An investigation of innovative quotatives in adolescent Chicana English in Texas

Abstract

This small-scale mixed-methods study examines the use of non-traditional, innovative quotative introducers in the speech of adolescent Chicanas. Sociolinguistic interviews conducted over a one and a half year period provide linguistic and background data that illustrate quotative usage in the variety of Chicano English (ChE) spoken by teenage Texan girls. Interviews also served to highlight the relationship between constructs of identity and quotative usage and to determine whether a change in quotative use over time could be identified. From a total of 149 tokens, it was found that several innovative quotatives were present in the ChE variety used by the Texans, including go, like, and all. Go was the most commonly used innovative form, followed by like and all. An increase in the use of all was identified in this particular variety of ChE. Overall, the Chicanas were found to use innovative quotatives more commonly than traditional quotatives such as say or tell. Conclusions indicate that the teens are linguistically sophisticated as they employ diverse usage of innovative quotatives. In the end, however, no significant connection between identity and quotative use was found, nor was a definite change in quotative use uncovered, with the exception of the shift in use of all.