The growing body of work focused on issues of language and race as they pertain to Latina/os has provided a foundation to investigate the sociocultural dynamics at play with Latina/os and how we speak (Anzaldúa1987; Urciuoli 1996; Zentella 1997; Fought 2002; Mendoza-Denton 2008, Orellana 2009). These scholars demonstrate not only how Spanish, and Spanglish, serve to racialize Latina/o communities, but also how attitudes about Spanish itself are often linked to classed and gendered attitudes toward Latina/os. Latina/o language politics refers to a range of social interactions Latina/os experience rooted in language and speech, which includes, but is not limited to, attitudes toward “accents,” translation, bilingualism, code-switching, and linguistic innovation. With an intentional goal of unpacking what it means to ‘speak while Latina/o,’ this panel brings together scholars whose work centers on Latina/os speaking Spanish, Spanglish, and “accented” English, while also engaging larger discourses of race, racism, and racialized power in U.S.-Latina/o contexts. Using methods ranging from media and textual analyses to ethnographic fieldwork, the panelists demonstrate how examining the relationship between language, race, gender, and sexuality serves to understand Latina/os’ racialization and representation through language.
Manuel G. Avilés-Santiago’s paper focuses on the specific type of “Walter Conkrite Spanish” spoken on Spanish-language networks such as Univision and Telemundo (Dávila 2012). By analyzing the reality shows “La Banda” and “Nuestra Belleza Latina,” Avilés-Santiago argues that the use of language in these reality shows has forced Univision to become more flexible in their use of Spanish, particularly with the use of Spanglish and English. Crossing the bilingual bridge into English-language Latina/o media contexts, Sara V. Hinojos’ paper analyzes stand-up comic Anjelah Johnson’s character named “Bon Qui Qui” who was widely popularized among social media by communities of Color. Hinojos argues that Johnson’s sonic and visual comedic embodiment of what is colloquially referred to as “ghetto” creates both stereotypical narratives and a sense of belonging, in the mainstream for people of color. The other two papers in the panel shift the focus of Latina/o language politics through ethnographic approaches. Adanari Zarate’s paper analyzes the way in which three high school aged Latino males participating in a sociocultural linguistics collaborative program describe work experiences in which they have been racially profiled into speaking a specific language, in this case Spanish. Using the concept of raciolinguistic enregisterment, Zarate explores how these young Latino men understand these racialized experiences and enact their agency in response to them (Rosa, forthcoming). Finally, Juan Sebastian Ferrada’s paper investigates the political significance of Spanglish in ‘coming out’ narratives among LGBTQ Latina/os community organizers. By analyzing data from ethnographic interviews, Ferrada discusses the intentional use of Spanish and Spanglish to demonstrate how the intimate relationship between language, race, and sexuality has larger implications for family acceptance and political organizing among queer Latina/o communities. These projects -- and their intersections and divergences -- offer fruitful starting points for the growing discussion of Latina/o language politics in the United States.
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