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Edición Instituto Cervantes at FAS - Harvard University

Estudios del Observatorio/Observatorio Studies. 073-11/2021EN (Orig.)

 

Abstract: The intent of this article is threefold: (i) to provide a general overview of the field of Spanish heritage speaker bilingualism in the context of the United States; (ii) to contextualize the different social and linguistic practices that negatively impact heritage speakers’ language use and sense of identity as legitimate speakers of the heritage language; and, last but not least, (iii) to identify and validate heritage speakers' emotional responses to some of these discriminatory linguistic dynamics. In examining these processes, we will pay particular attention to language shaming and the use of language mockery as forms of macro/microaggressions. Lastly, we draw from previous research about the reproduction of linguistic aggressions and racial normativity (e.g., Hill, 2008; Flores & Rosa's, 2015) to provide language learners and instructors with the means to identify, as well as the tools to act upon, some of the language dynamics that affect them.
 
Keywords: heritage speakers, language shaming, language mockery, bilingualism, microaggressions, linguistic aggressions

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