Rivera-Mills, Susana V.

About the author: Dr. Rivera-Mills received her PhD from the University of New Mexico. She is currently Assistant Professor of Spanish at Northern Arizona University, Flagstaff.

New Perspectives on Current Sociolinguistic Knowledge with Regard to Language Use, Proficiency, and Attitudes Among Hispanics in the U. S.the Case of a Rural Northern California Community

1999 0-7734-7906-6
Three areas form the core of this study: patterns of language use in various functional categories for three generations of Hispanics; patterns of proficiency in English and Spanish for each generation; and conscious efforts and attitudes of individuals toward the maintenance of Spanish and various other linguistic and political topics. The Hispanic community of Fortuna, California has never been studied from a sociolinguistic perspective, yet it holds many characteristics that make it a revealing and unique case study. It is isolated from large cities and from other Hispanic communities, it is distant from the Mexican border, and it is a community of Hispanics of diverse origins. Given the unique profile of the community, this study offers new perspectives and new language models to the field of sociolinguistics.