Spanish-speaking Youth Research Articles

Expressive devices in the language of English- and Spanish-speaking youth

The aim of this paper is threefold: first, to introduce the topic of youth slang by giving an overview of its main characteristics; second, to show the different word-formation processes that slang has to make the speaker’s message more expressive; and third, to study the extent to which these two aspects are reflected in two corpora representing London and Madrid youth language. The present study is based, primarily, on an inventory of the top ten ‘proper’ and ‘dirty’ slang words in each language variety with particular emphasis on the speakers’ age and gender, and, secondarily, on the entire corpus data, which showed great agreement with the features outlined in the overview of the main characteristics of youth slang, while the most obvious word-formation mechanisms turned out to be related to change of form and change of meaning.

Validation Of The Italian Version Of The Omni-cycle Scale Of Perceived Exertion In The Elderly

In the last few decades, assessment of perceived exertion has become a routine practice in fitness and clinical settings to quantify subjective feelings of fatigue and exercise tolerance. The Borg-RPE scale and the OMNI-RPE scale have been used in various populations, i.e. children and adults. A recent investigation reported the validation of the OMNI-RPE scale in a sample of Spanish-speaking youth from the USA (9 to 12 yr. old). PURPOSE: This study investigated the concurrent and construct validation of an Italian version of the OMNI-RPE scale. METHODS: Eighty-two elderly (over 65 yrs.) men (n = 38) and women (n = 44) whose primary language was Italian were studied. The present study used a cross-sectional, perceptual estimation paradigm administered during a single, maximal graded exercise test on a cycle ergometer. Each participant undertook one orientation and one estimation trial. Ratings of perceived exertion for the overall body (OMNI-RPE and Borg-RPE) and physiological responses (oxygen uptake: VO2, heart rate: HR) were measured during each exercise stage. RESULTS: For both female and male groups, the mean responses ranged: from 0.72 to 1.77 L·min·1 for VO2, from 87.4-137.4 beats·min·1 for HR, from 1.6 -7.9 for OMNI-RPE across the four exercise stages. When testing concurrent validity, regression analyses indicated that OMNI-RPE distributed as a positive linear function of both VO2 and HR (r = 0.69 and 0.73; r = 0.63 and 0.73 for men and women, respectively; P < 0.01). When testing construct validity the regression analyses indicated that OMNI-RPE scale distributed as a positive linear function of the Borg-RPE scale (r = 0.95 and 0.94; for men and women, respectively; P< 0.01). CONCLUSION: Concurrent and construct evidence support the use of the Italian version of the OMNI Scale of Perceived Exertion to estimate effort during cycle ergometer exercise in Italian native speaking elderly men and women.

Diversity of language ideologies in Spanish-speaking youth of different origins in Catalonia

To explore language attitudes and ideologies in urban Catalonia, focus group structured interviews were conducted with two groups of adolescents of Spanish-speaking origins: the Autochthonous group, descendents of mid-late twentieth century immigrants from other parts of Spain, and the Immigrant group, who came from Latin America. The Autochthonous group displayed a clear spectrum of six sets of language ideologies. At one extreme was ‘linguistic parochialism’ in support for Catalan entailing rejection of compromise with Spanish or the Spanish state. At the other was linguistic parochialism favouring Spanish, which was dismissive of Catalan linguistic and national aspirations. In the middle were ‘linguistic cosmopolitan’ attitudes favouring accommodation, bilingualism and diversity. This spectrum was coherent and ordered in that it consisted of different responses to political and socioeconomic facts in Catalonia. By contrast, the Immigrant group, though equally ideologically diverse, was inconsistent and betrayed little engagement with local political or socioeconomic realities. Instead, immigrants seemed more interested in maintaining their linguistic identity by avoiding dialectal influence from Peninsular Spanish. The findings contribute to our understanding of the development of language ideologies and attitudes in bilingual contexts and in particular the impact of immigration on bilingual societies.

Validation of the OMNI Scale of Perceived Exertion in a Sample of Spanish-Speaking Youth from the USA

Whether the translation of verbal descriptors from English to Spanish affects the validity of the Children's OMNI Scale of Perceived Exertion is not known, so the validity of a Spanish version of the OMNI was examined with 32 boys and 36 girls (9 to 12 years old) for whom Spanish was the primary language. Oxygen consumption, ventilation, respiratory rate, respiratory exchange ratio, heart rate, and ratings of perceived exertion for the overall body (RPE-O) were measured during an incremental treadmill test. All response values displayed significant linear increases across test stages. The linear regression analyses indicated RPE-O values were distributed as positive linear functions of oxygen consumption, ventilation, respiratory rate, respiratory exchange ratio, heart rate, and percent of maximal oxygen consumption. All regression models were statistically significant. The Spanish OMNI Scale is valid for estimating exercise effort during walking and running amongst Hispanic youth whose primary language is Spanish.