Professor Ana Celia Zentella

Professor Ana Celia Zentella
Professor
Emerita
UCSD,
Ethnic
Studies
azentella@ucsd.edu
Mapa
1:
La
frontera
mexicano‐estadounidense
Fuente:
h8p:
//www.epa.gov/usmexicoborder/ef‐maps.htm
SAN
DIEGO
vs.
TIJUANA
SAN
DIEGO
TIJUANA
PopulaNon
1.4
million
1.5
million
Per
Capita
Income $33,883
$9,812
Median
Home
Price $410,000 $35,000.3
SAN
DIEGO
County:
Pop.
3
Million
11.7%
live
below
the
federal
poverty
level
TIJUANA:
34.5%
in
poverty:
insufficient
income
for
food,
educa:on,
health,
clothing,
shoes,
housing,
transporta:on
.
Interna:onal
Community
Founda:on's
study
"Blurred
Borders:
Trans‐Boundary
Impacts
and
Solu:ons
in
the
San
Diego‐Tijuana
Border
Region"
edited
by
Naoko
Kada
and
Richard
Kiy
(March
2004):
hZp://www.icfdn.org/publica:ons/blurredborders/39sdtjataglance.htm
Tijuana:
"Tijuana is Mexico’s fastest-growing city (a population of 750,000 in
1990, 1.2 million in 2000 and projected to be 2.2 million by 2010).
--60 million people cross the border there each year”
‐‐
“It’s
Hot.
It’s
Hip.
It’s
Tijuana?”
by
WILLIAM
L.
HAMILTON,.
NYTIMES,
August
25,
2006.
Hispanics in San Diego:
•  44% of Hispanic full-time workers earn less than the selfsufficiency income of $25,950 per year.
. Nearly half (46%) of full-time Hispanic workers are employed
in the top five lowest wage occupations.
Familias
pobres
se
enfrentan
a
la
falta
de
oportunidades
para
mejorar
su
ingreso:
http://www.oem.com.mx/elsoldetijuana/notas/n1083326.htm
Earnings,
Poverty
and
Income
Inequality
in
San
Diego
County:
Analysis
of
regional
data
from
the
US
Census
Bureau;
2006
American
Community
Survey:
hZp://209.85.173.132/search?q=cache:s4RnmxWupZIJ:www.communitybenefits.org/downloads/Earnings%2520Poverty%2520and%2520Income%2520Inequality%2520in%2520San
%2520Diego%2520County.pdf+poverty+hispanics+san+diego&cd=5&hl=en&ct=clnk&gl=us&client=safari
E-1 Population Estimates for Cities, Counties and the State with Annual Percent Change — January 1, 2008 and 2009". California Department of Finance. 2009-05.
Retrieved on 2009-05-02.
http://wiki.answers.com/Q/What_is_the_population_of_Tijuana
Poverty, Income and Employment For Hispanics in San Diego County: http://www.onlinecpi.org/article.php?list=type&type=80
TIJUANA‐SAN
DIEGO
BORDER
CHECKPOINT
TIJUANA‐SAN
DIEGO
BORDER
FENCE
More
than
2.5
million
people
cross
the
Tijuana‐
San
Diego
border
every
month;
some
30,000
people
cross
daily
on
foot,
and
45%
of
those
are
students.
Many
take
the
trolley
to
their
private
or
public
school
in
San
Diego.
“México‐Estados
Unidos:
VIVIR
EN
LA
FRONTERA”,
Por:
Patricia
Ruvalcaba
(Revista
MILENIO
Semanal):
hZp://lists.econ.utah.edu/pipermail/reconquista‐popular/2005‐
9,500‐15,000
students
cross
daily
for
school
‐‐
"Blurred
Borders:
Trans‐Boundary
Impacts
and
Solu:ons
in
the
San
Diego‐
Tijuana
Border
Region"
edited
by
Naoko
Kada
and
Richard
Kiy
(March
2004).
May
21,
2009:
three
students
(15‐17
yrs
old)
with
local
H.S.
IDs
were
stopped
at
the
Old
Town
trolley
sta:on
and
deported
to
Tijuana
for
lack
of
documenta:on.
