ABSTRACT
Most linguistic phenomena, like most studied phenomena, can be explained alluding to forces of various origins. The status of Spanish in the United States is not an exception. The successes in language maintenance, as well as total linguistic loss and assimilation, have their roots in clearly established and welldocumented facts. These facts may be of a political, historical, and/or sociolinguistic nature. Languages have always been an integral component of political agendas, for they are associated with unity, similarities among people, and even power. This connection between language and politics has generated many historical events and contexts, which in turn have created unique sociolinguistic environments, like those in which Hispanics/Latinos function in this country.
