speak only &nglish9 a 7pattern LthatM has been repeating itself for many years8 '=td. in 7Aoes Spanish Threaten American &nglishG8). -atino parents usually do not reali e the danger of the loss of language either, unfortunately. Many of them wrongly assume that since their children learnt Spanish as their first language, they will keep it without any problems even after the ac=uisition of &nglish. As Ada and Rubi arreta point outC ... Since many L-atino parentsM learn their second language as adults when they are not at risk of losing their first language ...it is not readily apparent that the situation for their children is =uite the opposite. ... the preeminent status of &nglish in schools and in the larger society, together with the social pressure to become 7American8 'i.e. speak &nglish), is a tremendous pressure facing

4,

-atino children that makes it very difficult for them to maintain their native language. '=td. in Fodrigue !Halindo and $orthy 06() Fesearch conducted by Fodrigue !Halindo and $orthy reveals that few immigrant children can speak Spanish proficiently once they become adults, and even fewer learn to read and write it '06(). Dow is it possible that a child forgets hisPher language so easilyG %mmigrants@ children, standing at the crossroads between two different communities, face a very difficult situation. They need to speak &nglish in order to fit into their peer group at school, while Spanish, on the other hand, makes them feel at home in the -atino community. -. $. >illmore e.plains that all children have to deal with internal and e.ternal forces to find their place in the world, but for immigrants@ children the problem is even more comple.C 7The internal factors have to do with the desire for social inclusion, conformity, and the need to communicate with others. The e.ternal forces are the sociopolitical ones operating in the society against outsiders, against differences, against diversity8 '=td. in Fodrigue ! Halindo and $orthy 06(!6+). $e have already discussed the cases of -atino children embarrassed at bringing lunches to school that were different from other students@ food. -anguage, of course, is an even more prominent manifestation of one@s ethnicity, and a child who cannot speak the language of the ma?ority group, can feel re?ected and denigrated. -ogically, many children resist speaking Spanish, and their Spanish skills deteriorate gradually. As it is evident from the conclusions made by A. #ortes and -. Dao, the role of family in the retention of the native language is crucial '=td. in Fodrigue !Halindo and $orthy 06+). $hile promoting &nglish proficiency, the parents also have to be aware of the fact that Spanish, if not practiced and valued positively, can be lost. Students whose parents encourage &nglish fluency but speak and assign high value to Spanish and -atino culture, are most likely to retain their children@s mother tongue '#ortes and Dao, =td. in Fodrigue ! Halindo and $orthy 06+).

4(

&ven if children do retain some knowledge of Spanish, their inability to speak it and sound as native speakers can be very frustrating for them. /armen >ought has conducted a comprehensive study of /hicano &nglish, based on e.tensive data collected among Me.ican American students in -os Angeles, /alifornia. "ne of the topics of her study was the attitude the /hicanos themselves held about Spanish. $hen approaching the students, >ought opted for addressing them in &nglish, since that was the language spoken at school. She found out immediately that using Spanish was not neutral, and that most of the students were rather uncertain about their Spanish skills '(54). She noticed how sensitive the topic of speaking Spanish was, and that many of these young people were 7uncomfortable about how they LspokeM Spanish and afraid that native Spanish speakers LwouldM laugh at them8 '(53), 7they felt their Spanish was inade=uate in some way8 '(5K). The degree of this linguistic uncertainty varied though, and there were students =uite confident and proud about their competence. -et me now go back again to some of the works of literature to see how -atino American authors treat the topic of language loss. Fichard Fodrigue is one of the children who gradually replaced Spanish by &nglish, as he reveals in his autobiographical novel Hunger of Memory: The Education of Richard Rodriguez# As his knowledge of &nglish improved, he could no longer speak Spanish as well as before. De could understand when it was spoken to him, and at high school, he took Spanish classes to learn to read and write it. *ut for several years, he was unable to pronounce it right9 the sounds he made seemed too anglici ed to him '+6). De felt guilty, and his parents 7would regularly need to e.plain their children@s inability to speak flowing Spanish ... LDisM Mother met the wrath of her brother ... when he came up from Me.ico one summer with his family. ... After listening to me, he looked away and said what a disgrace it was that % couldn@t speak Spanish, Jsu )ro)io idioma+8 '+5). Sometimes, people called Fodrigue a 7)ocho ... the Me.ican!American who,

4+

in becoming an American, forgets his native society8 '+5). As Fodrigue learned more and more &nglish, he spoke less with his parents. This came to affect even the most intimate conversations, and he got to the point where he did not even know how to address his parents. The Spanish words that he used before were linked too closely to his preschool years, and the new &nglish e.pressions did not seem appropriate for his parentsC 7 My mother- My father- ... The old Spanish words ... % had used earlier ! mam. and )a). ; % couldn@t use any more. They would have been too painful reminders of how much had changed in my life. "n the other hand, the words % heard neighborhood kids call their parents seemed e=ually unsatisfactory. ... not really terms of address for my parents8 '+4!+3). %n /aramelo, Sandra /isneros focuses on the relationship between the children of the Feyes family living in the United States and their Hrandmother who lives in Me.ico. *esides many other aspects of their grandchildren@s upbringing, the grandmother is very upset by their insufficient Spanish skillsC the Awful Hrandmother herself has seen how these children raised on the other side don@t know enough to answer, ! 0Mande usted1 to their elders. ; $hatG we say in the horrible language, which the Awful Hrandmother hears as 0Guat1 ; $hatG we repeat to each other and to her. The Awful Hrandmother shakes her head and mutters, ! My daughters!in!law have given birth to a generation of monkeys. '+5) Some of the parents, in an attempt to prevent the loss of Spanish, send their children back to their home countries to live with the relatives for some time. %n /aramelo, the parents decide to leave their oldest son Fafa with his Hrandmother in Me.ico for a whole year, which turns out to be a rather stressful e.perience for the boy, who is unaccustomed to the life in the old country and unable to communicate fully in Spanish. $hen the family comes back to pick him up, he describes his feelings to his brothers and sister, trying to e.plain 7what it@s like to

44

be abandoned by your parents and left in a country where you don@t have enough words to speak the things inside you8 '+4). Mere visits to the native country, however, do not ensure the retention of Spanish by -atino children, even in cases in which such visits are not perceived as something traumatic. Bulia Alvare and her sisters were also sent regularly to the Aominican Fepublic by their parents, so that they would not lose ties with their native country. Their aunts and uncles encouraged them to speak Spanish instead of &nglish, but the girls usually found themselves unable to answer their =uestionsC 7"ur Spanish was full of &nglish. /ountless times during a conversation, we were corrected, until what we had to say was lost in our saying it wrong. More and more we chose to answer in &nglish even when the =uestion was posed in Spanish8 'Something to Declare 23). 1ot even a repeated e.posure to the native tongue was sufficient for Alvare to keep her Spanish proficiency. The loss of Spanish is a fre=uent and serious phenomenon affecting -atino children, but one that is often overlooked or insufficiently understood by educators and -atino parents. The problem has to be born in mind and addressed from the very moment the child begins to learn &nglish. $hile the ac=uisition of the new language needs to be supported, enough space has to be provided for practicing the native language. Since -atino children are often faced with pressures promoting &nglish and Anglo!American culture at the e.pense of Spanish, sufficient positive value has to be actively attached to the latter and the -atino heritage. As &arl Shorris points out, 7the survival of &nglish is not at issue, only the death of Spanish8 '(K5).

