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Programme: accepted abstracts

Abstract ID: 815

Part of Session 131: Latino Social networks and the city (Other abstracts in this session)

Language practices in various social networks: The case of Latino domestics and their English-speaking clients

Authors: Goncalves, Kellie
Submitted by: Goncalves, Kellie (University of Bern, Switzerland, Switzerland)

This paper explores the sociolinguistic consequences of a language contact situation between Portuguese and Spanish-speaking domestics and their Anglophone clients in a multilingual cleaning company in New Jersey, USA. Language attitudes and ideologies about English for many of these domestics index their national identities as well as their migrant identities with reference to their particular Portuguese (Luso-Brazilian Portuguese & European Portuguese) and Spanish varieties. Their beliefs and desires to eventually return to their home countries influence their minimal investment (Norton 2000) in English. In addition, testimonies of their strong and dense ties of their social networks within their local community, namely, the “Ironbound” section of Newark, New Jersey are also scrutinized. Within the city of Newark, 32.3% of the residents are Hispanic and as a result, neighborhoods such as the “Ironbound” accommodate to Portuguese and Spanish-speaking residents, who are not forced to speak the majority language (English) since interactions of everyday life at banks, post offices, the doctor’s, lawyer’s, travel agencies, restaurants, cafés, and supermarkets can indeed be carried out in Portuguese or Spanish.

Results reveal that Latino domestics residing in the “Ironbound” do not rely on English in their private, daily lives and only “really” require English in the workplace, but to a limited degree. The domestics with no or low proficiency in the target language cannot directly communicate with their clients. As a result, the main employer of the cleaning firm and several first-generation daughters serve as ‘language brokers’ between domestics and clients.

In this study I employ multimodal corpora to gain a holistic perspective about this unique language contact situation. The data collected stem from ethnographic research, video footage and semi-structured interviews. The transcribed speech comprises the discourse of 20 migrant Portuguese, Brazilian and Honduran women aged 26-65, four bilingual language brokers aged 17-64 and 23 Anglophone clients. Employees’ perceptions of language learning, the question of access to the target language and target language speakers represent principle foci.