Katherine Morales | University of Puerto Rico Mayaguez (original) (raw)

Conference Papers by Katherine Morales

Talk given at the Annual Meeting for the American Anthropological Association at San Jose. Issue... more Talk given at the Annual Meeting for the American Anthropological Association at San Jose.

Issues of race in neocolonial Puerto Rico have often been overlooked in discussions of language on the island, favoring research on language ideologies and resistance to American culture. Despite over a hundred years of language contact, Census statistics portray a Spanish monolingual image of the island. This linguistic puzzle has been the subject of numerous studies which suggest that the apparent lack of bilingualism is due to a strong sense of cultural identity rooted in the local vernacular. As such, island Puerto Ricans are often discussed under a lens of maintenance and resistance: whereby the United States plays the role of the powerful colonizer and global influencer, and Puerto Ricans represent the defendants of Hispanic heritage (Valdez, 2016). In this presentation, I argue that the social construction of race is an equally important theme to consider when discussing Puerto Rican identity.
I discuss the racial distancing strategies employed by a group of bilingual adolescents who regularly use English in their social interactions. The data presented here is the result of a 6-month ethnography conducted in a public school on the island. Through semiotic theories of indexicality (Silverstein, 2003) and stance (Jaffe, 2009), I discuss local constructions of race. I argue that despite linguistically marked behaviors of English-dominant talk, adolescents pursue Hispanic identities through racial-labelling strategies and bilingual talk. In this way, adolescents establish themselves as authentic Puerto Ricans by referring to ideological constructions of “Whiteness”; thus, positioning themselves as rightful owners of Puerto Rican identity.

Talk given at the 7th Explorations in Linguistic Ethnography Conference at Edinburgh, Scotland.

Paper presented at the 22nd International Symposium of Bilingualism at Limerick, Ireland.

Poster presentation; 6th Explorations in Linguistic Ethnography Conference.

Paper given at the 22nd Sociolinguistics Symposium in Murcia, Spain. Developments of Late Mode... more Paper given at the 22nd Sociolinguistics Symposium in Murcia, Spain.

Developments of Late Modernity in the 21st century, such as the increase in population movement and technological advances, have led sociolinguists to question the once static descriptions of what it means to speak a language. In recent years, sociolinguistic research has expanded to include terms that argue for a more repertoire-driven approach to linguistic practices in bilingual settings. Terms such as “heteroglossia”, “translanguaging”, and “indexicality” have been used to suggest fluid and hybrid ways of describing linguistic practices, and consequently modeling their social meaning in interaction. In this way, while contemporary research acknowledges the ideological importance of language as a social construct and semiotic tool, it views the repertoire approach as a more accurate way of describing language use and sociolinguistic potential. Thus, contemporary research is concerned with describing a speaker’s “discourse analytic toolkit” (Blommaert, 2007: 115), rather than a model of fixed homogenous codes. This paper adopts recent efforts to understanding bilingual communication from a repertoire-driven approach by using Bakhtian notion of heteroglossia.

In my presentation I will implement current theories of bilingual discourse to the linguistic practices of two adolescent communities in Puerto Rico. Puerto Ricans have played a central role to many influential bilingual studies in the past, due to their presence in the United States as Spanish-speaking U.S. citizens. Their linguistic practices have often been observed from an identity-framework in English-speaking contexts. However, very little research has observed English language use on the island of Puerto Rico, where Spanish is the majority language and English influence is primarily felt in educational settings. On the island, the social use of English is often seen as “snobby” or a betrayal to one’s ethnic roots; in mainland U.S., English-Spanish codeswitching is seen as a performance of one’s Hispanic heritage. On the island, English is often interpreted as a prestigious code, belonging to the elite community (Pousada, 2000); on the mainland, Spanish is the minority language and often does not hold the same prestige (Lippi-Green, 2011). From a poststructuralist approach, one could argue that the island’s complex ideological associations towards English are contested and negotiated in local practice, further that they are able to acquire new meaning in light of globalization processes.

However, little research has explored alternative social meanings of English in Puerto Rico, in favor of a simplified ethnolinguistic model of islanders’ practices. This paper will explore qualitative findings of an ongoing ethnographic investigation in two school communities on the island. It will provide examples of speakers from diverse sociodemographic backgrounds, their respective communities of practice (or social identities) and their linguistic practices. It aims to question previous models of social meaning in language use in Puerto Rico, as well as social meanings that have been popularly cited in bilingualism literature, which are heavily reliant on notions of ethnolinguistic identity and a binary we/they distinction.