  THE
REPRODUCTION
OF
LINGUISTIC
AND
EDUCATIONAL
INEQUALITY
  Do
the
linguis:c
abili:es,
prac:ces,
and
avtudes
of
transfronterizo
students
reinforce
or
challenge:
  1)
classic
no:ons
of
the
“ideal
bilingual”
who
…
“switches
from
one
language
to
the
other
according
to
the
appropriate
changes
in
the
speech
situa:on
(interlocutors,
topic,
etc.),
but
not
in
unchanged
speech
situa:ons,
and
certainly
not
within
a
single
sentence”
(Weinreich
1968:73).
  2)
“the
dominant
nega:ve
narra:ve
about
language,
culture,
iden:ty,
and
academic
failure
[of
Mexicans
on
the
border]”
(Venegas‐García
&
Romo
2005:1)?
TRANSFRONTERIZO COLLEGE
STUDENTS
Gen. Age Born YXing Sch:
F
21 US
14 B
F
24 US
12 PR
F
29 MEX
12 B
F
23 EUR
4 PR
F
28 US
8B
F
30 US
14 PR
F
36 US
4 PU
F
31 US
12 B
F
28 US
4 PR
F
29 MEX
12 PR
F
24 US
16 B
F
22 US
12 PR
F
22 US
12 PR
F
26 US
4 PR
F
28 US
12 PR
F
29 US
16 B
F
24 US
4 PU
F
26 MEX
12 B
F
34 USA
12 PR
F
30 USA
12 B
F
27 US
16 B
Gen. Age Born YXing Sch:
F
24 US
17 B
F
21 US
7B
F
22 US
14 B
F
27 MEX
3 PR
F
22 US
14 PR
F
30 MEX
4 PR
F
26 US
7B
F
21 US
12 B
F
21 US
4 PU
F
22 US
7 PR
F
21 US
7B
F
20 US
6B
F
22 US
11 B
F
19 US
10 PU
F
22 US
2B
F
19 MEX
7 PU
F
25 US
10 PU
F
14 US
2B
F
19 US
6 PU
F
22 MEX
5B
F
15 MEX
5B
Gen. Age Born YXing Sch:
F
17 MEX
5 PU
F
17 MEX
1 PU
M
25 MEX
12 PR
M
26 US
14 B
M
30 US
14 B
M
16 US
5 PR
M
26 MEX
8B
M
26 MEX
6 PR
M
20 MEX
3B
M
18 MEX
1 PU
M
19 MEX
1 PU
M
22 MEX
4 PU
M
22 US
12 B
M
17 US
4 PU
M
17 MEX
1 PU
M
29 MEX
11 B
M
17 US
3B
M
26 US
12 B
M
25 US
16 PR
M
24 US
12 B
M
26 MEX
3 PR
Gen. Age Born YXing Sch:
M
25 MEX
4 PR
M
26 US
12 B
M
23 US
4 PR
M
26 US
16 B
M
29 US
12 PR
M
26 US
3B
M
25 MEX
12 PR
M
22 MEX
4 PR
M
35 MEX
4 PU
M
23 US
4B
M
25 US
4 PR
M
26 MEX
12 PR
M
29 US
12 PR
M
29 MEX
12 PR
M
26 MEX
8 PR
M
23 MEX
12 B
PR= private school
PU= public school
B= both
Overview of Transfronterizo
College Students (n=79)
• 
Birthplace: 35.4% Mex 63.3% US
• 
Age: F= 17- 36 yrs, avg.=23yrs
– 
• 
• 
• 
M= 17-35 yrs, avg.=24yrs
Gender: 54% F, 46% M
Years Crossing: 1-17 years, avg.= 8.4 yrs
Schooling:
– 
– 
– 
• 
1.3% Eur
Private= 35%
Public= 17%
Both= 48%
Residence: 51% TJ, 49% SD
"El
letrerito
q
veo
todos
los
días,
solo
una
línea
q
divide
vidas“
[The
li8le
sign
I
see
every
day,
just
a
line
that
divides
lives’;
myspace
webpage,
fem
23
yrs
old
‘]
I.
What
role
does
the
border
play
in
the
“imagined
community/
ies”
(Anderson
1991)
of
transfronterizo
youth?
Q
:
How
powerful,
in
your
mind,
is
the
border?
[choose
from
among
4
lines
of
intensity]
a)
………………………………………………………………………………………………
b)
____________________________________________________________________
c)
d)
Fem#8:
“
D.
It’s
just
soo
powerful.
