“Go Back to Mexico:” Linguistic Violence, Bilingualism, and Identity of Latina/o/x Bilingual Adolescents

ABSTRACT

This study explores the linguistic violence of bilingual Latina/o/x adolescents in school settings in Southcentral Texas. In addition, the paper examines how these students see themselves as proficient Spanish/English bilinguals. In doing so, the author uses a language ideologies framework coupled with Anthropolitical linguistics. Within this overarching perspective, the author also utilizes a raciolinguistics lens to support his findings. Using a fluid ethnographic approach, the author collected data through class observations, interviews, focus groups, and students’ artifacts. Findings were grouped into two main categories with some subsections: (1) linguistic violence; (a) marginalization of Spanish and its speakers; (b) legitimizing varieties of the Spanish language; and (c) language loss and blocking biliteracy, and (2) languacultural identity: (a) bilingualism is our language. Implications for teachers, school administrators, and teacher preparation programs are discussed. This study contributes to the field of bilingualism, language violence, and identity of marginalized adolescents.

KEYWORDS:

• Language violence
• Latina/o/x adolescents
• bilingualism
• identity
• dual language

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Notes

¹ As theorized by García and Wei (2014), language is used as a verb signaling how bilinguals manipulate their linguistic practices.

² All names used in this paper are pseudonyms

³ In a 90–10 (Spanish/English) approach students in first grade receive 90% of instruction in Spanish and 10% in English, by the time these students reach fifth grade, they had transitioned to a 50% instruction in English and 50% in Spanish.

⁴ By good trouble maker, Mr. L meant that Juan used to disrupt the class making comments or jokes using the mathematical content that they were covering; in a sense, Juan was manipulating mathematics.

⁵ Informal bilingual classrooms are conceived here as classrooms where bilingual students are present; however, instruction is solely in English (e.g., a mainstream classroom composed of proficient bilinguals, teacher may or may not be bilingual).

⁶ Though the Royal Academy of the Spanish Language (www.rae.es) defines indio/a as related or belonging to the indigenous peoples of the Americas, in Mexico denotes lack of manners and culture; “barbarie” (Zavala, 2011, p. 1647), and in the Americas in general, has a derogatory connotation that involves rustic behavior and lack of education based on racism and pure colonialism (Yuquilema, n.d.).

⁷ As theorized by García (2009), translanguaging refers to the use of the entire linguistic repertoire of an individual.

⁸ Agar used Friedrich’s (1989) term “linguaculture.”