VOICES OF IMMIGRATION IN THE USA

Universidad Católica de Salta

6 y 7 de junio de 2014

Proyecto de investigación UCASAL:

“Identidad y migración en discursos anglófonos”

Lic. M. Fernanda Irrazábal

Prof. y Trad Públ. Ma. Soledad Loutayf

Trad. Públ. Ma. Marta Michel

The aim of this workshop is to share the

voices of latino immigrants in the USA in

two articles published by The New York

Times with a view to rethinking metaphor

and hybrid identities and culture.

THE NEW YORK TIMES

American newspaper founded in 1851.

One of the most influential papers in the world

112 Pulitzer Prizes.

Its website is one of the most visited news

websites.

It is organized in many different sections.

Carlos Slim is the largest shareholder.

Number of immigrants

Documented immigrants

Access to education

Conflict with the law

Nationalities of immigrants

2- WHY MIGHT IMMIGRATION IN THE US MATTER TO

US?

3- DO IDENTITY AND IMMIGRATION RELATE TO OUR

TEACHING PRACTICE IN ANY WAY?

1- WHAT DO YOU KNOW ABOUT IMMIGRATION IN THE

US?

LET’S ANALYZE THE NEWSPAPER ARTICLE

REFER TO

Section in the newspaper and aim of this section

Titles or headlines

Authors

Format: online or printed version?

Date

Cities mentioned in the article

What does ‘border’ mean?

METAPHOR

The way we see the world is framed by metaphors.

They are inherent in cognition.

Conceptual metaphors are linguistically

translated.

Conceptual and linguistic metaphors are

translated into action.

The metaphors we use reveal our views of the

world.

Metaphors are tied to history and culture.

They pervade everyday language.

They are conventional and easily interpreted.

Literary language re-elaborates them.

“Our concepts structure what we perceive, how we get

around in the world and how we relate to other people”

(Lakoff & Johnson, 2003).

ARGUMENT IS WAR

Your claims are indefensible.

He attacked my argument.

I demolished her argument.

TIME IS MONEY

You’re wasting my time

The queue cost me an hour

I’ve invested too much time in her as it is.

What kind of actions are prompted/justified by these metaphors?

HOW ARE THE FOLLOWING METAPHORIZED IN THE ARTICLES?

KEEPSAKES…..

USA (l 12, 23)

Difference/distance

between Mexico and

USA (l 5, 10)

Violence (l 31)

LA SANTA CECILIA

Culture (l 6)

Music (l 32, 41)

ICE (l 57, 60)

IMMIGRATION IN THE USA

Democratic party vs Republican party

9/11

11 million undocumented immigrants

http://www.rcinet.ca/espagnol/en-cartelera/entrevistas-2012/12-09_2012-11-

29-seminario-sobre-el-pensamiento-de-raul-prebisch/http://factreal.files.wordpress.com/2012/05/cincodemayobeerday.jpg

MEXICANS IN AMERICAAMERICANS IN MEXICO

Identity is a construct tied to temporal, social and historical

circumstances.

Hybridity is a comprehensive term including a mix of ethnic

groups, musical fusion and religious syncretism.

Hybridization implies power relations which, in turn, imply

economic inequality.

Some people are denied the hibridizing experience while

others are forced into it (Garcia Caclini, 2010).

LET’S ANALYZE THESE ARTICLES…

ELEMENTS THAT

IDENTIFY LATINOS

ELEMENTS THAT

IDENTIFY

AMERICANS

SPANISH LANGUAGE

HYBRIDITY -

HYBRIDIZATION

ELEMENTS THAT

IDENTIFY LATINOS

ELEMENTS THAT

IDENTIFY AMERICANS

- SPANISH

- Besame mucho, Sabor a mi,

guayaberas, mariachi, salsa.

- ENGLISH

- Grammy Awards, punk rock,

reggae

- Gloria Stephan, Mercedes

Sosa, Trío Los Panchos,

Lucha Villa, etc.

- An Argentine born producer

- Pájaro loco

- Quinceañeras

- Janis Joplin, Nirvana, Grammy

Awards

- Star Wars

- Universal Studios

- The Flintstones, The Jetsons

- Pan dulce

- Fe – Jesús – patrón saint

- Saturday Night Fever

- Clothes: hoop skirts, tutus,

bright colours, etc.

- Economic gap, violence,

insecurity

- Ocarino

- Green card – Social Security

Card

- ICE

- Interstate 7

- Disneyland, Mickey Mouse

- Cities: Yucatán, Mexico,

Chichen Itzá, Toluca, Tulum, etc.

