Language oppression and resistance: the case of middle class latinos in the United States uri icon

abstract

  • The growth of the US latino population is a source of concern for many white Americans, who assert this means the death of the US way of life and the English language. This racialized rhetoric masks an attempt to maintain the pre-eminence of the language of the dominant group over latinos and thus helps whites to sustain their political-economic domination. Using interviews with seventy-two middle-class latinos in seven US states, we document five strategies employed by the whites in everyday interaction to discourage latinos' heritage language use and resistance to such discrimination. Finally, we discuss ideological elements in US culture that hide the racism in these language struggles.

published proceedings

  • ETHNIC AND RACIAL STUDIES

altmetric score

  • 0.5

author list (cited authors)

  • Cobas, J. A., & Feagin, J. R.

citation count

  • 26

complete list of authors

  • Cobas, Jose A||Feagin, Joe R

publication date

  • February 2008