The Terrorized Experiences of Latina Bilingual Preservice Teachers With Language and Race

Raciolinguistic Framework

The first framework focuses on the co-naturalization of race and language and the intersectionality of other categories, such as class, gender, and sexuality (Alim, 2016). Raciolinguistics contends that historical and structural processes that maintain institutionalized hierarchies which continue to subordinate minoritized races and languages need to be interrogated, decolonized, and eradicated to achieve authentic diversity discourse (Rosa & Flores, 2017). In education, Flores and Rosa (2015) point out that additive approaches to bilingual education subscribe to a discourse of “appropriateness,” (p. 150) which they argue is rooted in the standardization of language practices that result in the conceptualization and acceptance of “academic English” or what Flores and Rosa refer to as "Standard English" (p.151) and for this context "academic Spanish.” This standardization of language is an ideological practice adopted and practiced in schools today that maintains the conflation of racialized bodies and attributed linguistic deficiency. In other words, when observing the rich linguistic repertoires of diverse youth in school, racialized students are overwhelmingly viewed as linguistically deviant in comparison to their White counterparts, when practicing linguistic repertoires that are innovative. For example, when a White person does not speak proper academic English, this digression can be viewed as a one-time instance and does not get attributed as a fixed language practice. Black, Indigenous, or person of color is heard speaking Spanglish and/or does not speak proper academic English, they are much more likely to be viewed as practicing nonconformist languages which is viewed as a fixed characteristic based on who they are, neither a proper Spanish nor a proper English speaker. Rosa (2016) jarringly reminds us about the truth regarding such societal language beliefs, in which it is more likely for a White person who does not speak properly to ascend to powerful high societal positions as in the case of George W. Bush, while Black, Indigenous, and People of Color (BIPOC) continue to be stigmatized, discriminated against, and marginalized for their linguistic practices. This underscores the significant influence that one’s race, language practices, and intersection of both, play in the impressions we leave on others.