Chicano English

Ling 120

M W F 9:00am

Chicano English

In parts of California there is a dialect of English call Chicano English. Chicano English is primarily spoken by second and third generation American with Latino descent. The Chicano English dialect is recognizable by a few of its distinct features. The first of these features is the presence of a Spanish a in words like pasta and saw. The second of the feature and also the one I was more familiar with was taking the "ing" out of words replacing it with "een". Many of the features of Chicano English come from the way native Spanish speakers speak English and because of this there is a lot of confusion between native Spanish speakers and speakers of Chicano English.

Many people when they hear someone speak Chicano English, the person is mistaken for being a native Spanish speaker and may not even speak Spanish. Carmen Fought's students told her they could tell the difference between native Spanish speakers and speakers of Chicano English. Fought then test them with four people, Two native Spanish speakers and two people who speak with the Chicano English Dialect. In all the test the students selected the two people that seemed to have the most Spanish sounding voice and were unsuccessful in all their attempts.

In many cases Speakers of Chicano English also speak Spanglish. Spanglish is the when a person uses English and Spanish words as part of their regular vocabulary. Speakers of Spanglish say that it is a part of their identity and it was separates them from the people who actually live in Mexico.