23.1872, Qs: Bilingual Residents of NYC Needed for Survey

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LINGUIST List: Vol-23-1872. Fri Apr 13 2012. ISSN: 1069 - 4875.

Subject: 23.1872, Qs: Bilingual Residents of NYC Needed for Survey

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Date: Fri, 13 Apr 2012 11:17:47
From: Sue Dicker [susied at msn.com]
Subject: Bilingual Residents of NYC Needed for Survey

E-mail this message to a friend:
http://linguistlist.org/issues/emailmessage/verification.cfm?iss=23-1872.html&submissionid=4544349&topicid=8&msgnumber=1
 
I have created an on-line survey for bilingual English-Spanish and English-
Chinese living in New York City. The survey asks questions about their use 
of their native or heritage languages in private and public spaces. 

The survey can be found at the following URL:
http://oit.hostos.cuny.edu/socialnetwork/spanishandchinesenyc/

The present study will document the experiences of Hispanic New Yorkers 
using their native or heritage language in public.  It also probes the question 
of whether this experience is unique to this group by eliciting the experiences 
of another group, Chinese New Yorkers.  Certainly, these two groups differ in 
size; the sheer ubiquity of Hispanics gives their language a greater presence 
in the life of the city.  In addition, Asians in general are often labeled  "the 
model minority," immigrants who thrive and prosper as a result of hard work 
and devotion to education, rather than through dependence on public welfare; 
this positive stereotype contrasts with the negative one under which 
Hispanics live.  However, there are similarities between the two groups as 
well.  The Chinese, like Hispanics, are identified as a racial minority, and 
using the Chinese language is a trait that reinforces this label.  Both groups 
have a prominent presence in the city, as can be seen by the long-existing 
Chinese- and Spanish-language media available to these groups.  The study 
will ask:  As reflected in the experiences of Spanish- and Chinese- speakers, 
how do New Yorkers respond to the use of two languages which identify two 
minority/nationality groups seen as distinct from the American "norm": those 
of European origin, identified as "white" and exclusive speakers of English?  
How do Chinese- and Spanish-speakers react to these experiences?  Do 
some members of these two groups modify or monitor their use of their 
languages, perhaps to avoid negative reactions?  Finally, if the experiences 
of these groups are markedly different, can the data collected in this study 
help to answer why? 

Linguistic Field(s): Discourse Analysis
                     Sociolinguistics






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