LINGUISTIC INFLUENCE AND VARIATION ON THE ENGLISH OF CHICANO ADOLESCENTS IN AUSTIN, TEXAS

This sociolinguistic study targeted four major objectives deemed critical to a description and understanding of the varieties of English used by a sample of thirty, third generation Chicano adolescents in Austin, Texas. They included: (1) examining eight phonological and eight syntactic variables described in the Chicano English and Vernacular Black English literature respectively to see if such variants are indeed integrated into their varieties of English; (2) correlating social variables including Sex and Language Background and Peer Contact with linguistic variables to account for linguistic behavior and use; (3) accounting for gender differences; and, (4) investigating attitudes towards their own English varieties and those of their Anglo and Black peers.;The interrelation of linguistic and social variables via variable rule analysis lead to significant findings. In bilingual, urban communities like those in East Austin and Montopolis, we can expect to uncover not one variety of Chicano English but several varieties currently standard within these sub-groups of speakers. The speaker's gender, language background, and contact with members of neighboring dialects, primarily Blacks, had a major impact on the types of Chicano English found.;By combining quantitative and qualitative methods of analysis to interpret these data, we were able to account for patterns of variability from both a group and individual perspective. Furthermore, this study recognized the need to adopt a framework within sociolinguistic theory that best explained the theoretical nature of language variation within bilingual communities as opposed to relying on an interference paradigm which has so dominated Chicano English research.