I
mean
I
crossed
that
border
and
that
was
the
line
that
divided
my
life!....
.
maybe
that
was
the
line
that
divided
being
somebody
or
not.“
[19
yrs
old,
born
&
raised
in
TJ,
crossed
10th
‐12th
grades
for
public
HS,
UCSD
student]
Fem#7:
“Para
mi
es
la
a)
porque
es
permeable.
En
mi
caso,
pero
te
apuesto
para
el
que
se
murió
hace
rato
cruzando
la
frontera
va
a
ser
esta.
“
[For
me
it’s
a)
because
it’s
permeable.
In
my
case,
but
I
bet
you
that
for
the
person
who
died
crossing
the
border
a
while
back
it
would
be
this
one
[poin:ng
to
d]’
[25
yrs
old,
born
&
raised
in
TJ,
crossed
to
public
schools
5th,
6th,
8th,
9th,
10th‐12th,
&
UCSD]
A. 
B. 
C. 
– 
– 
EXCEPT:
“Language
and
communica:on
are
cri:cal
aspects
of
the
produc:on
of
a
wide
variety
of
iden::es
expressed
at
many
levels
of
social
organiza:on”
(Kroskrity,
2001:106).
“the
illusion
of
linguis:c
communism”
(Bourdieu,
1991:43).
Race
has
been
remapped
from
biology
onto
language
(Urciuoli
2001)
BOTH
RACE
AND
LANGUAGE
ARE
CONSIDERED
HIERARCHICAL:
SUPERIOR
AND
INFERIOR
VARIETIES
POLLUTING: BOUNDARIES
MUST
BE
ENFORCED
BIOLOGY
CANNOT
BE
CHANGED,
BUT
LANGUAGE
CAN
AND
SHOULD
BE
1. 
2. 
"…eran
de
descendencia
mexicana
pero
ya
muy
aculturados,
defini?vamente
sí
puro
inglés
o
sea
ni
sus
nombres
los
querían
decir
bien
en
español.”
[‘they
were
of
Mexican
origin
but
already
very
acculturated;
definitely
English
only
and
I
mean
they
didn’t
even
want
to
say
their
names
correctly
in
Spanish.’]
3. 
“el
español
lo
hablan
como
?po
inglés
pero
?enen
el
nopal
en
la
cara“
[‘they
talk
Spanish
as
if
it
were
English
despite
the
cactus
on
their
face’
[obviously
Mexican
looks]]
4. 
“Straight
out
Mexican,
no.
I
would
say
Mexican‐American.
It
varies
so
much
if
they
don’t
know
the
language.
I
don’t
think
they
can
claim
themselves
as
Mexican.”
5. 
“...la
imagen
que
tenemos
los
mexicanos
no
es
muy
buena
que
digamos
así
como
te
asocian
con
puras
delincuencias,
y
…
a
veces
es
diGcil
demostrar
que
tú
no
eres
uno
de
esos
mexicanos…
por
eso
mucha
gente
prefiere
ser
así
como
"Ay
no
no,
yo
no
hablo
español"
para
que
digan
"Ah
este
es
uno
de
los
otros
mexicanos,
de
los
mexicanos
que
es
más
americano
que
mexicano
pues,
no
es
de
esos
mexicanos
cholos
y
de
ese
?po
de
mexicanos.“
[‘the
view
of
Mexicans
is
not
so
good
shall
we
say
so
they
associate
us
with
pure
delinquency
and
some?me
it’s
hard
to
prove
that
you’re
not
one
of
those
Mexicans…
that’s
why
many
people
prefer
to
be
like
“Oh
no
no,
I
don’t
speak
Spanish”,
so
that
they
can
say
“Oh,
this
is
one
of
the
other
Mexicans,
the
Mexicans
who
are
more
American
than
they
are
Mexican,
not
one
of
those
gang
member
Mexicans
or
that
kind
of
Mexicans.’]
IV
English
as
cultural
and
symbolic
capital:
legality,
respect,
race,
intelligence,
envy
1.
“I
did
it
once
because
I
forgot
my
mica
[green
card].
(What
did
you
do?)
I
said
“US
ci:zen”,
(laughter)
but
just
once.
(How
good
does
your
English
have
to
be?)
Just
good
enough,
I
mean,
just
don’t
trip.
