2. Origins and history
A high level of Mexican immigration began in
the 20th century with the exodus of refugees
from the Mexican Revolution (1910) and the
linkage of Mexican railroads to the U.S. (Santa
Ana, 1991). The Hispanic population is one of
the largest and fastest-growing ethnic groups in
America. In the Los Angeles area alone, they
form 40% of the population. In California the
immigrants became an ethnic community, but
linguistically it is mostly an English-speaking
rather than a Spanish-speaking, though its
members have a distinctive accent.
3. Phonological features
The influence of Spanish. Vocabulary includes
words like
simon meaning "yes",
firme meaning "good",
flika meaning "picture“,
vato meaning "guy",
and feria meaning "money".
4. Consonants variations
• The devoicing of [z] in all environments:
Examples: [isi] for easy and [wʌ s] for was.
• The devoicing of [v] in word-final position:
Examples: [lʌ f] for love, [hɛ f] for have, and [waɪ fs] for wives.
• Chicano speakers may pronounce /b/ instead of /v/:
Examples: very [ˈ bɛɹ i], invite [imˈ baɪ t].
• Absence of dental fricatives so that think may be pronounced [ˈ tiŋk], [ˈ fiŋk]
or [ˈ siŋk].
• Poor distinction between /j/ and /dʒ/ so that job may sound like yob and yes
may sound like jes.
• Poor distinction of nasals in the syllable coda so that seen and seem are
pronounced alike.
• /tʃ/ merges with /ʃ/ so sheep and cheap are pronounced alike. A inversion
may also happen, causing sheep to sound like /tʃ ip/ and cheap to sound
like /ʃ ip/.
5. Vowels variations
• Chicano English speakers may merge [æ] and
[ɛ], or invert those, causing bed to sound like
bad and bad to sound like bed, or causing both
to sound the same.
• /ɪŋ/ sounds like /iŋ/: sink sounds like seenk and
also sing sounds like seeng.
• The distinction between /ɪ/ and /iː/ before liquid
consonants is frequently reduced, making feel
and fill homophones.
6. Final consonant deletion
Only certain consonants occur at the end of
words. All other single consonants in English
would thus be unfamiliar to Chicano English
speakers in this environment.
Most becomes [moʊ s];
Felt becomes [fɛ l],
Start becomes [stɑ r].
7. Vowel structure
Because of phonetic similarity and
complementary distribution, stressed and
unstressed /e/ (NURSE, LETTER) are the
same phonological class. Similarly, stressed
and unstressed high-front-peripheral vowels
(FLEECE, HAPPY) are classified together as
/iː/. The non-high front vowels before
intervocalic /r/ are presumably merged in this
dialect. That is, Mary, merry, marry are
pronounced identically.
8. Grammar differences
* "Spanish . . . uses the double negative, which is reflected in
the grammar of Chicano English.
I didn't do nothing and She don't want no advice.
* Because Spanish has a single preposition (en) that
corresponds to both in and on in English, speakers of CE
commonly use in where Standard English requires on:
• Macarena got in the bus before she realized that she didn't
have no change.
• We got in our bikes and rode down the hill.”
(James Dale Williams, The Teacher's Grammar Book.
Routledge, 2005)
* Spanish signifies the third person possession through
prepositional phrases rather than possessive nouns:
Vivo en la casa de mi madre. (literal translation: I live in the
house of my mother.)
