In Empanadas, Pupusas, and Greens on the Side, American University professor Amelia Tseng provides a new framework for understanding how language and identity intersect in Washington, DC. Read on for a Q&A with the author to learn more about the research process, the interviews that appear informed the writing of the book, and more.

Why was it important to you to use a raciomultilingual framework to analyze Washingtonian Latinx identity as opposed to other sociolinguistic theories?

I found I needed a comprehensive model that could take the multiple aspects of language that appear in immigrant communities—multilingualism, proficiency, dialect attitudes, and the sociolinguistic attitudes that accompany each of these factors—into account to understand the complexity of Latinx language and identity within the DC social environment. And so I developed the raciomultilingual perspective to center multilingualism within the raciolinguistic paradigm that was first developed by Nelson Flores and Jonathan Rosa.

The DC Latinx population is highly diverse, as is the DC region itself. It was important that the model take a holistic approach to the multilingual repertoire and be able to account for how ideologies about language, race/ethnicity, and other aspects of identity cross language lines. It was also important that the model account for apparently contradictory ideologies and still reflect shared experiences and perceptions.

Beyond the DC context, a raciomultilingual perspective helps scholars understand how US Latinxs and members of other communities understand language and construct race/ethnicity and personal identity in relationship to their local social environments, broader host-country social relations, and the lingering home-country ideologies that circulate in diaspora.

You mention that you were able to use a lot of participant observation and interviews for this book. What was that like?

The local community was incredibly generous in speaking with me and sharing their stories. Just getting to know people and learn more about the city was an incredible experience. As I heard in interviews time and time again, DC is a special place with its own identity and a rich mix of people and histories. It was moving to hear participants’ inspiring and sometimes harrowing stories about histories of migration, local Latinx life, and the changing city, told in a unique blend of Washingtonian Latinx voices. People also had wonderful senses of humor. I loved hearing their anecdotes. I hope that the book will be of interest to the community as well as to scholars, and that it will help give back knowledge to the community about local language and how DC Latinidad fits into the broader US context in this respect.

What further research would you like to see on the subject of sociolinguistic diversity within the D.C. Latinx community?

There is so much more to explore, given the diversity of DC and its surrounding area. DC is a unique place but in many ways is also a frontrunner of US trends. It also has much to add to our understanding of global cities around the world. Four major areas for future study immediately spring to mind, though they are certainly not the only ones.

Gentrification and new migration dynamics continue to change the region. As with many contemporary cities, the suburbs, not just the city, are highly diverse. We need to examine how sociolinguistic diversity and related social meanings are changing along with these trends. Plus, more research is needed on how gentrification is affecting DC Latinx language and identity.

We also need more research on language and diversity among Latinxs in general and in their contact with other communities in terms of race/ethnicity, colorism, and social class. In DC the Black community has historically been very important, as have Afro-Latinxs. Local contact between the two communities remains to be unpacked from a linguistic perspective. Mixed marriages are also common in the region. We need to examine language diversity in families of different Latinx backgrounds – an understudied topic in the US as a whole - as well as language and identity in mixed Latinx/non-Latinx families,

DC is also a leader in bilingual education. The impact of dual-language immersion programs on minority families – and current debates about how access to these programs, and childrens’ experiences within them, are affected by race and class privilege – is another important area for investigation.

Finally, the DC area’s global-city characteristics present particular directions for future study here and in other world cities. Social class is an important topic since the region has deep socioeconomic divides in general and among members of the same group, such as among Latinxs. The linguistic impact of DC Latinxs’ transnational family, community, and business ties is another area for future investigation. And the DC area’s strong government, international, and diplomatic sectors offer the opportunity to study middle-class language and the language of elite migrants.