Article published in:
The Persistence of Language: Constructing and confronting the past and present in the voices of Jane H. Hill
Edited by Shannon T. Bischoff, Deborah Cole, Amy V. Fountain and Mizuki Miyashita
[Culture and Language Use 8] 2013
► pp. 415–424

The silken cord

An essay in honor of Jane Hill

| Seattle University School of Law
In honor of Professor Hill’s courageous stand against mock Spanish in a state, Arizona, that has been taking anti-Latino nativism to new extremes, this selection examines Official English laws in light of the Southwest’s hidden history of Latino lynching. It posits that suppression of Spanish severs the connection of citizens, especially ones of Mexican descent, with the past. Not only do these laws contribute to cultural ignorance, they leave young Latinos and Latinas without defenses against hateful stereotypes – in effect, a second form of lynching.
Keywords: discourse analysis, racism, stereotype
Published online: 28 May 2013
https://doi.org/10.1075/clu.8.16del