Dialect perceptions in real time: A restudy of Miami-Cuban perceptions

Abstract

Perceptual dialectology investigates nonlinguists’ beliefs about their own and other varieties. This paper fills a gap in longitudinal research in this area with a restudy of the perceptions of Miami Cubans carried out twelve years after the first study. Perceptions are examined in relation to social and demographic changes with a sample of 84 participants of Cuban origin who responded to a questionnaire about the correctness of regional varieties of Spanish. The results showed that perceptions of non-Cuban varieties remained relatively stable over time, continuing to correlate with race and poverty. Perceptions toward the Cuban Spanish of the Miami community were also stable and, as in the earlier study, were highly positive, reflecting strong beliefs in its correctness-status. In contrast, perceptions of Cuban Spanish on the island were significantly more negative; it was ranked the least correct of the regional varieties evaluated. Factors underlying perceptions are examined in relation to demographic changes, political ideology, and beliefs about race and poverty. This paper highlights the contribution of the longitudinal study of dialect perceptions to the understanding of language attitudes, intergroup relations, and language change.

Multilingual Miami: Current Trends in Sociolinguistic Research

“…Within Miami's Cuban communities, the relative prestige of pre‐Mariel variants of Cuban Spanish has been attested by Alfaraz (, ) as compared to post‐Mariel variants, and the sharp and at times contentious divisions between pre‐Mariel, Mariel, and post‐Mariel Cuban immigrants in Miami have been discussed by sociologists (Alberts ). These divisions are of particular interest to a broad‐based study of language in Miami, given the historical precedence and predominance of Cubans in the city and the identity issues at stake not only within the Cuban community but also among the city's Hispanic bilingual majority in general.…”

Perception of speaker age and speaker origin in a sound change in progress: The case of /s/-aspiration in Andalusian Spanish

“…Several studies have investigated attitudes towards different Spanish varieties (e.g. Alfaraz 2014; Chiquito & Pacheco 2014) or lay persons’ mental representations of dialect regions. Moreno Fernández & Moreno Fernández (2002) asked residents in Madrid how differently they think people speak in different areas of Spain.…”

Regional perceptions of the 'ejque'

“…Peninsular Spanish is frequently thought to be the "best" or most "correct" dialect of Spanish, associated with the birthplace of Spanish and home to the Real Academia Española (RAE), the institution that sets the standards for the Spanish language (Alfaraz 2002(Alfaraz , 2014Mojica De León 2014;Sobrino Triana 2018;Suárez Büdenbender 2019). This prestige centers specifically in the Spanish capital region of Madrid (where the RAE is housed) and the surrounding areas (Castile) (Ropero Núñez & Pérez Santamaría 1998;Yraola 2014).…”