Doctoral Dissertation Research: Ethnicity and Locality: Linguistic Variation and Practices among a Vietnamese American Student Group

New York University, New York NY

Investigators

Abstract

How do ethnic minorities in the U.S. maintain their cultural identity as they integrate into American society? This dissertation research will focus on the linguistic practices of Vietnamese-American students at a university in Minnesota. Previous sociolinguistic studies of Asian Americans in the U.S. have focused on East Asians; other Asian groups are largely unstudied, even though Southeast Asians comprise the majority of the local Asian-American community in some parts of the country, such as the Twin Cities area in Minnesota. Previous research has shown that Southeast Asians may view themselves differently, as indicated by the use of references such as "the other Asian" or "new wave", terms that highlight a distinction from other Asian groups. Three questions guide this research: First, in what ways do members of this organization draw upon linguistic features in constructing their identities both within the organization and in their local community? Second, is there evidence that these speakers use features tied to their heritage language? Third, what practices orient speakers to or away from definitions of "Vietnamese" and "Asian American"? Data for this study will be collected from members of this organization as well as control groups of European Americans and native Vietnamese. Speech data includes individual interviews, group discussions, and spontaneous speech collected in naturalistic settings. Speech data will be complemented by ethnographic information collected through participant observation. From the point of view of sociolinguistic theory, the purpose of this research is to examine how speakers negotiate a diverse set of identities within the bounds of a specific community and how shared experiences shape the social meaning of linguistic variation. This research will add to our knowledge of the linguistic practices of Asian Americans and emphasize the wide range of histories and cultures that this label encompasses. This research will also focus attention on the varied identities with which ethnic minorities may align themselves.