Language alternation and choice in a formal register: Spanish and English in bilingual Catholic services

Abstract

Language alternation tends to be proscribed in formal speech situations and registers; in bilingual communities, however, the use of two languages may be observed in formal speech events and registers. This article investigates the use of Spanish and English in a formal speech event, the religious ceremony performed in the Catholic mass, which is governed by prescribed rules of linguistic conduct, in order to examine the factors that constrain language alternation and choice. A quantitative analysis of six 60-minute services was used to determine the frequency of the two languages, both overall and in ritual versus non-ritual talk, and establish an empirical basis for describing the markedness of the two languages (Myers-Scotton, 2000, 2002). Patterns of language alternation are examined both at the macro level of the mass, from section to section, and at the micro level, within sections, and languages choices are explained using the Rational Choice model described by Myers-Scotton and Bolonyai (2001).