Led a workshop on observational methods in linguistics for students of the Department of Linguist... more Led a workshop on observational methods in linguistics for students of the Department of Linguistics at TCD.

Paper presented at the Trinity Postgraduate Linguistic Seminars.

Poster presenter at the Annual Meeting for the British Association for Applied Linguistics (BAAL)... more Poster presenter at the Annual Meeting for the British Association for Applied Linguistics (BAAL) at Birmingham, UK.

Event Planning by Katherine Morales

Organiser of the Postgraduate Linguistics Seminars at the School of Linguistics, Speeech, & Commu... more Organiser of the Postgraduate Linguistics Seminars at the School of Linguistics, Speeech, & Communication Sciences (2014 - present).

Member of the organizing committee for the 6th Sociolinguistics Summer School at the University o... more Member of the organizing committee for the 6th Sociolinguistics Summer School at the University of Dublin - Trinity College.

https://sss6dublin.wordpress.com/

Book Reviews by Katherine Morales

Sali Tagliamonte's "Teen Talk" offers a one-of-a-kind, insightful analysis of

Jacomine Nortier and Bente A. Svendsen’s edited volume “Language, youth, and identity in the 21st... more Jacomine Nortier and Bente A. Svendsen’s edited volume “Language, youth, and identity in the 21st century” offers a first look at youth language and identity from a global perspective. It includes a collection of articles that discuss cross-cultural similarities and differences in youth practices among countries from around the world, including the U.S., Canada, Europe, and Africa. Its primary aim is to uncover the similarities and differences in the way youth use language in superdiverse settings, and the way they negotiate their identity positions through variable language use. Central themes of this volume include Silverstein’s notion of total linguistic fact (TLF), which
brings together both structural and contextual knowledge of linguistic features, in order to uncover the question of “why” behind certain linguistic practices. Other key concepts include Ben Rampton’s inclusive concept of “contemporary urban vernaculars” (CUVs) to describe the fluid and socially meaningful practices that take place in increasingly diverse, urban settings among Late Modern youth.

Publication by Katherine Morales

This Chapter examines the role of translingual practices in the construction of identity of islan... more This Chapter examines the role of translingual practices in the construction of identity of island Puerto Rican adolescents. Typically defined as a Spanish-speaking U.S. territory, the island of Puerto Rico has been underrepresented in U.S. sociolinguistic literature on bilingualism. This is perhaps due to a difference in practices: while mainland Puerto Ricans regularly engage in bilingual practices (cf. Zentella, 1997), there is a considerable language gap among island Puerto Ricans and their access to English language (Pousada, 2000). In this Chapter, I offer a contemporary account of bilingual practices among island Puerto Ricans, particularly the Puerto Rican youth. I adopt a framework of translanguaging (Li & Garcia, 2014) that understands bilingualism as more than just ‘talking in two (ideological) languages’, rather, aims to situate language studies in the contemporary, fluid, and multimodal world. I discuss my findings of two youth ethnographies, and suggest that languages be viewed in light of social histories, political ideologies, and social engagements, whilst simultaneously including concepts of fluidity and multimodality of language in our descriptions of bilingualism. Ultimately, I suggest that languages in Puerto Rico be viewed under a repertoire approach that considers educational and class related differences, thus reimagining bilingualism in Puerto Rico.

Trabalhos em Linguística Aplicada (Papers in Applied Linguistics), 2019

The following paper addresses the topic of transnationalism in U.S. territory Puerto Rico. As a p... more The following paper addresses the topic of transnationalism in U.S. territory Puerto Rico. As a previous Spanish colony and current U.S. territory, Puerto Rico provides rich ground for the study of fluid identities. While transnationalist literature has typically focused on describing contexts of crossed "borders" or cultures in a geo-political sense (cf. KRAMSCH and WHITESIDE, 2008; LI AND ZHU, 2013), Puerto Ricans have often been excluded from transnationalist discourses of Latin American communities due to their unique status as U.S. citizens. Through this article I aim to provide an ideological account of the complex voices and identities that make up the language practices of the Puerto Rican transnational. I adopt Jorge Duany's (2003) argument for Puerto Rican transnationalism on the basis of a shared sense of "cultural nationalism" as evidenced in the cultural and linguistic practices of a Puerto Rican returnee migrant. This migrant's linguistic practices and identity constructions are observed in relation to Michael socioindexicality. Coupling this frame with an ethnographic methodology allows the dynamic ways in which a transnational identity is constructed to become apparent, in real-time and in illuminated detail

