The implications of an ethnicity variable, language usage patterns, on the status attainment of 1,777 Mexican American males, ages 18 to 64 years, in the civilian labor force were studied. Language was viewed as a background variable that influences the relative positioning of Chicanos in the stratification system. It was hypothesized that, in general, an inverse relationship exists between Spanish use and socio-economic attainment. Using data from the 1976 Survey of Income and Education, language was operationalized into five bilingual/monolingual categories of English and Spanish use. Subsequently, total, direct, and indirect effects were decomposed and analyzed using age, earning, education, occupation, weeks worked, region, and language usage as dependent variables. Contrary to previous evidence, it was found that language usage patterns significantly influenced the occupational and income attainments of Chicano males. Specifically, the more English was used to the exclusion of Spanish, the greater the rise in schooling levels, job prestige, and work income. At the same time, most of the effects of language, in its role as a background characteristic, were mediated by education--a factor that has a crucial influence in Chicano assimilation patterns. (Author/NEC)