Second-generation NYC bilinguals’ use of the Spanish subjunctive in obligatory contexts

Abstract

This paper analyzes naturalistic data from second-generation NYC bilinguals on their obligatory subjunctive use. First-generation NYC Spanish speakers serve as the reference model for the nine obligatory semantic & syntactic contexts. A total of 52 consultants are considered, 26 for each generation, from the six primary Spanish-speaking groups in NYC: Puerto Rican, Dominican, Cuban, Mexican, Ecuadorian, and Colombian. The objective is to determine, through quantitative and qualitative investigation, whether the second-generation’s obligatory subjunctive use has changed, and if so, to establish exactly where and how it differs from the first-generation, thus contributing to the variationist-sociolinguistic knowledge of Spanish grammar in bilingual settings. Statistically significant external and internal findings show that the two generational groups do in fact use the obligatory subjunctive differently. Close examination, however, suggests that second-generation bilinguals generally command obligatory subjunctive use, but do exhibit signs of a variable mood grammar.