-.1. The 2enerational Language 2a(

*esides being troubled by their own lack of linguistic proficiency, children may also be disturbed by their parents@ insufficient language skills. /hildren naturally perceive their

43

parents as protectors9 they seek help and sense of security from them. %n immigrant families, however, this model may encounter difficulties and the usual roles might be reversed. Some parents have to rely on their children who serve as interpreters in communication with &nglish speakers. "ne of the fathers from Fodrigue !Halindo@s and $orthy@s group of parents admitted that his daughter was worth two people for him, because without her, he would not be able to communicate in public 'Fodrigue !Halindo and $orthy 0K5). /hildren whose parents do not speak &nglish fluently may feel insecure or ashamed by their parents@ accents, incorrect grammar, or lack of appropriate vocabulary. Some of the students included in >ought@s study e.pressed embarrassment at the fact that their parents spoke only Spanish. "ne girl, for e.ample, said that 7she wished her mom knew more &nglish for when monolingual &nglish!speaking friends come over8 '>ought (56). The lack of knowledge of &nglish on the part of the parents and the lack of Spanish proficiency on the part of the children can cause a communication gap between the two generations. Sancho, another student from >ought@s study, e.plains that 7he sometimes tries to speak &nglish with his parents, but they say they are too old to learn8 '>ought (56). This linguistic barrier can even have a negative impact on the child!parent relationship. Sancho addsC 7% like my parents, but um, sometimes we ?ust don@t, we don@t really get along cause we don@t talk to each other. ... /ause % can@t really e.plain to Jem how % feel in Spanish, ... and % would! and % wouldn@t be able to e.plain to them in &nglish, % don@t know all the right words and % mean, every time % try to tell Jem something % get stuck8 '>ought (55). Salvador admitted speaking both &nglish and Spanish to his father, but only Spanish to his mother, e.plaining that 7she could Lspeak &nglishM, but ... L%M feel like L% amM not really communicating with her that! you know, that well8 '>ought (56). >ought also noted that many of the students she interviewed mentioned the fact that their parents did speak &nglish without her e.plicitly asking about it '(55). This clearly shows that the parents@ linguistic skills are of much interest

40

and importance to the children. %nterestingly, however, the parents that >ought talked to did not themselves e.press any embarrassment over their lack of &nglish. %n Hunger of Memory, Fichard Fodrigue , too, recalls having negative feelings over his parents@ incorrect &nglish. De admits that it was not the practical conse=uences that bothered him, because the parents were able to arrange for what was needed. Their hesitant way of talking, though, made him feel more vulnerable, insecure, and less confident. &ven when his own knowledge of &nglish had improved considerably, 7it was unsettling to hear LhisM parents struggle with &nglish. Dearing them, Lhe wouldM grow nervous, LhisM clutching trust in their protection and power weakened8 '(0). This passage demonstrates what % stated at the beginning of this chapter about the role of parents as protectors toward their children. "ne day, Fodrigue was listening to his father talking to a young gas station attendant. De was so embarrassed at his father@s voice and at the sounds made by the words his father uttered, that he did not even let the father@s arm rest on his shoulder when they were walking home '(0). /arla from How the Garca Girls ost Their !ccents by Bulia Alvare also notices her father@s accent in &nglish with much self!consciousness. She is afraid that other children would laugh at her if they heard him talkC 7/arla sometimes imagined herself being driven to school in a flashy red car the boys would admire. &.cept there was no one to drive her. Der immigrant father with his thick mustache and accent and three!piece suit would only bring her more ridicule8 '(00). The e.amples above clearly show how much symbolic force people assign to language. -anguage is associated with power and failing to master the language of the dominant group places the person on the group@s margin. Since immigrant children often have to face language!based discrimination at schools and are made feel inferior because of their own linguistic incapacities, they are very sensitive to their parents@ language skills. &ven after the children themselves become &nglish!proficient, they can feel embarrassed at the mistakes

42

made by their parents and their confidence in the parents may be reduced. >urthermore, psychological barriers can be intensified by actual misunderstanding caused by the fact that children and their parents do not share the same language.

4K

1. onclusion: Language and Identit!

-anguage plays a crucial role in the construction of people@s identities. Scholars such as #aul AeMan stress the importance of language by claiming that 7the self is constituted by language ... LthatM language precedes identity ... LthatM language is what grants humans Jthe self!refle.ive dimension of their consciousness@ and their ability to interact with others, thereby developing their own sub?ectivity8 '=td. in Famsdell). Mikhail *akhtin describes language as 7... a mind!set. ... $hen individuals communicate they reach through words, across worlds, across the barriers of difference ... -anguage ... lies on the borderline between self and other8 '=td. in *arak (05). >or immigrants and people that come from more than one linguistic background, the relationship between language and identity can be very complicated. This, of course, concerns also the -atino population in the United States, whose members are often forced to negotiate between their native culture and the American culture, between Spanish and &nglish. According to Buan >. #erea, -atinos in the United States are often affected by 7death by &nglish8 ; a slow death of spirit when a person@s identity is re?ected and replaced by another, more powerful and dominant identity '7Aeath by &nglish8 064). As % have discussed in chapter 4.+., Spanish is seen in the United States as the language of immigrants, and is generally assigned an inferior status compared to &nglish. %ts public manifestation at certain circumstances may sub?ect the speaker to discrimination or scapegoating, and conse=uently, some -atinos choose to deny their native identity and assume a different one, in order to fit in the ma?ority group. Margaret &. Montoya recalls how as a seven!years!old girl she was already aware of her inferior status for being -atina, poor and female. Since she had to move constantly between 7duali ed worlds L;M privatePpublic, /atholicPsecular, povertyPprivilege,

-atinaPAnglo,8 she was taught by her parents to mask her inner self by 7speaking without a

