Regional comparisons of subject pronoun expression among Mexican-origin immigrants in Georgia (original) (raw)

This paper reports on a comparative analysis of variable subject pronoun expression (SPE) among first-generation Mexican immigrants in the U.S. with differing regional origins. Using sociolinguistic interview data collected in Georgia, occurrence rates and usage patterns of first-person singular SPs were examined among two groups of speakers: those hailing from Mexico City (N=8) and those from other Mexican regions, such as Guerrero, Zacatecas, and Colima, among others (N=12). From a variationist sociolinguistic perspective, rates and constraints on SPs were examined comparatively across the two groups by means of logistic regression analyses in Rbrul, with results indicating wide variation in pronoun rates both across and within groups. This suggests that Mexican Spanish may exhibit a wider range of variation in SP rates than was previously assumed. Regarding usage patterns, the linguistic constraints on SPE (switch reference, TMA, verb class, polarity) show remarkable similarities between Mexico City speakers and non-Mexico City speakers, suggesting cross-regional uniformity for firstperson singular SPE in Mexican dialects. Additionally, the social predictors of age and gender were examined, and, while no significant main effects were observed, interaction effects between the linguistic and social predictors were differentially operative between Mexico City and non-Mexico City speakers, reflecting a more nuanced view on the sociolinguistic conditioning of variable SPE.