ABSTRACT
This chapter analyzes examples that constitute attempts by Latina/os to negotiate racial categorization through language. It considers the ways that members of different Latina/o subgroups use language and language ideologies in both affiliative and differentiating ways, the latter often couched in racial terms. Critical to this discussion is an examination of the status of specific Latina/o subgroups within the U. S. racial hierarchy, which is closely tied to the status of Spanish language varieties spoken by U. S. Latina/os. Moreover, Spanish generally indexes a non-white identity and thus Spanish is often stigmatized in public domains. This has important implications for the everyday use of Spanish and may play a role in Spanish language loss among the children of Latina/o immigrants. The chapter argues that Spanish as a heritage language (SHL) must be examined within a broad repertoire of linguistic options available to Latina/os as they negotiate the U. S. racial hierarchy.