46

Spanish accent8 '7Masks and Acculturation8 34K). She noticed how her mother used Spanish and &nglish in different conte.ts, Spanish for intimate things, her feelings and worries, the relations between -atinos and Anglo!Americans. Der mother taught her that she would be ?udged by non!-atinos by her accent, her name, the color of her skin, and she would be seen as 7ugly, la y, dumb a dirty8 '7Masks and Acculturation8 342). &very morning when she put on her school uniform and braided her hair, Montoya masked who she really was, 7LsheM became LherM public self8 '7Masks and Acculturation8 342). >rom the second grade, she 7began to think about LherselfM in relation to LherM classmates and their families. LSheM began to feel different and to ad?ust LherM behavior accordingly8 '7Masks and Acculturation8 340). $here #erea uses the term 7death by &nglish8 '7Aeath by &nglish8 064), Montoya talks about 7masking oneself,8 denying one@s own language, culture, and heritage, and imitating the behavior of the dominant society '7Masks and Acculturation8 342). $hat, in Montoya@s view, happens to the masked personG 7$hen we attempt to mask immutable characteristics of skin color, eye shape, or hair te.ture because they historically have been loathsome to the dominant culture, then the masks of acculturation can be e.perienced as self hate. Moreover ... unmasking LcanM spark the fear or depth of humiliation8 '7Masks and Acculturation8 33,). A person from a minority group can learn =uite well how to assume a new identity, more acceptable for the society around him. The person can even become very successful socially and economically, but this outer success may only be a disguise for inner conflict and hollownessC % put on my masks, my costumes and posed for each occasion. % conducted myself well, % think, but an emptiness

45

grew that no thing could fill. % think % hungered for myself. '7Masks and Acculturation8 (!5) /onsidering that the relationship between language and identity for people from minority groups is so comple., it is not surprising that it has become an often!discussed topic in works by -atino American authors. &ven though the ways they treat this theme can differ significantly, language always plays a very important role in the evolution of one@s identity. Fichard Fodrigue @s autobiographical novel Hunger of Memory: The Education of Richard Rodriguez can be read as a testimony of the author@s struggle to find his place between &nglish and Spanish9 the author even calls himself a 7victim of two cultures8 '0). De comments on the importance of language and its role in the construction of his identity already in the prologue of the bookC This autobiography, ... is a book about language. ... -anguage has been the great sub?ect of my life. %n college and graduate school, % was registered as an J&nglish ma?or.@ *ut well before then, from my first day of school, % was a student of language. "bsessed by the way it determined my public identity. The way it permits me here to describe myself, writing. 'K) After a period of moving between &nglish and Spanish, and trying to cope with the stigma of being an immigrant, Fodrigue eventually opts for &nglish. %n his opinion, this is the only way to become successful in the United States and to resolve the double!identity problem. De draws a thick line between &nglish and Spanish and the worlds each of these languages represents. Fodrigue recalls very clearly the day at school when he spoke up in &nglish in front of the whole class for the first time, and he considers this day to be a turning point in his life. At that moment, he assumed a new identity, a public identity that enabled him to become

3,

a member of the American society, and so 7at last, seven years old, ... LheM came to believe what had been technically true since ... LhisM birthC ... LDeM was an American citi en8 '++). *efore this breakthrough, Fodrigue used to make a rigid distinction between the private sphere of his family, and the public sphere of the outer society9 the same distinction was also strictly maintained by his parents. This strict separation between the public and the private corresponded with a strict separation between the languagesC &nglish was spoken to strangers, while Spanish was used at home. Fodrigue learnt to distinguish between them very consciously, and grew e.tremely attentive to the way people talked. The choice of language and the way of speaking were perceived as important signs of people@s identity, they showed who belonged to the dominant group and who was an outsiderC 7"ften, the speech of people in public seemed to me very loud, booming with confidence. The man behind the counter would literally ask, J$hat can % do for youG@ *ut by being so firm and so clear, the sound of his voice said that he was a gringo2 he belonged in public society8 '(3). Spanish, on the other hand, was the true 7family language ... The voices of ... parents and sisters and brother. The voices insistingC 3ou (elong here# 4e are family mem(ers# Related# S)ecial to one another8 '(6). %t was also used in the -atino community to remind its members of their 7separateness from los otros, los gringos in power8 '(2). Spanish was never used in communication with Anglo!Americans, and it served as a mark of belonging to a closed group of Spanish speakers, as opposed to the group of &nglish speakers. /orresponding to these two different languages and environments, two distinct identities e.istedC a private identity linked to Spanish that was the only one appropriated by Fodrigue before he started school, and a public identity of an &nglish speaker, an identity that he had never believed could become his. This distinction was shattered only after Fodrigue spoke up in class. At that moment, when he internally recogni ed &nglish as his language, he was able to become a public person. Dis growing confidence in public, however,

3(

brought a dramatic change in the private sphere ; the immediate family closeness diminished. Fodrigue still loved his parents and felt loved by them, but the 7e.perience of feeling ... individuali ed by family intimates LandM the desperate, urgent, intense feeling of being at home8 was gone '++!+4). Hradually, a gap opened between Fodrigue and his parents. Since they had not changed as much as he did, they reminded him of the life he used to live before he started school. &ven more importantly, though, Fodrigue started feeling embarrassed at their lack of educationC 7JNour parents must be very proud of you.@ #eople began to say that to me about the time % was in si.th grade. ... Shyly %@d smile, never betraying my sense of the ironyC % was not proud of my mother and father. ... Simply, what mattered to me was that they were not like my teachers8 '0+). The teachers became new figures of authority for Fodrigue . De imitated their accents, their behavior, he did whatever they suggested '35). This is not surprising ; a child needs somebody to look up to, and in the new environment, Fodrigue @s parents could not play this part any more. Dowever, he was plagued by guilt for being more attached to school than to his family, even though it was his parents who originally made him abandon Spanish for &nglish. As he managed to feel more comfortable in the school environment, he 7spoke to classmates and teachers more often ... than to family members8 '0,). Although he noticed this estrangement, and 7never forgot that schooling had irretrievably changed LhisM family@s life ... that knowledge ... did not weaken ambition. %nstead, it strengthened resolve. Those times LheM remembered the loss of LhisM past with regret, LheM =uickly reminded LhimMself of all the things LhisM teachers could give LhimM8 '0,). Fodrigue is well aware of what he lost by becoming &nglish!dominant and e.presses very openly his sorrow and pity at this loss. De sacrificed his close relationship with his family, the feeling of intimacy that once characteri ed their family life. De is very much preoccupied by 7the separation Lhe enduresM with LhisM parents ... LandM bewildering silence, facing

