Synopses & Reviews
Synopsis
In this book, Holly R. Cashman presents a sociolinguistic ethnography of gay and lesbian Latinas/os in Phoenix, Arizona, exploring the way that ethnic and sexual identities influence (and are influenced by) language practices. Queer, Latina/o and Bilingual questions the view of ethnicity and sexual identity as two separate binaries with distinct absolute endpoints (Latino-Anglo, straight-gay) and questions the universality of the trajectory implied (i.e. acculturation, coming out) by examining people living at the intersection of these sexual and ethnic identities. Based on fieldwork conducted with LGBTQ Latinas/os in Phoenix, Cashman considers how Latinas/os see the relationship between their ethnic and sexual identities, what role language practices (specifically the maintenance of Spanish and/or shift to English) play in people s understanding of their ethnic and sexual identities, and how community members construct, maintain, display, and negotiate Latina/o and queer identities in interaction. Cashman s research provides an original lens through which to view the diverse language and identity practices of Latinas/os and makes a significant contribution to the study of bilingualism and multilingualism by bringing queer people of color to the forefront of her analysis.
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Synopsis
This book is a sociolinguistic ethnography of LGBT Mexicans/Latinxs in Phoenix, Arizona, a major metropolitan area in the U.S. Southwest. The main focus of the book is to examine participants' conceptions of their ethnic and sexual identities and how identities influence (and are influenced by) language practices. This book explores the intersubjective construction and negotiation of identities among queer Mexicans/Latinxs, paying attention to how identities are co-constructed in the interview setting in coming out narratives and in narratives of silence. The book destabilizes the dominant narrative on language maintenance and shift in sociolinguistics, much of which relies on a (heterosexual) family-based model of intergenerational language transmission, by bringing those individuals often at the margin of the family (LGBTQ members) to the center of the analysis. It contributes to the queering of bilingualism and Spanish in the U.S., not only by including a previously unstudied subgroup (LGBTQ people), but also by providing a different lens through which to view the diverse language and identity practices of U.S. Mexicans/Latinxs. This book addresses this exclusion and makes a significant contribution to the study of bilingualism and multilingualism by bringing LGBTQ Latinas/os to the center of the analysis.
Synopsis
Shortlisted for the 2018 BAAL Book Prize
This book is a sociolinguistic ethnography of LGBT Mexicans/Latinxs in Phoenix, Arizona, a major metropolitan area in the U.S. Southwest. The main focus of the book is to examine participants' conceptions of their ethnic and sexual identities and how identities influence (and are influenced by) language practices. This book explores the intersubjective construction and negotiation of identities among queer Mexicans/Latinxs, paying attention to how identities are co-constructed in the interview setting in coming out narratives and in narratives of silence. The book destabilizes the dominant narrative on language maintenance and shift in sociolinguistics, much of which relies on a (heterosexual) family-based model of intergenerational language transmission, by bringing those individuals often at the margin of the family (LGBTQ members) to the center of the analysis. It contributes to the queering of bilingualism and Spanish in the U.S., not only by including a previously unstudied subgroup (LGBTQ people), but also by providing a different lens through which to view the diverse language and identity practices of U.S. Mexicans/Latinxs. This book addresses this exclusion and makes a significant contribution to the study of bilingualism and multilingualism by bringing LGBTQ Latinas/os to the center of the analysis.