SKILLS
Reading guide 4: Shalts 2009
ANSWER KEY
Note for instructors: The answers that were listed as comments on the margin have been
copied and pasted into the body of the text after each of the questions.
NOTE 1: This reading was written by an undergraduate student at UC San Diego, based
on a research project similar to the one that you’re doing in this class.
NOTE 2: The term broken English (p. 118) is a term linguists do not accept, because it
implies a negative evaluation; preferred terms are nonnative English, nonfluent English,
or learner’s English.
Glossary
monolingual (p. 115): a person who speaks only one language
copula deletion (p. 119): a linguistic feature of African American English, in which a
form of the verb “to be” (specifically “are” or “is”) is not required in some sentences.
Key terms
language attrition (also known as language shift): p. 118: the loss of heritage language
across generations (they should be able to figure this out from the context)
language maintenance (also known as language retention): p. 119: the preservation of a
heritage language across generations (again, they should get this from context)
Comprehension
1. What are some of the differences between Christ the King church (CTK in the
reading) and studies of Spanish in other churches? CTK doesn’t encourage
parishioners to stay separate from the world; CTK’s religious leaders aren’t
hostile to Spanish (p. 117)
2. What are some of the ways that CTK accommodates its Spanish-speaking
parishioners? Spanish language masses and printed materials, Spanish-speaking
priests, Spanish religious teaching (summary on p. 115)
3. How does the status of Spanish in CTK differ from the status of Hebrew in
Judaism and from the status of Greek in Greek Orthodox churches in the United
States? Spanish isn’t viewed as a sacred language like Hebrew; “Spanglish” isn’t
used in the church as “Greeklish” is (pp. 119-120)
4. What factors support the maintenance of Spanish among CTK parishioners?:
close to the border, size and linguistic homogeneity of community, Mexican
immigration, “social isolation” (i.e., cultural homogeneity), intergenerational
language use (p. 120) ---- What factor may hinder the maintenance of Spanish?
lack of literacy in Spanish (p. 121)
5. What are the different ethnic groups that attend CTK, and what languages or
dialects do they speak? What is the relationship among these groups? Declining
African American population (some AAE), African American pastors (bilingual);
largely Latino Spanish speakers, some bilingual, mostly working class; most
English monolinguals are now middle-class Anglos. Groups are mostly separate,
even in activities that combine them (p. 122)
Reflection
1. The author quotes Joshua Fishman as describing culture as a “ball of wax” that
includes race, religion, ethnicity, and language (p. 123). Do you see these four
elements of culture as necessarily connected? How, if at all, are they connected in
your fieldsite, or in other contexts you have observed?
2. The author argues that it is not linguistic and cultural diversity that leads to
tensions between ethnic groups, but linguistic and cultural intolerance (p. 123).
Do your observations at your fieldsite and/or in other contexts support this
statement?
3. How are the linguistic and cultural issues discussed in the reading similar to
and/or different from issues in your fieldsite? Consider, for example, monolingual
and bilingual speakers, uses of literacy, the presence of different ethnic and
cultural groups at your fieldsite, and any other issues that you notice.