3+

LthemM8 '0). "n the other hand, however, mastering &nglish opened up a possibility of social and economic advancement, and it made him a member of the American society. &ven though Fodrigue feels sorry for what he had to give up, he does not see any other solution. >or him, his story is 7an American story,8 an inevitable e.perience of immigrants in the American society '0). De strongly opposes bilingual education, offering assimilation as the only possibility for -atinos in the United States. According to him, one cannot live with two different identities, being -atino and American at the same time. A choice has to be made, and there is always a price to be paid for it. This strict separation and e.clusion concerns, and is identified by, the choice of language. As Famsdell points out, Fodrigue does not believe that &nglish and Spanish could e.ist both as private and public languages. %nstead, 7Spanish and &nglish e.ist as opposite poles9 to retain allegiance to Spanish means to seal one@s future as a member of the working class whereas mastery in &nglish is the entry ticket into the gringo world of economic success8 'Famsdell). %s this really the only way -atinos can live in the American societyG Ao they really have to give up such an important part of themselves to achieve social successG % believe they do not. There is no doubt that living between two different cultures, with two different languages, and being identified with the one that is considered inferior, is not easy. 1evertheless, there are people who prove that it can be done, that the two separate worlds can be bridged together, that a person can be both -atino and American. -et us see how the -atina American writer Bulia Alvare managed to resolve this conflict. %n How the Garca Girls ost Their !ccents , Bulia Alvare portrays the difficulties that the four girls of the de la Torre family have to face while growing as Aominican immigrants in the United States. -ike her sisters, Nolanda, the narrator of the novel, struggles to find her place in the new country. As she tries to fit in her new life, she becomes interested in writing. 7... since the natives LareM unfriendly and the country inhospitable ... she LtakesM

34

root in language,8 it becomes a refuge for her '(3(). 7*y high school, the nuns LareM reading her stories and compositions out loud in &nglish class8 '(3(). She learns &nglish and writes 7her secret poems in her new language8 in order to feel at home in the new environment, in order to fill the gap that opened between her and the people around '(42). $riting for her is a way to communicate9 it is also a way for her to find out who she is in the new country. $hen writing a speech that she is supposed to deliver on the Teacher@s day at the school assembly, she struggles to 7finally LsoundM like herself in &nglish8 '(34). Der success with the speech signals that she has found her voice in the new language, a prere=uisite for becoming a confident person. Hrowing up in the United States, Nolanda becomes an &nglish!dominant adult, able to speak only 7halting Spanish8 'K). She still feels an inner need to keep her mother tongue, however, worrying over the fact that she cannot speak it as well as she used to. She is afraid that too much of her -atina identity might get lost if she loses her native language. $hile driving her car one day, she imagines herself getting into an accident and recalls what a poet she met told her about using one@s native languageC 7... trapped inside a wreck, calling for help. %n &nglish or SpanishG She wonders. That poet she met at -ucinda@s party ... argued that no matter how much of it one lost, in the midst of some profound emotion, one would revert to one@s mother tongue. ... $hat language, he asked ... did she love inG8 '(4). Nolanda is uncertain what language she would use. She feels closely connected to her -atina origins, but after years in the United States, she has also appropriated the American culture and its language as her own. As Bulie *arak comments, in the chapter called 7Boe,8 the split of Nolanda@s personality and identity between &nglish and Spanish is suggested by the narrator@s use of both &nglish and Spanish forms of Nolanda@s names and nicknamesC Nolanda or No in Spanish, Boe, Noyo or Boey in &nglish '(K3). Der divided identity and strong ties to Spanish

33

sometimes cause misunderstandings in her relationships with American men. Nolanda decides to leave her first husband Bohn after she begins to feel they do not understand each other any more. Alvare describes this lack of understanding by the literal inability of Nolanda to figure out the meaning of the words Bohn is trying to speak to her. De comes home one day bringing her flowers, but Nolanda finds herself unable to make sense of what he is saying. %t seems to her as if he were talking in a foreign language, as if the two of them lived in two separate worldsC De spoke kindly, but in a language she had never heard before. ... De said something happily, again in sounds she could not ascribe meanings to. ... She held him steady with both hands as if she were trying to nail him down into her world. ... J*abble babble.@... De is saying 5 lo"e you, she thoughtU J*abble,@ she mimicked him. J*abble babble babble babble.@ Maybe that meant, 5 lo"e you too, in whatever tongue he was speaking. 'KK!K6) Nolanda@s split self is clearly manifested by her difficulties in writing a good!bye note for Bohn, in which she keeps dividing her own person in parts, trying to e.plain why she is leaving him. She cannot e.press what she feels in &nglish, and Spanish does not give her a stable ground either. She constantly moves from one language to the other, trying to put together her shattered self, but she keeps failing. She wants to sound firm and resolved, but it is clear that she is struggling with self!confusion and doubtC 5+m going to my fol,s till my head6slash6heart clear# ... 5+m needing some s)ace, some time, until my head6slash6heart6slash6soul ; 1o, no, no, she didn@t want to divide herself anymore, three persons in one No. ... she ?otted a little triangle before 7ohn. Dear, she wrote on a slant. She had read in a handwriting analysis book that this was the style of the self!assured. ... She wrote him a short memo, Gone!then added!to my fol,s. She thought of signing it, Nolanda,

30

but her real name no longer sounded like her own, so instead she scribbled his name for her, 7oe# 'K6!K5) After she breaks down mentally, her parents have to take her to hospital. >or several months, she talks constantly, even in her sleep or while she is eating, reciting passages from famous literary works, translating Spanish works into &nglish 'K5!6,). She tries to find integrity through language, but for months without success. She strives for settling herself in language, but she can only repeat what other people said, unable to find her own words. She struggles to find her identity, but it keeps breaking into many different pieces. 1ot even her name provides the comfort of giving her a clue of who she isC 7J !y, Nolanda.@ Der mother pronounced her name in Spanish, her pure, mouth!filling, full!blooded name, Nolanda. *ut then, it was inevitable, like gravity, like night and day, ... her name fell, bastardi ed, breaking into a half do en nicknames ; J)o(recita Nosita@ ; another nickname8 '6(). 1ames are the basic and primary means to identify people9 by addressing a person by hisPher name, we e.clude himPher from a mass of other people and give himPher an individual identity. Nolanda, however, is denied such identification. Since she fails to find her integral self, she is unable to connect herself with a certain name. #eople reflect and perceive themselves through language9 Nolanda, lost between &nglish and Spanish, is unable to grasp her true being. -anguage is used as a powerful metaphor in connection with Nolanda. As a beginning writer and a person split between two different cultures represented by &nglish and Spanish, Nolanda perceives everything through language. >irst it is communication with other people that breaks down, and later she is unable to communicate with herself either. -anguage becomes something very concrete, almost material, something that even provokes allergic reactions in herC 7J$hat is loveG@ No asks Ar. #ayne9 the skin on her neck prickles and reddens. She has developed a random allergy to certain words. ... her lips swell, her skin itches, her eyes water with allergic reaction tears. ... J o"e, lo"e,+ she says the words =uickly.

