1887
image of “Te miraban como si tenías una enfermedad”
USD
Buy:$35.00 + Taxes

Abstract

The present investigation examines Spanish-speaking Latinos’ experiences speaking Spanish in public spaces in the Upstate of South Carolina through a racio­linguistic perspective. Forty-one Spanish-speaking Latinos participated in semi-structured, quasi-sociolinguistic interviews, responding to questions about the nature of their encounters when speaking Spanish in public and, if roles were reversed, how they would react if non-native speakers (NNSs) engaged in Spanish with them. Multi-grounded theory methodology was applied to the analysis of the qualitative data. While participants recounted a range of experiences, they mostly cited negative reactions toward their use of Spanish. Participants were subjected to discriminatory remarks, received “weird looks” — or the , — and commonly used race-related terms when sharing their stories of speaking Spanish in public, corroborating the co-naturalization of race and language. Nevertheless, participants expressed overall positive reactions if NNSs were to speak the language with them, but only if NNSs’ intentions were sincere.

Loading

Article metrics loading...

/content/journals/10.1075/sic.24009.kno
2026-04-24
2026-05-11
Loading full text...

Full text loading...

References

  1. Alim, H. Samy
    2016 “Introducing racio­linguistic: Racing Language and Languaging Race in Hyperracial Times.” Inracio­linguistics: How Language Shapes Our Ideas About Race, ed. byH. S. Alim, J. R. Rickford, and A. F. Ball, –. New York, NY: Oxford University Press. 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780190625696.003.0001
    https://doi.org/10.1093/acprof:oso/9780190625696.003.0001 [Google Scholar]
  2. Alonso, Lara
    2020 “Ideologías raciolingüísticas.” InClaves para entender el multilingüismo contemporáneo, ed. byL. Marín Rojo and J. Pujolar Cos, –. Zaragoza: Prensas de la Universidad de Zaragoza.
    [Google Scholar]
  3. Callahan, Laura
    2004 “Native Speakers’ Attitudes Toward the Use of Spanish by Non-Native Speakers: From George W. to J. Lo.” Southwest Journal of Linguistics (): –.
    [Google Scholar]
  4. Carter, Phillip M.
    2014 “National Narratives, Institutional Ideologies, and Local Talk: The Discursive Production of Spanish in a ‘New’ US Latino Community.” Language in Society (): –. 10.1017/S0047404514000049
    https://doi.org/10.1017/S0047404514000049 [Google Scholar]
  5. Craft, Justin T.,
    2020 “Language and Discrimination: Generating Meaning, Perceiving Identities, and Discriminating Outcomes.” Annual Review of Linguistics: –. 10.1146/annurev‑linguistics‑011718‑011659
    https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev-linguistics-011718-011659 [Google Scholar]
  6. Fallas-Escobar, Christian, Kathryn Henderson, and Kristen Lindahl
    2022 “‘I Look Mexican, So They Assume I Speak Spanish’: Latinx Teacher Candidates’ Experiences with racio­linguistic Policing.” The Modern Language Journal (): –. 10.1111/modl.12762
    https://doi.org/10.1111/modl.12762 [Google Scholar]
  7. Fitts, Shanan, and Greg McClure
    2015 “Countering Anti-immigration Discourses in the New Latino South: ‘Nos mascan pero no nos tragan.’” Critical Inquiry in Language Studies (): –. 10.1080/15427587.2015.1096726
    https://doi.org/10.1080/15427587.2015.1096726 [Google Scholar]
  8. Flores, Nelson, and Jonathan Rosa
    2015 “Undoing Appropriateness: racio­linguistic Ideologies and Language Diversity in Education.” Harvard Educational Review: –. 10.17763/0017‑8055.85.2.149
    https://doi.org/10.17763/0017-8055.85.2.149 [Google Scholar]
  9. 2023 “Undoing racio­linguistics.” Journal of Sociolinguistics: –. 10.1111/josl.12643
    https://doi.org/10.1111/josl.12643 [Google Scholar]
  10. Fuller, Janet M., and Jennifer Leeman
    2020Speaking Spanish in the U.S.: The Sociopolitics of Language, 2nd edition. Bristol: Multilingual Matters.
