Journal Article

“I Always Knew It… Digo, Quizás no era Perfect”: Translingual Acts of Identity in the Speech of a Returnee Migrant

Katherine Morales

2019

Overview

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 grounds for the study of fluid identities to take place. 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), or as subcultural trends that become widespread through developments of globalization (cf. Pennycook, 2006), 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 a Puerto Rican transnational. I adopt Jorge Duany’s (2003) concept of “postcolonial peoplehood” alongside Michael Bakhtin’s (1981) heterglossia, to explore the multiple ideological positionings and constructions of self of a returnee migrant. I also incorporate fluid constructs of youth and global subcultures to my descriptive account of variable language use on the island. Thus, taking into account new ways of speaking that have emerged from our globalized economies, technological innovations, and virtual forms of communication (Vertovec, 2009; De Fina & Perrino, 2013; Duff, 2015), and, with it, new ways of constructing meaning in interaction. One case is provided in which “Puerto Ricanhood” and “American citizenship” is enacted through variable linguistic means. Specifically, I discuss the bilingual practices and identity constructions of Miguel, a returnee migrant from Virginia, as he actively claims his right to local identity by engaging in local registers. By providing Miguel’s case, I demonstrate how different language styles and positionalities may not be boxed into homogenous constructs, rather that an individuals’ speaking style and identities, may be complex and transcendant.

• Publisher: Universidade Estadual de Campinas
• Subject: Transnationalism. Colonialism. Language and identity. Stylistic variation. Indexicality