Beachheads, islands, and conduits: Spanish monolingualism and bilingualism in El Paso, Texas.

El Paso, bilingual from the outset, becomes ever more so because its larger twin, Ciudad Juárez, is monolingual, and because Juárez grows rapidly. This paper discusses the linguistic impact on work, commerce and education of the fact that Spanish has a demographic advantage in the international region. In El Paso, many Juárez residents work with other Mexicans or Mexican Americans who emigrated after childhood, guaranteeing that certain jobs are hispanophone. El Pasoans unable or unwilling to speak English can take advantage of the extent to which El Paso functions in Spanish for the benefit of Juárez residents. Also discussed is the relationship between neighborhood and language proficiency; the issue of national identity; and the large number of Juárez youngsters who attend El Paso schools. For clearly instrumental reasons alone, El Paso's Mexican Americans must learn English but cannot afford to relinquish Spanish. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]