    [Google Scholar]
  11. Glaser, Barney, and Anselm Strauss
    1967The Discovery of Grounded Theory: Strategies for Qualitative Research. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
    [Google Scholar]
  12. Goldkuhl, Göran, and Stefan Cronholm
    2010 “Adding Theoretical Grounding to Grounded Theory: Toward Multi-Grounded Theory.” International Journal of Qualitative Methods (): –. 10.1177/160940691000900205
    https://doi.org/10.1177/160940691000900205 [Google Scholar]
  13. Hadley, Gregory
    2017Grounded Theory in Applied Linguistics Research: A Practical Guide. New York: Routledge. 10.4324/9781315758671
    https://doi.org/10.4324/9781315758671 [Google Scholar]
  14. Hill, Jane. H.
    2008The Everyday Language of White Racism. Oxford: Wiley-Blackwell. 10.1002/9781444304732
    https://doi.org/10.1002/9781444304732 [Google Scholar]
  15. “International Community: Culturally Diverse, Globally Connected.” Move Up Upstate SC. AccessedMarch 2, 2024, https://moveupstatesc.com/up-your-lifestyle/international-community/
  16. Kearns, Sofía
    2024 “Colombian Textile Workers and their Migration Story.” Keynote Address, Southeastern Immigration Association Conference, Wofford College, Spartanburg, SC, April 19, 2024.
    [Google Scholar]
  17. Knouse, Stephanie M.,
    2022 “‘Le está haciendo un disservice’: Overt Attitudes Toward Language Contact Phenomena in the Upstate of South Carolina.” Hispania (): –. 10.1353/hpn.2022.0033
    https://doi.org/10.1353/hpn.2022.0033 [Google Scholar]
  18. Márquez, Cecilia
    2023Making the Latino South: A History of Racial Formation. Chapel Hill: University of North Carolina Press. 10.5149/northcarolina/9781469676050.001.0001
    https://doi.org/10.5149/northcarolina/9781469676050.001.0001 [Google Scholar]
  19. Rosa, Jonathan
    2016 “Standardization, Racialization, Languagelessness: racio­linguistic Ideologies across Communicative Contexts.” Journal of Linguistic Anthropology (): –. 10.1111/jola.12116
    https://doi.org/10.1111/jola.12116 [Google Scholar]
  20. Rosa, Jonathan, and Nelson Flores
    2017 “Unsettling Race and Language: Toward a racio­linguistic Approach.” Language in Society (): –. 10.1017/S0047404517000562
    https://doi.org/10.1017/S0047404517000562 [Google Scholar]
  21. Schwartz, Adam
    2019, December9. “Language, Mockery and Racism: The Case of Mock Spanish.” PAEC Briefs. AccessedMarch 8, 2024, https://www.aaal.org/news/language-mockery-and-racism-the-case-of-mock-spanish
    [Google Scholar]
  22. U. S. Census Bureau
    U. S. Census Bureau 1990 “General Population Characteristics: South Carolina.” AccessedJune 18, 2024, https://www2.census.gov/library/publications/decennial/1990/cp-1/cp-1-42.pdf
  23. U. S. Census Bureau
    U. S. Census Bureau 2020 “Greenville County, South Carolina.” AccessedJune 10, 2024, https://data.census.gov/profile/Greenville_County,_South_C…?g=050XX00US45045
  24. U. S. Census Bureau
    U. S. Census Bureau 2020 “South Carolina.” AccessedJune 10, 2024, https://data.census.gov/profile/South_Carolina?g=040XX00US45
  25. VERBI Software
    VERBI Software 2020 “MAXQDA 2020.” AccessedJune 1, 2023, www.maxqda.com
  26. Zarate, Adanari
    2018 “You Don’t Look Like You Speak English: racio­linguistic Profiling and Latinx Youth Agency.” InFeeling It: Language, Race, and Affect in Latinx Youth Learning, ed. byM. Bucholtz, D. I. Casillas, and J. S. Lee, –. New York: Routledge. 10.4324/9781315099729‑7
    https://doi.org/10.4324/9781315099729-7 [Google Scholar]
/content/journals/10.1075/sic.24009.kno
Loading
/content/journals/10.1075/sic.24009.kno
Loading

Data & Media loading...

This is a required field
Please enter a valid email address
Approval was successful
Invalid data
An Error Occurred
Approval was partially successful, following selected items could not be processed due to error