Don’t
sound
like
"JES,
U.S.
city‐sen”
[with
Spanish
accent)
(laughter)
(Is
your
English
enough
or
do
you
have
to
look
a
certain
way?)
Well,
if
you
look
like
very
very
Mexican
,
like
if
you
have
like,
like
a
sombrero,
or
something,
I
mean
they're
not
going
to
believe
you
…with
a
virgen
tatuaje
[‘tatoo]“(laughter)
[19
yrs
old,
born
&
raised
in
TJ,
crossed
10th
‐12th
grades
in
public
HS,
UCSD
student]
2.
“Honestly
right
now
[a€er
9/11]…I
think
the
only
way
you
can
get
across
the
border
with
no
ID
is
if
you
are
the
stereotype
of
a
white
kid.”
(F,
22,
b.
US,
2yrs
crossing
to
college)
3. Speaking
English
in
Tijuana
A.
“En
México
si
hablas
inglés,
te
dicen
como
que.
‘Ay
tú
qué
te
crees,
qué
ridículo,
o
qué
esNrado,
qué
creído’,
entonces
pues
no
lo
haces.”
[In
Mexico
if
you
speak
English
they
tell
you
like,”
Oh
who
do
you
think
you
are,
how
ridiculous,
what
a
stuck‐up,
what
a
show
off,
so
you
don’t
do
it.’]
[Male#9,
20,
b.
Mex,
crossed
3yrs
to
public
HS,
UCSD
student]
B.
[Los
que
hablan
inglés
en
Tijuana]
“
…están
presumiendo
que
vienen
de
este
lado
[US],
que
según
ellos
que
están
en
un
lugar
económico
mejor
que
los
de
México,
simplemente
por
el
hecho
que
están
en
Estados
Unidos
y
todo
eso
lo
ejemplifican
al
hablar
en
inglés.”
[Those
who
talk
Engish
in
TJ]
“they’re
showing
off
that
they
come
from
this
side
(USA),
that
according
to
them
they’re
be8er
off
economically
than
those
who
live
in
Mexico,
just
because
they’re
in
the
US
and
they
represent
all
that
by
talking
in
English.’]
[fem#7,
25
yrs
old,
born
&
raised
in
TJ,
crossed
to
public
schools
5th,
6th,
8th,
9th,
10th‐12th,
&
UCSD]
4.
ENGLISH
Discourse
Style:
LIKE
(n=
0‐171)
“They
have
this
bad
image,
like
when,
well
she
was
my
roommate
uhm
and
she’s
like
I
was
talking
about,
I
was
talking
to
my
friend
about
my
grandpa
cause
he
was
white
like
skin,
with
blue
eyes,
and
she
was
like
"Oh,
was
he
Mexican?"
and
I’m
like
"Yeah
he
was
like
Mexican
from
like
central
Mexico."
She's
like
"Oh
I
never
knew
that
Mexicans
could
be
white
like,
could
have
white
skin"
I’m
like
"what?!!!!"
She's
like
"Yeah
aren’t
Mexicans
like
brown,
short,
and
like
bald
and
like
ta8ooed
and
I’m
like
"No!!!!
"
I
mean
that
was
only
in
like
one
movie,
what
are
you
talking
about?
She’s
like
"Ahh
I
thought
you
guys
were
all
like
that"
and
"I’m
like
no,
my
mom
is
like
super
white,
she
has
like
almost
green
eyes,
what
the
hell
are
you
talking
about?!"
She’s
like
"Ah
I
thought
all
Mexicans
are
like
that
like
brown
and
like
brown
hair,
bald
and
old,
and
bald
and
short"
and
I’m
like
"What
the
heck?!!!
No!!"
And
its
because
of
that
because
like
if
you
see
the
movies,
like
I
don’t
know,
I
don’t
know‐‐movies
about
cholos,
and
they’re
all
Mexicans
and
they're
all
like
"Yeah
vato”,
and
…
and
people
think
we're
like
that,
like
all
of
us,
and
its
not
true.
So
they're
like
the
bad
stereotype
of
the
Mexicans.”
[fem,
19
yrs
old,
born
&
raised
in
Tijuana,
crossed
10th
‐12th
grades
in
public
HS,
UCSD
student,
like
=124/3,378
=
3.7%
;
osea
=236/15,080=
1.6%]
1. 
2. 
3. 
4. 