32

Der face is one itchy valentine. 8!mor#+ &ven in Spanish, the word makes a rash erupt on the backs of her hands8 '6+!60). &ven though it is Nolanda who is most influenced by language, and whose inner conflicts are portrayed by linguistic struggles and misunderstanding, her other sisters are not spared having to bridge the two different languages either. Nolanda@s oldest sister /arla is also confronted with difficult situations that make her feel confused, or even threatened, because her knowledge of &nglish is insufficient. "ne day, a flasher in a car stops her while she is walking home. De is naked from the waist down and waves to her to come closerC 7J/@moninere.@ De nodded towards the seat beside him. ... /arla clutched her bookbag tighter in her hand. Der mouth hung open. 1ot one word, &nglish or Spanish, occurred to her8 '(0K). After /arla gets home, her mother calls the police. $hen the officer asks whether they would like to file charges, the mother does not understandC 7J>ile chargesG $hat does that mean, file chargesG@ There was a sigh of e.asperation. A too!patient voice with dividers between each word e.plained the legal procedures as if repeating a history lesson /arla@s mother should have learned long before she had troubled the police or moved into this neighborhood8 '(05). &ven the police officer, who was called to help them, makes them feel unwelcome, inferior. Dis behavior and the tone of voice gives a clear messageC if you want to live in this country, you have to learn &nglish first. $hen /arla herself is asked to describe what she saw, her attempts to find the right words are in vainC 7/arla thought hard for what could be the name of a man@s genitals. They had come to this country before she had reached puberty in Spanish, so a lot of the key words she would have been picking up in the last year, she had missed. 1ow, she was learning &nglish in a /atholic classroom, where no nun had ever mentioned the words she was needing8 '(24). This is a very stressful situation for her. She cannot describe what she saw, and since she does not know the necessary e.pressions in either &nglish or Spanish, it is hard for her to even reali e what she saw. After having to face the man in the car, she is now forced to cope with the insistence of the officer,

3K

who makes her feel embarrassed and humiliatedC 7There was no meanness in Lthe officer@sM face, no kindness either. 1o recognition of the difficulty she was having in trying to describe what she had seen with her tiny &nglish vocabulary8 '(2+). The police make her think of a group of young boys from school who laugh and throw stones at herC 7She wondered if she could report them now to these young officers. ... She would have the words to describe themC their mean, snickering faces ... Their pale look!alike sickly bodies. Their high voices s=uealing with delight when /arla mispronounced some word they coa.ed her to repeat8 '(23). %t is evident from this passage how much hardship /arla has to deal with due to not being proficient in &nglish. As *arak e.plains, she feels threatened by her classmates, by the flasher, and even by the police '(K,). 1ot even her own mother, also unable to understand the officer and describe what happened, makes her feel secure. -anguage assumes a very important role in /arla@s life in the United States. Aue to her imperfect &nglish, different situations gain linguistic overtones, she is laughed at, violated and degraded, her foreign accent and lack of the right words make her feel e.cluded and different. Alvare @s novel portrays the struggle of the de la Torre girls toward their Americani ation. -anguage is often used as a literal or symbolic manifestation of this process, a fact that is made obvious in the title of the novel itself. To lose a foreign accent means to sound like a native speaker, to assume a new identity, manifested by the new language. The connection between language and identity cannot be overlooked. As Bulie *arak points out, however, How the Garca Girls ost Their !ccents is an ironic title. The protagonists may have lost their Spanish accent and mastered &nglish, but their lives will be forever influenced by their island pasts, Spanish and the Aominican culture. They will always have to make an effort to unite the &nglish and the Spanish worlds, they will have to ?oin and embrace two different identities '*arak (K2), and they will be 7caught between languages and cultures8 '*arak (2,).

36

Another book written by Bulia Alvare also addresses the topic of the divide between &nglish and Spanish, and the two cultures they represent ; a collection of poetry The 9ther Side : El 9tro ado. %ts bilingual title alludes directly to &nglish and Spanish, to the United States and the Aominican Fepublic. % would like to focus on the first poem of the book called 7*ilingual Sestina,8 which forms a separate part of the si.!section collection. %n this poem, as well as in How the Garca Girls ost Their !ccents, 7the struggle with language ... highlights the need to find the strength and self!assurance to forge an assimilated dual identity ... that both melds and celebrates cultural and linguistic elements from the "ld $orld and the 1ew8 'Doffman, =td. in $all). Alvare ?oins these two worlds most visibly by incorporating Spanish words in the &nglish te.t '7 cama, a)osento, nom(res, cielo, luna;<, blending the two languages together to form one entity '0!((). 7Snowy, blond, blue!eyed, gum!chewing &nglish8 '+) representing the United States is contrasted with 7the sounds of Spanish LthatM wash over LherM like warm island waters8 of the Aominican Fepublic 'K!6). The poetic sub?ect remembers the childhood years, during which Spanish used to stand for real things, 7 nom(res of things you point to in the world,8 and recalls how later, however, learning &nglish changed the language to 7vocabulary words,8 something that needs to be translated, that does not refer to concrete things '5!((). The sub?ect, now living in &nglish, calls back for the Aominican past and for Spanish ; the mother tongueC Hladys, % summon you back by saying your nom(re. "pen up again the house of slatted windows closed since childhood, where )ala(ras left behind for &nglish stand dusty and awkward in neglected Spanish. '(5!++) The idyllic and simple childhood years lived in the Aominican Fepublic and resonated in Spanish were interrupted by moving into the United States and learning &nglish. The sub?ect