Research in sociolinguistics has to date predominantly dealt with (so-called) monolingual context... more Research in sociolinguistics has to date predominantly dealt with (so-called) monolingual contexts and spatially fixed populations. However, with the growing focus on globalization, hybridity, identity construction and authenticity in the humanities and social sciences, there is renewed interest in what bilingual and multilingual populations do with their linguistic resources in contexts characterized by processes of mobility.

Talks by Katherine Morales

The University of Puerto Rico

Thesis Chapters by Katherine Morales

This thesis advances research in sociolinguistics by providing an account of the creative bilingu... more This thesis advances research in sociolinguistics by providing an account of the creative bilingual practices found in two high school communities in U.S. territory Puerto Rico. A neo- colonial setting, Puerto Rico offers rich grounds for the analysis of language and identity to take place. This thesis examines English language use under a framework of indexicality known as the ?total linguistic fact? (Silverstein, 1985; 2003): a theory that conceptualizes language as a malleable semiotic tool with the potential of being used towards the construction of social meaning in interaction. This theory simultaneously views language as a flexible tool towards the construction of social identities, or acts of distinction and identification among people. The present study has three interrelated aims. The first is to provide a holistic picture of the distribution of a non-local, prestigious language (English) in a colonialized society. This is done through the incorporation of ethnographic observational methods and extensive fieldwork. The second is to provide a tangible quantitative account of the English linguistic and stylistic practices among Puerto Rican youth. This is done through the incorporation of Muysken?s (2000) typology of bilingual speech which takes into account two overarching manifestations of codemixing: insertion and alternation. Only two of these are identified and discussed in the present corpora, insertion and alternation. These, in turn, are measured against fixed social categories (i.e. class and gender) and locally-constructed, practice-based categories (i.e. peer group affiliation). A more thorough description of specific details of talk is also offered, with some commentary on structural, phonological, and suprasegmental aspects of talk. In this way, the present research also distances itself from other more monolithic and static accounts of bilingualism. The third aim is to provide an identity-based approach to language use through the incorporation of qualitative third-wave methodologies, such as that of conducting micro-analysis of speech through frameworks of style in bilingual practice and theories of indexicality and ideologies of speaking (cf. Silverstein, 2001, 1989; Agha, 2003; Eckert, 2001). In general, results demonstrate that when it comes to the social and symbolic role of English, adopting one method of analysis such as observation over the other such as distribution analysis, offers only partial insight onto the languaging practices that take place in each community. Likewise, discourses of language ideologies, national identities, and cultural alignments provide additional insights so as to understand distribution of language, styles, and users? adoption and/or rejection of English-incorporating practices. Indeed, it was found that particular styles of speaking are laden with ideological undertones to do with assimilation and/or resistance to American culture and notions of Puerto Rican nationalism; simultaneously, discourses demonstrate a gradual shift towards positive orientations of English as part of Puerto Rican culture. Ideologies and languaging styles were also found to vary according to which high school environment they were taking place. Private school settings, in particular, encouraged the idea of English as a desirably quality or language to claim as part of their own, a universal language, and purveyor of greater opportunities. And, indeed, language distribution in private school settings demonstrated a diverse spectrum of bilingual styles: from Spanish dominant, hybrid, to English dominant. Meanwhile, public school settings offered a wider spectrum of language ideologies, yet systematic or hierarchical distributions of language styles. In public school institutions, students who had at some point in their lives received private school education, or belonged to financial stable families were found to engage to a greater extent in bilingual styles and to have a positive disposition to English language, yet their positive disposition to English also co-existed with negative ideologies of the native English speaker on the island, or the Puerto Rican who tries to "sound like an American". In this way, the public school setting demonstrated the ideological struggle that is prevalent in much of the literature on the island, and the private school setting follows a more identity-based distribution to different languaging styles, where, who you are, plays a role in what you do with your language