Tesis doctoral: DuBord, E. M. Performing Bilingualism: An ethnographic analysis of discursive practices at a day labor center in the Southwest

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Tesis doctoral:
DuBord, Elise M. 2008. Performing Bilingualism: An ethnographic
analysis of discursive practices at a day labor center in the
Southwest. University of Arizona, Department of Spanish and Portuguese
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1. Autora:
DuBord, Elise M.

2. Título de la tesis:
Performing Bilingualism: An ethnographic analysis of discursive
practices at a day labor center in the Southwest.
2.1 Número de páginas:
2.2 Palabras clave: bilingualism, intercultural communication,
gatekeeping encounters, language contact, language brokers,
performative acts

3. Fecha de lectura o defensa: 2008

4. Departamento, centro o laboratorio en el que se ha desarrollado

5. Directora:
Dr. Ana Maria Carvalho

6. Proyecto o línea de investigación en el que se incluye

7. Resumen e índice

This ethnographic research examines the social implications of the
ethnolinguistic contact that occurs in the U.S.-Mexico border region
at a day labor center in Tucson, Arizona. I discuss the multiple
values of English and Spanish in this setting and how individuals
interpret and negotiate these values in the construction and
performance of identity. More specifically, I analyze how discourses
of linguistic capital shape the organization of this community and
influence the dynamics of employment negotiations. The research
setting includes immigrant day laborers (primarily from Mexico and
Central America), employers who contract workers, and bilingual
volunteers who act as language brokers between workers and their
employers; all of whom use language to interactively negotiate their
social status as they construct identities vis-à-vis other members of
the community.

My analysis reveals a discourse that places a high level of linguistic
capital on Spanish-English bilingualism in the economic market.
Although I have not found evidence that this linguistic capital has a
real exchange rate into dollars, my data demonstrates that immigrants
rapidly acquire and contribute to this locally constructed discourse.
I explore the techniques that workers use to exploit and promote their
language abilities through 'performances' of bilingualism that are
realized not only to secure employment, but also for social
positioning within this community of practice. Language, then, is one
of the many tools that both workers and employers use in the
construction of interpersonal relationships and social hierarchies. In
addition, I analyze gatekeeping encounters focusing on the rapid
employment negotiations that occur between day laborers and their
employers, building on previous research with regard to the concepts
of rapport, co-membership, and the presentation of an institutional
self.

Finally, I propose a model for the study of intercultural
communication and contact that reflects the dynamic nature of contact
and the complexity of overlapping categories of identity. Identity
formation is a multiplex and multidirectional social construction that
necessitates pushing beyond binary models of intercultural
communication. Identity construction is informed not only by
face-to-face interlocutors, but also by the linguistic ecology of
dominant and subordinate discourses and the imagined individual and
collective interlocutors they evoke.

TABLE OF CONTENTS

LIST OF FIGURES
ABSTRACT

CHAPTER 1 - Introduction
Outline of chapters

CHAPTER 2 – Setting and Methodology
Origins
   Addressing a local issue
   Getting started
   Daily Operation
   Negotiating space
Participants
Workers
   Old Timers
   Immigrant Settlers
   Transitional Migrants
Employers
Volunteers
Research motivations
The role of the researcher
Research activities
   Participant observation
   Interviews

CHAPTER 3 - Linguistic Ecology
Language ideologies
Linguistic ecology
The discourse of language and nation
Linguistic capital
Agency and ideologies
Local discourses on the importance of English
   English for economic success
   Problems related to not speaking English
   Commitment to learning English
   Lack of economic compensation for bilinguals
   Language and place
The economic value of learning English: Immigrants, language, and earnings

CHAPTER 4 - Performing Identity
Language and identity
Performative acts
Performing bilingualism
Performing the language learner
Performing cultural citizenship
Performing social boundaries: Othering the Other

CHAPTER 5 - Negotiating Employment in an Intercultural Context
Gatekeeping encounters
Locally established practices
Language brokering
Limitations of methodology
Rapport and co-membership
   Rapport, solidarity, and linguistic accommodation
   Solidarity and distance with Latino and Anglo employers
   Co-membership without solidarity
Presentation of an institutional self
   Trust
   Physical presentation and trade skills
   Language
   Documentation, language, and race

CHAPTER 6 - Conclusions
Limitations and future directions

WORKS CITED

8. Correo-e de l autora:
Elise M. DuBord <edubord at drew.edu>

9. Cómo obtener la tesis
Contactar con la autora

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