5. 
“EL
ser
bilingüe
es…
que
sabes
los
dos
idiomas
bien
…
es
tener
cultura.”
[“To
be
bilingual
is..
that
you
know
both
languages
well…
it’s
being
cultured.’]
[re
Spanglish]
“la
mayoria
de
mexicanos
que
yo
conozco
osea
lo
criNcamos
mucho,
se
nos
hace
algo
ridículo
no?
…arruinas
los
dos
idiomas…“
[‘the
majority
of
the
Mexicans
that
I
know
I
mean
we
criNcize
it
a
lot,
it
seems
ridiculous
to
us,
right?
…
you’re
ruining
two
languages.’]
“Los
pochos
se
juntaban
con
algún
mexicano
y
así
pero
casi
eran
la
mayoría
puros
mochos.
Hablaban
Spanglish
a
todo
poder.”
[The
pochos
would
hang
out
with
some
Mexicans
and
like
that
but
they
were
almost
always
pure
mochos.
They
spoke
Spanglish
non
stop.’]
“Pocho
for
me
means…
doesn’t
know
English
and
doesn’t
know
Spanish,
doesn’t
know
both
languages
and
doesn’t
know
both
of
the
cultures,
kind
of
like
a
state
of
limbo,
is
[sic]
lost.
He
idenNfies
himself
as
one
thing
or
another,
but
really
he
is
nowhere
really,
he
is
in
a
state
of
limbo,
he
can’t
speak
to
you
about
either
American
or
Mexican
history
and
culture.”
Transfronterizos
work
harder
than
both
Tijuas
and
Mexican
Americans:
“No
especiales
así
de
superiores
pero,
de
cierta
forma
así
como
macheteadores
pues,
así
como
pues
le
chingamos
más,
no
es
así
de
que
"Ay
me
levanto
a
la
hora
que
se
me
dé
la
gana,”
osea
“si
entro
a
las
diez
a
la
escuela
me
levanto
a
las
nueve"
osea
yo
si
entraba
a
las
siete
me
tenia
que
levantar
a
las
cuatro,
osea
era
cosa
así
de
que…
era
mas
chinga
pues,
asi
como
o,
y
osea
tuve
que
aprender
otro
idioma.”
[Not
special
in
the
sense
of
being
superior,
but
in
a
certain
way
like
more
gunners,
like
we
work
harder
,
not
like
“Oh
I
get
up
whenever
I
feel
like
it,
I
mean
if
I
start
school
at
ten
I
get
up
at
nine”
I
mean
if
I
started
at
7
I
had
to
get
up
at
4,
I
mean
it
was
like
–
I
was
more
driven
like
and
I
mean
I
had
to
learn
another
language.”]
1. 
Almost
all
transfronterizos
have
been
called
‘pocho/a”
at
some
point.
2. 
Pochos
“are
trying
hard
to
speak
in
Spanish
and
they
want
to
communicate
so
they
are
making
an
effort
to
speak
in
Spanish
even
if
they
do
not
speak
it
well.”
3. 
“El
spanglish,
a
mi
no
se
me
hace
como
una
decadencia
del
español,
ni
una
vergüenza
,
no
para
nada,
es
que
es
un
contexto
diferente….si
vives
en
frontera
no
se
puede
evitar,
yo
creo
que
tendrías
que
luchar
mucho
en
contra
de
eso,
y
al
mismo
Nempo
estarías
negando
una
dinámica
que
se
da
sólo
en
frontera,
que
es
hablar
así,
y
todo
mundo
lo
habla
y
se
te
sale.“
[I
don’t
consider
Spanglish
a
decadent
Spanish
,
or
shameful,
not
at
all,
it’s
a
different
context..
..if
you
live
on
the
border
it’s
unavoidable,
I
think
you’d
have
to
struggle
a
lot
against
it,
and
at
the
same
Nme
you’d
be
denying
a
dynamic
that
occurs
only
on
the
border,
which
is
talking
like
that,
and
everybody
speaks
it
and
it
comes
out.
“]
4. 
“
Un
amigo
que
creció
y
todo
en
el
DF
[decía]
que
el
español
se
estaba
contaminando…
así
bien
extremista...
Pero
pues
todo
eso
Nene
que
ver
con
la
visión
del
centro,
de
la
periferia,
todo
lo
que
es
frontera
y
la
falta
de
integración
a
la
idenNdad
nacional.”