35

is now plagued by too many words in both languages, translating from one into the other, confusedC ... until you sang in Spanish, Estas son las ma=anitas, and listening in bed, no &nglish yet in my head to confuse me with translations, no &nglish doubling the world with synonyms, no di ying array of words ;the world was simple and intact in Spanish. '+5!44) Spanish used to establish a very intimate relationship between the speaker and the world that it referred to, 7an intimacy Lthe sub?ectM now yearnLsM for in &nglish8 '4K). Throughout the poem, Spanish and &nglish are contrasted, the first representing the tran=uil, intimate childhood years that the sub?ect strives to restore in &nglish. This struggle is resolved in the two final verses of the poem that e.press the unity of the two spheres previously opposed to each otherC 7% almost hear my Spanish P heart beating, beating inside what % say en ingl*s8 '46!45). The sub?ect@s self, originally constituted in Spanish, is transferred and recreated in &nglish9 the two competing identities are reconciled and accepted by the sub?ect. This reconciliation is powerfully stated by the final e.pression 7 en ingl*s,8 in which the name of the new language is translated into the mother language, the new culture is accepted into the old one. /athrine &. $all emphasi es the importance of this ending by calling it a 7rhetorical tour de force ... LthatM furthers LAlvare @sM claim to a bilingual aesthetic8 '(43). -iterary scholars Bulie *arak, Boan M. Doffman and Deather Fosario!Sievert point out the recurring topics that appear both in 7*ilingual Sestina8 and How the Garca Girls ost Their !ccentsC 7confusion and conflicted feelings about LtheM island past and ... U.S. present ... e.periences with language ... and search for ... meaning. ... LTheM poetic persona ... like Nolanda HarcSa, finds herself Jcaught between languages and cultures@ ... in a place where

0,

Jwords are crucial to her very identity@ ... and Jwhose =uest is identity and whose vehicle is language@8 '=td. in $all (4(). Alvare @s voice is 7the mature voice of the e.perienced writer who simultaneously embraces Spanish and &nglish, for while the heart still may beat in Spanish, the words emerge en inglOs8 '$all (46). 7*ilingual Sestina8 is a confession about languages, about words, and for its author, coming to terms with words means 7coming to terms with her bilingual and bicultural identity ... Land acknowledgingM the ?ourney from the other side of language and culture and back again8 '$all (46). The preceding analysis demonstrates the importance that Bulia Alvare assigns to language in the creation of one@s identity. She often uses 7language8 and 7word8 as metaphors for 7world8 or 7culture,8 which is obvious from her interview with Fosario! SievertC 7% left the Aominican Fepublic and landed not in the United States but in either the &nglish language or the world of imagination8 '=td. in $all (40). As a young writer, however, she tried to suppress and e.clude the Aominican part of her identity, because she believed she could never become a successful author in the United States without doing so. She even doubted the possibility of a -atina person becoming a writer in &nglishC 7As a young writer, % was on guard against the -atina in me, the Spanish in me, because as far as % could see the models that were presented to me did not include my world. %n fact, % was told by one teacher in college that one could only write poetry in the language in which one first said Mother. That left me out of American literature, for sure8 'Alvare =td. in $all (+6). &ventually, she managed to overcome this pre?udice and establish herself as a prominent writer in &nglish that 7now speakLs herM native language Jwith an accent@8 ' Something to Declare 2(). According to her own words, however, the &nglish in which she writes contains elements of Spanish and her Aominican heritageC 7% think that the place, the language, the Spanish language, which is ... also the rhythm ... of those palm trees and the waves coming in

0(

and the sounds and smells, get into my &nglish and the way that % write8 'Alvare =td. in $all (+5). She has appropriated both of the worlds and merged them into one. After focusing on Alvare @s prose and poetry, % would also like to concentrate on her book of essays Something to Declare, in which language and identity also play important roles. %n 7My &nglish,8 Alvare recalls her first contacts with &nglish still in the Aominican Fepublic, where it was used by her parents when they did not want the children to understand what they were talking about. This circumstance made her associate this language from the very beginning with feelings of e.clusion, a sentiment that was later reinforced after the family moved to the United States. Already from this first e.perience, 7&nglish was the sound of worry and secrets, the sound of being left out8 '++). Again, Alvare uses 7language8 as a metaphor ; &nglish for alienation, while Spanish is e=uated with home in her essay 7>irst Muse8C 7"vernight, we lost everythingC a homeland ... a culture ... and the language % felt at home in8 '(45). Der first months at an &nglish school in the Aominican Fepublic resembled the e.perience of other -atino children mentioned in this thesis. She was forced to use &nglish and scolded whenever a Spanish word slipped into her &nglish sentences. 7Dumiliated by the smiles and snickers of the American children8 around her, she 7grew insecure about Spanish8 '+3). She was made to believe that her 7native tongue was not =uite as good as &nglish8 '+3). *ecause of this conviction that &nglish was superior to Spanish, after the family arrived in 1ew Nork and Alvare heard everybody around her speak &nglish, she thought that Americans were a 7smarter, superior race8 '+K). Again, it is clear how closely language is associated with a person@s identity, and even self!worth. % have already commented on this association in relation to Margaret &. Montoya at the beginning of this chapter. Hradually, as Alvare learnt more &nglish, she discovered in herself a love of language, until 7&nglish ... became a charged, fluid mass that carried LherM in its great fluent waves ... to deposit LherM on the shores of LherM new homeland. LSheM was no longer a

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foreigner with no ground to stand on. LSheM had landed in the &nglish language8 '+6!+5). -ike her heroine Nolanda HarcSa, Alvare did not become at home in her new country until she found her place in her second language. -ike Fodrigue , Alvare also e.perienced the submersion method after starting school in 1ew Nork, and was 7thrown in the deep end of the public school pool and left to fend for LherselfM8 '2+). Unlike him, however, she does not think this method is necessarily the best one suited for immigrant children. 71ot everyone came up for air,8 she comments '2+). /hildren in immersion classes may learn &nglish well, but the damage brought to their self! confidence and integrity may be too high. As Alvare and her sisters were growing up and were becoming more confident in &nglish, their Spanish skills worsened, and they refused to talk in Spanish. >irst, they believed that they could always go back to their native language and culture, but after a failed relationship with a Aominican boy, in which Alvare was not able to e.press her inner feelings in Spanish, she 7reali ed how unbridgeable that gap had become8 '23). She understood that if she wanted to keep Spanish and her Aominican heritage, she would have to work on it consciously. $here Fodrigue opted for leaving the -atino heritage behind, because that was the only way he thought he could fully become an American, Alvare struggled to keep both ; her old -atino identity side by side with her newly!ac=uired American oneC 7The truth is % wanted it both waysC % wanted to be good at the best things in each culture ... to be a successful hybrid8 '26). $hile contemplating one day what her life would have been like if she had gone back to the Aominican Fepublic, she reali ed that she 7couldn@t even imagine LherselfM as someone other than the person LsheM had become in &nglish, a woman who writes books in the language of &mily Aickinson and $alt $hitman8 'K+). Dowever, she ?oined her American husband in taking Spanish classes, 7to regain the language that would allow LherM to feel at home again in her native country8 'K4).

