Aquí no se cogen las guaguas

Abstract

Research on the language(s) of LatinUs in the United States has focused on Mexican and Puerto Rican communities because they represent the two largest groups of Spanish speakers in the nation. But few studies investigate the impact of Mexican and Puerto Rican speakers on each other, and none addresses the Puerto Rican diaspora in the western part of the country, where Puerto Ricans are dispersed amid overwhelming numbers of Mexicans. What are the effects of linguistic and cultural swamping on the linguistic practices and identities of Puerto Ricans far from their primary island and mainland bases? This paper reports on the results of research in San Diego, where Puerto Ricans live 30 miles from the Mexican border and constitute under 1% of the population. They live among 600,000 Mexicans who don’t understand if they ask, “¿Dónde puedo coger la guagua?” (“Where can I catch the bus?”). How are Puerto Rican linguistic practices and identities affected? Interviews and vocabulary questionnaires (n = 94) probe the extent to which Puerto Rican Spanish (PRS) in San Diego has changed as a result of contact with Mexican Spanish, which aspects of the linguistic system are most affected, and the effect on Puerto Rican identity. Of particular interest are the familial, gender, economic, cultural, and political variables that make most continue to speak in traditional ways, whereas some switch to Mexican vocabulary and phonology completely or selectively. Despite experiencing some negative Mexican attitudes toward PRS, there was unanimous support for Mexicans, for the maintenance of Spanish in general, and for PRS in particular. However, the loss of Spanish in the next generation militates against the formation of a PR-Mex koine and may be responsible for a relaxing of the Spanish requirement for Puerto Rican identity.