[A
friend
who
was
raised
in
the
capital
of
Mexico
used
to
say
that
Spanish
was
being
contaminated..
like
real
extremist…
.
But
then
all
that
has
to
do
with
the
center’s
view
of
the
periphery,
everything
that
is
the
border
and
the
lack
of
integraNon
to
the
naNonal
idenNty.”
A.
transfronterizo
cultural
capital
“Those
who
are
mulN‐lingual,
have
strong
idenNNes,
and
are
well
educated
have
expanded
employment
possibiliNes,
consumer
choices,
and
more
flexibility
in
their
lives.
Those
who
do
not
are
at
a
disNnct
disadvantage”
(Venegas‐García
&
Romo
2005:3).
B.
The
commodificaNon
of
bilingualism
as
two
monolinguals
joined
at
the
tongue
…because
of
the
nature
of
the
new
economy,
the
ability
to
cross
boundaries
is
important….what
is
valued
is
a
mulNlingualism
as
a
set
of
parallel
monolingualisms,
not
a
hybrid
system....
This
[new
bilingual]
elite
builds
a
posiNon
which
marginalizes
both
those
bilinguals
whose
linguisNc
resources
do
not
conform
to
the
new
norms,
and
those
who
are,
simply,
monolingual.”
(Heller
1999:5).
C.
• 
• 
Changes
in
the
linguisNc
and
socio‐poliNcal
landscape
have
translated
into
different
aƒtudes
and
a
stronger
linguisNc
marketplace
for
Spanish.
Although
the
Hispanophobia
that
characterizes
the
U.S.
is
sNll
felt,
the
expansion
of
domains
of
use
of
Spanish
to
the
more
valued
public
sphere
is
challenging
the
sNgma
a8ached
to
Spanish
as
a
minority
language.
For
middle
class
professionals
at
the
border,
there
are
opportuniNes
to
use
their
bilingual
talents,
and
their
knowledge
of
two
cultures,
as
well
as
of
two
businesses
and
legal
systems ( Achugar, 2008:7).
An
anthro‐poliNcal
linguisNc
perspecNve
as
the
basis
for
a
transformaNve
pedagogy
(Zentella,
1995,
2005):
1‐
values
non
standard
dialects
and
code
switching
vs.
elite
definiNons
of
bilingualism
2‐
challenges
the
symbolic
dominaNon
of
English
and
its
‘naturalized’
connecNon
with
Anglo
Americans,
and
the
link
between
being
Mexican
and
speaking
‘pure’
Spanish
3‐
rejects
ideologies,
processes,
and
structural
inequaliNes
that
produce
rigid
linguisNc,
cultural,
and
naNonal
boundaries,
recognizing
instead
that
“different
types
of
idenNty
are
neither
exclusive
nor
singular”
(Kroskrity
2001:107).
‐‐
Por ejemplo, si yo estoy
hablando ahorita y te trato
de decir algo en español
pero no me sale, I would
have to say it in English
porque that way it'll be
easier, you know what I
mean? Y a veces I tend to do
that all the time, por
ejemplo, like I would talk
Spanglish, I would speak
Spanglish.
‘for example if I’m
talking right now and I
try to say something in
Spanish but I can’t get it
out’
‘because’
‘and sometimes’
‘for example’
- Interviewer: Y sí lo haces?
‘And do you do that?’
- Yes I would do that all the time
with my friends, I would. Si lo ‘I do do it. Not all the time
but the majority yes’
hago. No siempre pero la
mayoria de las veces si, it would
be like this. Like I would say
something in Spanish and then ‘and I start to talk
like oh you know y empiezo a
Spanish. Like a whole
hablar español. Como que una sentence in English and
frase completa en inglés y luego then bang in Spanish,
“beans”, or totally in
pumm en español, “frijoles” o
totalmente en español y pummm Spanish and bang’
you know what I mean? Asi.
‘like that’
And I don’t know if it's weird
but it's just the way, yo pienso
que es una dinámica ya de vivir
aqui en la frontera de que se te
sale el inglés o se te sale el
español. Para mí no es difícil, la
verdad es que yo pienso que ya
te apr… you get used to it, so it’s
like I don’t know it’s not even
hard for me to you know like
I'm talking to you in English
then in Spanish pummm, no se.