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%n the essay 7So Much Aepends,8 Alvare talks about her initial belief that if she wanted to belong to the American culture, she had to rid herself of what the Americans despised in her ; her Aominican culture. Then, however, the (52,@s came and the atmosphere changed. 7The melting pot was spilling over and even Americans were claiming and proclaiming, not ?ust their rights, but the integrity of their identitiesC *lack is *eautiful, women@s rights, gay rights8 '(2K). The rights movements convinced Alvare that she does not have to give up one part of herself in order to be able to accept the other. She understood that she could be both Aominican and American and what 7finally bridged these two worlds for LherM was writing8 ; language again became this unifying element '(2K). %t was not until she read The 4oman 4arrior by Ma.ine Dong Eingston, however, that she actually started writing about her own e.perience, so similar to the e.perience of this /hinese American writer ; 7the duality ... the *abel of voices in her head, the confusions and pressures of being a /hinese American female8 '(26). The (56,@s, with the boom of -atina American female writers such as /herrSe Moraga, Alma HVme , Sandra /isneros, Budith "rti /ofer, Aenise /have , Delena MarSa Qiramontes and others, were a turning period in the -atino American literature and Alvare @s life. According to Alvare @s own words, she was very much inspired by the introduction of /uentos: Stories (y atinas compiled by Alma HVme , /herrSe Moraga and Mariana Fomo!/armonaC 7$e need una literatura that testifies to our lives, provides acknowledgement of who we areC and e.iled people ... mu>eres en la lucha ... $hat hurts is the discovery of ... how many of us are indeed caught, unreconciled between two languages ... and suffer the insecurities of that straddling8 '=td. in Something to Declare (26). &ncouraged by these other women writers, Alvare finally found her own voice, a voice that embraced both her Aominican and American identities. %n 7AoWa ASda, with Nour #ermission,8 Alvare reveals how she feels about her identity with much sincerity and openness. She does not regard herself a Aominican writer,

03

she has 7no business writing in a language that LsheM can speak but LhasM not studied deeply enough to craft8 '(K+). She does not consider herself a 7mainstream American writer8 either, claiming that she does not 7hear the same rhythms in &nglish as a native speaker of &nglish8 '(K4). She stands between these two languages and listens to how one resonates in the other, she 7hearLsM Spanish in &nglish and ... vice versa8 '(K4). This interconnectedness is e.actly what defines her ; she describes herself as a 7Aominican American writer ... Lliving inM a world formed of contradictions, clashes LandM cominglings8 '(K4). Such e.istence of 7being in and out of worlds8 is undoubtedly not easy, and for other -atinos, such as Fichard Fodrigue , not satisfactory, but Alvare has managed to find a balance in this position '(K4). She does not conceal its drawbacks, she 7complainLsM sometimes about the confusion ... the marginali ation created on both sides ... and rootlessness of being ... mi.ed breed8 '(K3). At the same time, however, she welcomes the contradiction, the 7tension and richness,8 believing that 7it@s what confirmed LherM as a writer8 '(K4!K3). %t is very relevant to notice how much importance is assigned to language again9 the author perceives her ethnic identity solely through language. Alvare @s confession sums up very clearly what the author writes about in her works. -iving between two different cultures, two different languages and two different worlds is often confusing, painful and difficult, but it is also what makes her who she is. She could never be the same person if she left one part of her dual identity out. She bridges the gap between the two worlds by speaking, writing, e.pressing herself mostly in &nglish that echoes and contains traces of Spanish.

1.1. Living as a +inorit! in a +ultilingual 'ociet!

"ver the course of history, -atinos have come to form an inseparable part of the American society. Their rich cultural heritage constitutes a significant contribution to the varied multicultural reality of the United States, and Spanish, their native tongue, is the most

00

internationally spoken language in the world besides &nglish. 1owadays, multiculturalism is a phenomenon that touches almost every society in the world. At the same time, however, it is also a phenomenon surrounded by heated debates, and one that provokes resolute opposition and sharp criticism. The United States, with its highly heterogeneous population, are not an e.ception. Supporters of assimilationist and 7melting pot8 theories stand against those who defend minority people@s rights to their distinct ethnic, cultural and linguistic backgrounds. &ven though this discussion over multiculturalism will probably continue as long as there are people migrating from one country to another, it is important to understand the processes that are at play in human societies, and try to accommodate the needs of all the distinct groups living together. % have discussed some of the most common issues the -atino minority in the United States has to deal with due to its specific linguistic character. -anguage, as % have already mentioned several times, constitutes one of the basic components of a person@s identity. %t is through language that people think, understand the world around them and perceive themselves. The status assigned to one@s language reflects the status assigned to the speaker. *y giving Spanish a secondary position in the American society, the same position is given to the -atino community. %t is not surprising then that some -atinos try to avoid identification with the language and the culture of their ancestors, and see assimilation as the only way to live in the United States. They learn to speak &nglish without an accent, move away from -atino neighborhoods, abandon their traditions and some even change their names or lie about their origin. *y this adaptation, they may be able to avoid open discrimination and pre?udice, but as we have seen, the price they have to pay is often too high. -oss of native language and culture, alienation from family and friends, and estrangement from one@s self are some of the most common conse=uences that % have discussed. "ther -atinos, unwilling to sacrifice their heritage, manage to embrace both cultures and both languages, they eventually settle the inner

02

conflict, find their place between the two opposed worlds, and become -atino!Americans. This approach, however, is not easy either. >eelings of alienation, confusion and dual identity plague those who do not want to give up an important part of themselves. %s there no other way for -atinos to become part of the American societyG Ao they either have to deny their heritage, or struggle with two conflicting identitiesG As we have seen, it is possible to be both -atino and American, but how easy this process will be, depends partly on the attitude of the community and on the approach of each individual. Tolerance and respect for ethnic, cultural and linguistic diversity are indispensable prere=uisites for the coe.istence of different groups in human societies.

