An American Language:
The History of Spanish in the United States
Rosina Lozano

​An American Language is a political history that looks at the relationship between language and identity written by Princeton University historian Rosina Lozano. The book traces the use of Spanish in the various states and territories of the Southwest following the Mexican-American War and makes the argument that the place language is conferred makes a significant difference in how its residents related to each other. Lozano argues cogently that Spanish shifted from being a political language to one of otherness.

The book’s first half focuses on how Spanish became a language of politics from1848-1920, and the second half examines the way it had become a language of identity from 1902-1945. Immediately following the end of the Mexican-American War, the U.S. was largely a bilingual nation in the Southwest. For example, governance was conducted in Spanish in territories like New Mexico; whereas, in California, governance was conducted in English soon after statehood. As a result, Spanish-speaking politicians relied on English translators in order to could fully participate in the body politic.

Lozano has made a strong case for language as a tool for expressing power. In regions like New Mexico, Spanish became the default language during the territorial period. This contrasts starkly with the treatment of Spanish speakers who migrated to the U.S. much later such as during the Mexican Revolution when they would be perceived as outsiders. In sum, the author succeeds at illuminating the dynamic history of Spanish language rights in the United States. And, in the process she also offers an important corrective to the notion of a monolingual national politic.

Rosina Lozano is a Latinx historian at Princeton University. She specializes in Mexican American history, the American West, and immigration and is at work on a second book which examines the relationship between Mexican Americans and Native Americans from 1848-1970s.

An American Language is publication by University of California Press. Click here to purchase.
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Reviewed by
Marian Perales
​​7/28/2020

Marian Perales, an editor and historian, received her M.A. in Chicanx history from the Claremont Graduate University. She is an avid reader and book reviewer of BIPOC histories and literature. 

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