‘I think it’s already a
dynamic of living on
the border that
English comes out or
Spanish comes out. For
me it’s not difficult, the
truth is that I think
that you…’
‘bang, I donno’
Y a veces cuando estoy en mi
casa, mi hermana o mi
hermano they would hear my
conversation they’re like, “How
can you do that, how can you
talk in Spanish and then change
all of a sudden like to English
or me talking in English and
then like "O sí luego la otra
vez” este there was this girl you
know and I couldn’t [sic] know
how to talk to her *like asi like
we would do that and she was
like "Ay que...".
‘And sometimes
when I’m at home,
my sister or brother’
‘Oh yes then the
other time um’
‘that’
‘Oh that…’
Yo pienso que es como el
siguiente paso *es como like.
You know how I do that right
now, "es como
like" (laughter), it’s
something you don’t even
realize like you talk in
English and Spanglish you
know.
Hay mucha gente piensa que
es como una mutilación del
lenguaje pero para mí no es
así, para mí es como un tipo
de metamorfosis que le pasa
al lenguaje.
‘I think it’s like the next
step it’s like LIKE’
‘it’s like LIKE’
‘A lot of people think
that it’s a mutilation of
the language but not
me, for me it’s like a
kind of metamorphosis’
Rompes ya la monotonía de que
solamente el americano güero
este blonde hair, blue eyes only
speaks English or the Mexican
dark skin, dark- only speaks
Spanish pero it’s not like that,
por ejemplo tienes yeah the
typical American you know who
is also fluent in Spanish y tienes
por ejemplo a la persona de
méxico que he looks like native
he looks *like como Benito
Juarez,
‘You break the
monotony that only the
blond American um’
‘but’
‘for example you have’
‘and you have for
example the person
from Mexico that’
‘LIKE like’
… que él era moreno
chaparrito, like he would be
fluent in English, you know,
like ya no hay , yo pienso
que ya no hay división de
razas, yo pienso que quedan
los estereotipos pero yo
pienso que la combinación
de razas yaaa.. yo pienso
que ya there’s only gonna be
one race.
‘who was dark and
short’
‘there are no longer, I
think there’s no more
division of races, I
think that the
stereotypes remain but
I think that the
combination of races ..
I think that now’
-- Male 22yrs old.b. in MX a) border line Elem in TJ, 4 yrs
crossing: H.S. in SD & City College student
Achugar,
Mariana.
“Counter‐hegemonic
language
pracNces
and
ideologies:
CreaNng
a
new
space
and
value
for
Spanish
in
Southwest
Texas.”
Spanish
in
Context
5:1
(2008),
1‐19.
Anderson,
B.
1983.
Imagined
communi?es:
Reflec?ons
on
the
origin
and
spread
of
na?onalism.
London:
Verso.
Bourdieu,
P.
(1991).
The
producNon
and
reproducNon
of
legiNmate
language.
In
J.B.
Thompson
(Ed.),
Language
and
symbolic
power
(pp.
43‐65).
Cambridge:
Harvard
University
Press.
Heller,
M.
1999.
Linguis?c
Minori?es
and
Modernity:
A
Sociolinguis?c
Ethnography.
NY&
London:
Longman.
Kroskrity,
P.
2001.
IdenNty.
In
A.
DuranN,
ed.
Key
Terms
in
Language
and
Culture.
Blackwell,
106‐9.
Urciuoli,
B.
2001.
“The
Complex
Diversity
of
Languages
in
the
US.”
Cultural
Diversity
in
the
United
States:
A
CriNcal
Reader.
Ed.
Ida
Susser
and
Thomas
Carl.
Malden:
Blackwell
Press.
Venegas‐García
&
Romo
2005.
Working
Paper
for
Border
Pedagogy
Conference,
USD,
Oct.
Zentella,
A.C..
1995.
The
‘chiquita‐ficaNon’
of
U.S.
LaNnos
and
their
languages,
or
Why
we
need
an
anthro‐poliNcal
linguisNcs.
SALSA
III:
the
Proceedings
of
the
Symposium
about
Language
and
Society
at
Aus?n.
AusNn,
TX:
Department
of
LinguisNcs.1‐18.
1995.
________(Ed.)
2005.
Building
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Strength:
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Literacy
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La?no
Families
and
Communi?es.
Teachers
College
Press.