The Identity Paradox: Latino Language, Politics and Selective Dissociation

Can Protests Make Latinos “American”? Identity, Immigration Politics, and the 2006 Marches

“…The following section tests Hypothesis 1a, which suggests that the extent to which respondents increasingly self-identify as American after the protests may be different for Spanish versus English speakers as well as for respondents from distinct ancestral-origin subgroups. García Bedolla (2003) finds that language and identity may interact to shape attitudes toward immigration-related policy. Likewise, Abrajano (2010) finds that Spanish-speaking Latinos are more influenced by ethnic-based advertisements than their English-speaking counterparts, concluding that receptivity to identity-based messages is conditioned on an individual's language preference.…”

The dynamics of Spanish maintenance and shift in Arizona

“…He asserts that "it would be a grave error to suppose that language pride is always and only expressed and reproduced within the Mexican-American community and that language panic is always and only expressed and reproduced within the dominant culture" (2006: 14). García Bedolla (2003) demonstrates that the internalization of the social stigma attached to Spanish can result in what she calls 'selective dissociation', that is, native-born Latinos' dissociation from the Spanish-speaking, immigrant sector of the community, which has a negative impact on community cohesion and language maintenance.…”

Uncovering the delegitimized experience of non-Spanish speaking Latinos/as attending a predominantly white institution

“…Virtually all Latinos/as whose parents were born in the United States speak English and none are Spanish dominant. (p. 17) For many Latinos/as, Spanish provides them a sense of pride, which allows them to feel connected to their culture and ethnic identity (Baez, 2002;Garcia Bedolla, 2003;Milroy, 1982, Ono, 2002, Ramirez, 2005, Urciuoli, 1997.…”

“…In the United States, Spanish exists in a subordinate position to English. As a result, ethnic groups' relationship to their language has become paradoxical: Language remains a source of ethnic pride and solidarity, while also a source of stigma (Garcia Bedolla, 2003;Milroy, 1982). Consequently, -persons who speak the socially disfavored varieties [of language] frequently appear to become alienated from their own variety of language and to judge it as, for example, inferior, sloppy, ugly, illogical or incomprehensible‖ (Milroy, 1982, p. 209).…”

“…Past research about Latinos/as and language has compared Spanish monolinguals, bilinguals, and English monolinguals (Bejarano, 2005;Garcia Bedolla, 2003) and the factors affecting language maintenance or loss (Martinez-Ramirez, 2009;Ramirez, 2005); however, these studies have failed to elaborate and/or acknowledge the symbolic nature of language, language as a marker of connectedness to culture, language as a cultural token allowing entrance…”