A new framework for understanding how language and identity intersect in ever-evolving America
In the 1980s, Washington, DC—a predominantly African American, racially and economically segregated city with a strong local Black culture—became a hub of Latin American immigration. As the city's communities interacted, an identity both unique to DC and reflective of diverse Latin American cultures was born.
Empanadas, Pupusas, and Greens on the Side is the first linguistics book to explore how the Latinx community forged a new sense of home and identity in Washington. Using original ethnographic research—including interviews, narratives, and surveys—Tseng develops a new framework for understanding the relationship between race, identity, language, and culture, and she explains what happens when communities interact.
Readers interested in the cultural history of Washington, Latinx history, and language and society will enjoy this rich study of language as a cross-cultural current in ever-evolving America.
Reviews
"Drawing on rich ethnographic and sociolinguistic research, Empanadas, Pupusas, and Greens on the Side is an essential contribution to scholarship on Latinx linguistic practices and identities. Tseng's raciomultilingual approach forges exciting new paths in the study of everyday negotiations and transformations of ethnoracial, linguistic, and national borders."—Jonathan Rosa, associate professor in the Departments of Anthropology, Linguistics, and Comparative Literature, Stanford University
"Empanadas, Pupusas, and Greens on the Side provides a comprehensive exploration of DC Latinx language experiences in a US region that stands out for its long-term majority Salvadoran population and has been understudied and undertheorized. Tseng captures detailed ethnographic portraits and draws from diverse data sets and cultural texts. The result is an innovative, intersectional, and interdisciplinary analysis of gentrification, language, place, and identity. This book redefines what it means to be Washingtonian and paints a nuanced picture around DC belonging."—Lillian Gorman, director, Spanish as a Heritage Language Program, associate professor, Department of Spanish and Portuguese, University of Arizona
About the Author
Amelia Tseng is assistant professor of linguistics and Spanish in the Department of World Languages and Spanish at American University, where she is also and an affiliate faculty member in the Department of Anthropology and the Center for Latin American and Latino Studies. She coedited Bilingualism for All? Raciolinguistic Perspectives on Dual Language Education in the United States, with Nelson Flores and Nicholas Subtirelu (2020).
