NotesFAQContact Us
Collection
Advanced
Search Tips
Back to results
Peer reviewed Peer reviewed
Direct linkDirect link
ERIC Number: EJ1369598
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2022
Pages: 17
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-1931-3152
EISSN: EISSN-1931-3160
"Maybe Not 100%": Co-Constructing Language Proficiency in the Maya Diaspora
Canizales, Stephanie L.; O'Connor, Brendan H.
International Multilingual Research Journal, v16 n4 p328-344 2022
Language learning and the development of language proficiency are central concerns in the study of immigrant adaptation. This paper analyzes the social construction of language proficiency among Indigenous Guatemalan Maya youth in the United States--specifically, undocumented young adults who migrated to Los Angeles, California as unaccompanied minors and who grew up as low-wage workers. Our analysis shows that youth used "percentage talk"-- i.e., construing current proficiency as apercentage of idealized full proficiency-- as a discursive strategy to assess their language ability and level of social adaptación (adaptation) relative to native English and Spanish speakers, other Indigenous language speakers, and their past selves. Through percentage talk, youth wrestled with social stratification and inequality in the U.S. and Guatemala and imagined themselves as future members of Spanish- and English-oriented discourse communities. While outwardly individualistic, percentage talk also allowed youth to gauge their ability to support the language socialization and social incorporation of other L1 Maya speakers in diaspora. Youth's tricultural adaptation and contestation of an all-or-nothing ideology of proficiency shows their nuanced understanding of the role of language in immigrant socialization.
Routledge. Available from: Taylor & Francis, Ltd. 530 Walnut Street Suite 850, Philadelphia, PA 19106. Tel: 800-354-1420; Tel: 215-625-8900; Fax: 215-207-0050; Web site: http://www.tandf.co.uk/journals
Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Research
Education Level: N/A
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: National Science Foundation (NSF)
Authoring Institution: N/A
Identifiers - Location: California (Los Angeles); Guatemala
Grant or Contract Numbers: 1519141