Shift Happens: Spanish and English Transmission Between Parents and Their Children

We examined evidence for linguistic bands in Spanish/English language shift. Linguistic bands, defined as the degree of individuals' exposure to a language they may not speak but nonetheless comprehend, facilitate English/Spanish bilingualism and increase linguistic diversity rather than English monolingualism. Data for this study came from the National Chicano Survey ( Arce, 1982 ), the California Identity Project ( Hurtado, Hayes-Bautista, Valdez, & Hernández, 1992 ), a statewide survey, and a California rural town convenience sample. Our findings strongly suggest that Spanish to English shift does occur from one generation of Latinos to another, but the existence of linguistic bands results, also, in stable English/Spanish bilingualism. Finally, we discuss consequences of advocating "English-Only" policies and their effects on educational equity and social justice .