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$orks /ited Alvare , Bulia. How the Garca Girls ost Their !ccents# 1ew NorkC #lume, (55+. ; ; ; . Something to Declare. 1ew NorkC #lume, (555. ; ; ; . The 9ther Side:El 9tro ado# 1ew NorkC #lume, (552. *arak, Bulie. 7JTurning and Turning in the $idening Hyre@C A Second /oming into -anguage in Bulia Alvare @s How the Garca Girls ost Their !ccents#8 Melus ?@#A '(556)C (05!K2. (6 Sept. +,,2 XhttpCPPlion.chadwyck.co.ukY. *oehner, Bohn. 7J1o /hild -eft *ehind@ Transforms *ilingual &ducation #rograms, &mpowers Dispanic #arents to &nsure -&# /hildren -earn &nglish.8 $ews from the /ommittee on Education and the 4or,force '"ct +,,+). +2 1ov. +,,2 XhttpCPPwww.house.govPedZworkforcePpressPpress(,KPbilingualed(,(K,+.htmY. /isneros, Sandra. /aramelo# 1ew NorkC Qintage ; Fandom, +,,4. /line, Rulmara, and Buan 1ecochea. 7-atino #arents >ighting &ntrenched Facism.8 Bilingual Research 7ournal +0 '+,,(). (0 Bune +,,K X httpCPPbr?.asu.eduPv+0(+ParticlesPart2.htmlY. /rawford, Bames. 7Dard SellC $hy is *ilingual &ducation So Unpopular with the American #ublicG8 '+,,4). +2 1ov. +,,2 XhttpCPPwww.asu.eduPeducPepslP-#FUPfeaturesPbrief6.htmY ; ; ; . 7Dold Nour Tongue.8 Aelgado and Stefancic, eds. 005!2+. ; ; ;. 7A 1ation Aivided by "ne -anguage.8 Guardian &nlimited 'March +,,(). +2 1ov. +,,2 XhttpCPPwww.guardian.co.ukPArchivePArticleP,,3+K4,3(3K6K,,,,.htmlY. ; ; ; . 7Ten /ommon >allacies about *ilingual &ducation.8 '1ov (556). +2 1ov. +,,2 XhttpCPPusers.rcn.comPcraw?PlangpolP/rawfordZTenZ/ommonZ>allacies.pdfY. Ae Anda, Foberto M., ed. /hicanas and /hicanos in /ontem)orary Society# -anhamC Fowman, +,,3.

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Aelgado, Fichard, and Bean Stefancic, eds. The atino /ondition: ! /ritical Reader. 1ew NorkC 1ew Nork U#, (556. 7Aoes Spanish Threaten American &nglishG8 %BS# 2 Ban. +,,K XhttpCPPwww.pbs.orgPspeakPseatoseaPofficialamericanPspanishthreatPY. >it simmons, Shannon. 7*uilding #artnerships $ith -atino %mmigrant #arents.8Re)ort (y /enter for Research on Education, Di"ersity C EDcellence, Buly +,,4. (0 Bune +,,K X httpCPPwww.cal.orgPcredePpubsP#rac*rief2.htmY. >ought, /armen. /hicano English in /onteDt# 1ew NorkC #algrave Macmillan, +,,4. Der , May. 7Me.ican %ndependence AayC (2 de SeptiembreC &l Hrito de %ndependencia.8 +2 1ov. +,,2 XhttpCPPwww.inside!me.ico.comPfeatureindep.htmY. Bohnson, Eevin F. 7Melting #ot or Fing of >ireG8 Aelgado and Stefancic, eds. 3+K!4,. Erashen, Stephen. 7*ilingual &ducation, the Ac=uisition of &nglish, and the Fetention and -oss of Spanish.8 Research on S)anish in the &#S#: inguistic 5ssues and /hallenges, ed. A. Foca, SomervilleC /ascadilla #, +,,,. +2 1ov. +,,2 XhttpCPPourworld.compuserve.comPhomepagesPB$/FA$>"FAPErashenK.htmY. Montoya, Margaret &. 7-aw and -anguage's).8 Aelgado and Stefancic, eds. 0K3!K6. ; ; ; . 7Masks and Acculturation.8 Aelgado and Bean Stefancic, eds. 340!3(. 7More "utreach 1eeded to Address -ow /ollege Hraduation Fates Among -atinos.8 His)anic Business#com# '(4 "ct. +,,2). 2 Ban. +,,K XhttpCPPwww.hispanicbusiness.comPnewsPnewsbyid.aspGid[3KK6KY. Moreno, Fobert #. 7&.ploring #arental %nvolvement among Me.ican American and -atina Mothers.8 Ae Anda, ed. 6(!5K. "choa, Hilda -aura. 7J-et@s Unite So That "ur /hildren Are *etter "ff Than Us@C Me.ican AmericanPMe.ican %mmigrant $omen.8 Ae Anda, ed. ((4!+2.

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"vando, /arlos B. 7*ilingual &ducation in the United StatesC Distorical Aevelopment and /urrent %ssues.8 Bilingual Research 7ournal ?E 'Spring +,,4)C (!+3. +2 1ov. +,,2 XhttpCPPbr?.asu.eduPcontentPvol+KZno(PdocumentsPart(.pdf.Y. #erea, Buan >. 7American -anguages, /ultural #luralism, and "fficial &nglish.8 Aelgado and Stefancic, eds. 022!K4. ; ; ; . 7Aeath by &nglish.8 Aelgado and Stefancic, eds. 064!50. #ortes, Ale?andro, and FubOn H. Fumbaut. 5mmigrant !merica. -os AngelesC U of /alifornia #, (55,. Famsdell, -ea. 7-anguage and %dentity #oliticsC The -inguistic Autobiographies of -atinos in

the United States.8 7ournal of Modern iterature +6.( '>all +,,3)C (22!KK. (6 Sept. +,,2 XhttpCPPlion.chadwyck.co.ukY. Fodrigue , Fichard. Hunger of Memory: The Education of Richard Rodriguez# 1ew NorkC *antam *ooks, (566. Fodrigue !Halindo, Ale?andra, and Bo $orthy. 7Mi hi?a vale dos personasC -atino %mmigrant #arents@ #erspectives About Their /hildren@s *ilingualism.8 Bilingual Research 7ournal, Fol 4,.+ '+,,2)C 0K5!2,(. 2 Ban. +,,K XhttpCPPbr?.asu.eduPvol4,Zno+Part(2.pdfY. Shorris, &arl. atinos: ! Biogra)hy of the %eo)le# 1ew NorkC 1orton, +,,(. Stavans, %lan. 7Dispanic USA.8 The !merican %ros)ect 3 'Sept (554). +2 1ov. +,,2 XhttpCPPwww.prospect.orgPprintPQ3P(0Pstavans!i.htmlY. Sure !"ro co, Marcelo M., and Mariela M. #e , eds. atinos: Rema,ing !merica. -os AngelesC U/#, +,,+. Tinkler, *arri. 7A Feview of -iterature on DispanicP-atino #arent %nvolvement in E!(+ &ducation.8 Re)ort (y !ssets of /olorado 3outh# 4 Apr. +,,+. (0 Bune +,,K

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X httpCPPwww.assetsforcoyouth.orgPproductsPlatinoparentreportPlatinoparentrept.htmY. Tru?illo, Armando -. 7Teacher 1arratives of Mo"imiento %deology and *ilingual &ducation.8 Ae Anda, ed. 00!KK. $all, /atherine &. 7*ilingualism and %dentity in Bulia Alvare @s #oem J*ilingual Sestina.@8 Melus +6.3 '+,,4)C (+0!34.

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