Dr. Kim Potowski "The Triple Bullying of U.S. Heritage Speakers and How to Counter it"

15th Workshop on Immigrant Languages in the Americas (WILA 15) 

Janne Bondi Johannessen Celebration Lecture

Dr. Kim Potowski (University of Illinois, Chicago) "The Triple Bullying of U.S. Heritage Speakers and How to Counter it"

Young people raised in the U.S. speaking languages other than English often suffer a triple bullying. First, they are frequently subjected to discourses of “You’re in America, speak English” from some of the English-speaking monolinguals who make up approximately 80% of the nation and insist that other languages are unwelcome in public spaces. Second, their own families make fun of the ways they speak the home language. In Spanish, many get called “No sabo kids” (I don’t know) and are made to feel “less Latino” than others with stronger Spanish proficiency. Finally, prescriptivist teachers damage their linguistic self-esteem by telling them they speak Spanish “incorrectly,” based on features that are stigmatized in Latin America due to classism and racism, as well as other features that derive from contact with English and/or less frequent exposure to Spanish.

What other realities can we envision for U.S.-raised heritage speakers? How can school programs and individual teachers in K-12 schools and on college campuses counter these toxic discourses? Understanding the mechanisms that lead to linguistic prestige and, conversely, to stigmatization and repression can help teachers develop concrete strategies that show respect for students’ ethnolinguistic identities while simultaneously engaging them with rich critical language arts curriculum.