An American Language: The History of Spanish in the United States (American Crossroads Book 49)

by Rosina Lozano

"This is the most comprehensive book I’ve ever read about the use of Spanish in the U.S. Incredible research. Read it to understand our country. Spanish is, indeed, an American language."—Jorge RamosAn American Language is a tour de force that revolutionizes our understanding of U.S. history. It reveals the origins of Spanish as a language binding residents of the Southwest to the politics and culture of an expanding nation in the 1840s. As the West increasingly integrated into the United States over the following century, struggles over power, identity, and citizenship transformed the place of the Spanish language in the nation. An American Language is a history that reimagines what it means to be an American—with profound implications for our own time.

Genres: History, Nonfiction, Language, Linguistics

377 pages, Kindle Edition

Published April 24, 2018

Reviews

[Mike Mena · Rating 5 out of 5]

Rarely do you pick up a book, read the introduction, and suddenly decide: this is a very important book. This is one of those books. The use of Spanish and bilingualism has been more or less erased from history, or often, historically confined to "home use." This history shows Spanish and bilingualism has been used in the US in varying degrees of intensity. The US is not monolingual, even if we are told we are.

[Gil Hamel · Rating 4 out of 5]

I feel silly writing reviews for academic non-fiction books like this. “This is a book about the history of Spanish in the United States. If you are interested in the history of Spanish in the United States you should read this book.” Feels like an elementary-school book report.

This is a solid read if you’re interested in the topic, but I will note that it’s not quite “the history of Spanish in the United States.” Rather, it’s more like a history of Spanish in the southwest (with a particular focus on New Mexico, which apparently has some unique and very interesting history in this area) and the way that treaty citizens and their descendants interacted with language and politics. There is some discussion of Spanish elsewhere (particularly the insular territories, for obvious reasons) and the way that later immigration impacted language culture and policy in the southwest, but not much about language among Hispanic immigrants elsewhere or after about 1950.

Still, certainly worth a read for people who are curious about language and politics, or want to learn about a part of the country that really throws a wrench in the model of English as “American” and Other Languages as “Immigrant.”

[Nella ☾ of Bookland · Rating 3 out of 5]

Dense, but very informative.

[Marian P · Rating 5 out of 5]

An American Language: The History of Spanish in the United States written masterfully by Princeton University historian Rosina Lozano looks at the relationship between language and identity. The scope of this book covers the history of the Spanish language in the United States from governance under the Mexican government (1821-1848) and then briefly under the newly formed state of California and territories of Arizona, New Mexico, and Colorado. The book traces the use of Spanish in the various states or territories following the Mexican-American War and makes the argument that the place language was conferred makes a significant difference in how its residents relate to each other and forge their own identities.

The book is broken into two parts with the first half of the book focusing on how Spanish became a language of politics of the Southwest from 1848-1920 and the second half of the book demonstrates how Spanish became a language of identity from roughly 1902-1945. What does that mean? The United States was largely a bilingual nation in the Southwestern states and territories immediately following the Mexican-American War. However, in territories like New Mexico, governance actually occurred in Spanish; while in places like California translators were required so that Spanish-dominant politicians could adapt to the changes occurring in the state with the influx of white, English-dominant speakers. One of my favorite chapters included a narrative where Senator Albert Beveridge came out to New Mexico in 1903 on a fact-finding mission to determine whether or not New Mexico would be admitted as a new state. Of the visit, Lozano concludes that “by inserting race and language in the subcommittee’s investigation, Beveridge had succeeded in sensationalizing New Mexico’s cultural differences, which lengthened the debate over statehood.”

Lozano has made a strong case for the way in which acceptance of Spanish was connected to both relative position of power in a region and also that those Spanish-speaking Mexicans who had been absorbed into the U.S. as original inhabitants of those areas (or what she calls “treaty citizens” as those who had resided in the Southwest at the signing of the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo in 1848) tended to be held in higher stead. The second half of the book demonstrates the challenges Spanish-speakers who came to the Southwest during the duress of the Mexican Revolution as “foreign” nationals and not as readily accepted into the U.S. The book relied on a variety of sources, including papers from 19th century Californio and nuevomexicano families as well as government documents such as Beveridge’s new statehood bill report. I identified with both sections of the book as my own family stems from Californios on my maternal side with issues of class, race, and language setting up a complicated family history and with the wave of Mexican immigrants mooring to the U.S. during the Mexican Revolution on the other side of my family. The book is recommended for those interested in linguistics and language, and Latinx history with particular emphasis on 19th century histories.

[Glen Peterson · Rating 5 out of 5]

Really one of America’s languages

Spanish is the second most spoken language in the United States with over 43 million speakers. The language arrived before the English language did. The United States is the country with the second most Spanish speakers after México. An American Language is a well researched history of Spanish, its use and its future in a country that needs to understand this history. Spanish is actually an American language; embraced by many. Uninformed statements about English in the US would be well checked by this history.

Growing up in a geography (Southern California) where Spanish and English are used in the public square, the academy, and the market place laid a foundation for expecting this to be true; Rosina Lozano substantiates it with history and research. The United States, according to Lozano, is one of only eight countries that does not codify an official language in its laws.

I highly recommend this book for use in California and American regional history classrooms and for those who are interested in culture, ethnicity, history and linguistics.

The book has extensive footnotes, a selected bibliography and an index that help the reader who would like to use it as a starting point for further research and reference.

[Edwin Battistella · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a detailed and thought-provoking history of Spanish from the times of westward expansion through World War II covering of legal, political, and social issues as arising in keys states (New Mexico, Arizona, California, and more), and more all of which informs present-day debates. Great insights. The main drawback is that the book still read like a dissertation.

[Rachel · Rating 3 out of 5]

The title is very accurate - it's definitely just about the history up to the mid-20th century. I was hoping for a bit more about the language itself, and how it modulated and changed in the US. The book is good, just about 25% too detailed for my interest.

[Holly]

A fascinating look at Spanish in the United States. Would definitely recommend!