Cities: California,Hollywood, Los

Angeles, New York, Miami. Texas,

Austin

HYBRIDITY -

HYBRIDIZATION

- Spanish and English

- Switching (and

translations)

- Latino rock

- La Marisoul

- La Santa Cecilia band

- Eclectic mixture

- American cartoons with

ads dubbed in Sapanish

- Interstate

- LAX

- Up North – Better

North

Culture refers to routine practices, beliefs and

meanings that have become thickly

sedimented.

Identity refers to feelings of belonging to a

collective based on emotions or shared

interests.

Cultural borders do not always coincide with

identity borders

CONFIGURATIONS OF CULTURE

A configuration is a space of shared symbolicpatterns, horizons of possibilities, power inequalityand historicity (Grimson, 2011).

It emphasizes heterogeneity.

It is articulated in a certain way depending on itscontexts.

Difference is often based on inequality; it is oftenexoticized, folklorized….but nobody wants to livethere.

Interculturality: multiple intersections existing

between cultural configurations

Different cosmovisions, myths, celebrations,

rituals, ideologies….are learnt in social life.

Cultural configurations refer to specific ways in

which actors confront each other, ally or negotiate.

MIGRATION & DIASPORA

The meaning of migration has changed.

Hypervisibility of migratory processes + space-temporal

compression of the planet impossible to interpret other cultures

as distant worlds.

New critical line circulation, permeabillity of borders hybrid

cultures.

Diaspora specifically related to strong feelings of belonging or

identification. It involves more or less fluid ties between the groups

living in different countries through religious, political and cultural

associations.

It is a transnational cultural configuration.

DIASPORIC TEXTS

Diasporic literature/ A diasporic text is about

remembering pervaded with a general sense of

nostalgia but also about re-membering …

creating and imaginary homeland.

IDENTITY & LANGUAGE LEARNING

Identity how a person understands his/her relationship tothe world, how that relationship is constructed across time &space.

SLA needs to develop a conception of identity that isunderstood with reference to larger and frequently inequitablesocial structures social interactions must be understood withreference to relations of power as well as the ongoingproduction of a language learner’s identity.

Identity as a site of struggle= identity is multiple andcontradictory.

Immigrants: accumulated memories + families theirrelationship with the public world in the host country.

REFERENCESGeorge Lakoff and Mark Johnson (2003) Metaphors we live by.

(http://shu.bg/tadmin/upload/storage/161.pdf)

The Metaphorical Structure of the Human Conceptual System in COGNITIVE SCIENCE 4, 195-208 (1980) http://csjarchive.cogsci.rpi.edu/1980v04/i02/p0195p0208/MAIN.PDF

García Canclini, N (2010) Culturas Hhíbridas. Estrategias para entrar y salir de la modernidad. Buenos Aires: Paidós.

Grimson, A. (2011). Los límites de la cultura. Crítica de las teorías de la identidad. Buenos Aires: Siglo Veintiuno.

Hall, S. (1994). “Cultural Identity and Diaspora”. Colonial Discourse and Post-colonial Theory: a Reader. Ed. Patrick Williams and Chrisman. London: Harvester Wheatsheaf, pp. 392-401.

Král, F. (2009). Critical Identities in Contemporary Anglophone DiasporicLiterature. United Kingdom: Macmillan.

Norton, B. (2000). Identity and Language Learning. England: Pearson.

Prebisch, R. (2011). http://www.rcinet.ca/espagnol/en-cartelera/entrevistas-2012/12-09_2012-11-29-seminario-sobre-el-pensamiento-de-raul-prebisch

Wordpress (2012). http://factreal.files.wordpress.com/2012/05/cincodemayobeerday.jpg

“EL HIELO”

Eva pasando el trapo sobre la mesa ahí está

cuidando que todo brille como una perla.

Cuando llegue la patrona, que no se vuelva quejar.

No sea cosa que la acuse de ilegal.

José atiende los jardines, parecen de Disneyland

Maneja una troca vieja sin la licencia.

No importa si fue taxista allá en su tierra natal

Eso no cuenta para el Tío Sam.

Estribillo

El Hielo anda suelto por esas calles

Nunca se sabe cuándo nos va tocar

ahora los niños lloran a la salida

Lloran al ver que no llegará mamá

Uno se queda aquí, otro se queda allá,

Eso pasa por salir a trabajar.

Marta llegó de niña y sueña con estudiar.

Pero se le hace difícil sin los papeles.

Se quedan con los laureles los que nacieron acá,

Pero ella nunca deja de luchar.

LAST BUT NOT LEAST…

Freewriting: the practice of jotting and

scribbling; writing without rules; writing non-

stop.

“Keep scribbling. Something will happen”

(Frank Mc Court)