Anne Whiteside

"We Are the Explorers": Transnational Yucatec Maya-speakers Negotiating Multilingual California Anne Whiteside

This qualitative study asks how Yucatec Maya-speaking immigrants from Mexico are using their three languages, Maya, Spanish and English, across a variety of social contexts and neighborhoods in San Francisco, California. Treating language as communicative practice, the study looks at the relative value and meaning of these languages in public and private spaces across the city. Qualitative data were collected from interviews, participant observation, and case studies of four individuals. These include recorded multilingual interactions with shopkeepers, roommates, coworkers and clinic staff, which are explored using Conversation Analysis and frameworks from linguistic anthropology and language socialization studies. Quantitative data on patterns of language use were collected through a language and literacy survey of 170 adults, which was designed and administered by a team Maya-speakers and the author. These data underscore the considerable linguistic resources of these Yucatecans, many of whom have few years of formal schooling. The study challenges language educators to build on these resources, rather than on limited academic foundations.