In this ground-breaking new book on the Norteña and Sureña (North/South) youth gang dynamic, cultural anthropologist and linguist Norma Mendoza-Denton looks at the daily lives of young Latinas and their innovative use of speech, bodily practices, and symbolic exchanges that signal their gang affiliations and ideologies. Her engrossing ethnographic and sociolinguistic study reveals the connection of language behavior and other symbolic practices among Latina gang girls in California, and their connections to larger social processes of nationalism, racial/ethnic consciousness, and gender identity. An engrossing account of the Norte and Sur girl gangs - the largest Latino gangs in California Traces how elements of speech, bodily practices, and symbolic exchanges are used to signal social affiliation and come together to form youth gang styles Explores the relationship between language and the body: one of the most striking aspects of the tattoos, make-up, and clothing of the gang members Unlike other studies – which focus on violence, fighting and drugs – Mendoza-Denton delves into the commonly-overlooked cultural and linguistic aspects of youth gangs

Previous studies in the fields of applied linguistics, sociolinguistics, and gender studies have focused upon Chicano linguistic communities as a monolith or have focused entirely upon male-centered aspects of language use, leaving a tremendous gap in works about Chicanas, for Chicanas, and by Chicanas as they pertain to language-related issues. Speaking Chicana bridges that gap, offering for the first time an extensive examination of language issues among Chicanas. Flowing throughout this collection of essays are themes of empowerment and suppression of voice. Combining empirical studies and personal narratives in the form of testimonios, the editors expand the boundaries of linguistic study to include disciplines such as art, law, women's studies, and literature. The result is a multifaceted approach to the study of Chicana speech—one that provides a significant survey of the literature on Chicanas and language production. Ten contributors—from linguistic to lawyer, from poet to art historian—discuss language varieties and attitudes; bilinguality; codeswitching; cultural identity and language; language in literature and art; taboo language; and legal discourse. Speaking Chicana celebrates the complexity and diversity of linguistic contexts and influences reflected in Chicana speech. Various essays explore the speech of rural women; the evolution of linguistic forces over time; the influence of U.S. public education; linguistic dilemmas encountered by literary authors and women in the legal profession; and language used by pachucas and pintas.Speaking Chicana represents a significant contribution, not only to sociolinguistics, but also to other fields, including women's studies, Chicana/o studies, anthropology, and cultural studies. Contents Part 1. Reconstruction: Language Varieties, Language Use, and Language Attitudes 1. Crossing Social and Cultural Borders: The Road to Language Hybridity, María Dolores Gonzales 2. Fighting Words: Latina Girls, Gangs, and Language Attitudes, Norma Mendoza-Denton Part 2. Reflection: Testimonios 3. Speaking as a Chicana: Tracing Cultural Heritage through Silence and Betrayal, Jacqueline M. Martínez 4. The Power of Language: From the Back of the Bus to the Ivory Tower, Christine Marín 5. Challenging Tradition: Opening the Headgate, Ida M. Luján 6. Mexican Blood Runs through My Veins, Aurora E. Orozco Part 3. Innovation: Speaking Creatively/Creatively Speaking 7. Searching for a Voice: Ambiguities and Possibilities, Erlinda Gonzales-Berry 8. Sacred Cults, Subversive Icons: Chicanas and the Pictorial Language of Catholicism, Charlene Villaseñor Black 9. Caló and Taboo Language Use among Chicanas: A Description of Linguistic Appropriation and Innovation, D. Letticia Galindo 10. Máscaras, Trenzas, y Greñas: Un/Masking the Self While Un/Braiding Latina Stories and Legal Discourse, Margaret E. Montoya

Mi patria desconocida: es mensaje de amor, amistad, una aventura que tiene mucho humor y diversion, con un lenguaje simple. Disfrutalo. De repente se transportaron a un mundo de placer y ya no lo pudieron evitar, ya que los dos lo deseaban, consumar su amor en una entrega total de dos almas y dos cuerpos que se aman. El exquisito embeleso los llevo a un extasis de amor, desconocido, pero placentero para los dos. En el rostro de Mary se veia un color hermoso y resplandeciente. Pedro la acariciaba como queriendo detener el tiempo, que ese momento sublime se quedara ahi entre ellos, para siempre y por toda una eternidad. --No Javi, yo tengo mas de lo que necesito, el dinero no es las vida. Con el abrazo que me dieron ayer, me basto para sentirme bien pagado, les aseguro que yo los quiero igual. --Asi se habla Pachito --dijo David emocionado--, la amistad entre los hombres es lo que mas cuenta en las vida. La amistad no tiene credos, limites, ni nacionalidades, cuando nace una amistad no importa de donde seas, que creas, o que posicion tienes, a una amistad sincera no le importa si eres rico o pobre, siempre perdura toda una vida.

Speaking Chicana represents a significant contribution, not only to sociolinguistics, but also to other fields, including women's studies, Chicana/o studies, anthropology, and cultural studies.

“Hay quienes nacen con el privilegio de poder viajar cuando ellos quieran. Hay otros que sólo cuentan con la mano de Dios y el poder de soñar. Como Rubén, el joven de esta historia, al que conocerás a través de las memorias de sus aventuras en Semana Santa.”

Identity and Dialect Performance discusses the relationship between identity and dialects. It starts from the assumption that the use of dialect is not just a product of social and demographic factors, but can also be an intentional performance of identity. Dialect performance is related to identity construction and in a highly globalised world, the linguistic repertoire has increased rapidly, thereby changing our conventional assumptions about dialects and their usage. The key outstanding feature of this particular book is that it spans an extensive range of communities and dialects; Italy, Hong Kong, Morocco, Egypt, Syria, Japan, Germany, The Sudan, The Netherlands, Nigeria, Spain, US, UK, French Guiana, Colombia,and Libya.