Identity Construction in Narratives by Peruvian Andean Migrants
Author ORCID Identifier
https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7079-3873
Document Type
Paper Presentation
Presenter Language
English
Research Area
Language and migration, discourse analysis
Location
MBSC Dodge Room 302A
Start Date
18-10-2024 3:30 PM
End Date
18-10-2024 4:00 PM
Abstract
Migration processes have been studied broadly from different perspectives, and in the current globalization context within which we live, the relation between this phenomenon and language has gained relevance (Canagarajah, 2017). Although much of the work in the field has focused on processes of human mobility that involved North-South migrations, the importance of studying South-South migrations is being recognized, ones that involve so-called underdeveloped countries, especially in Latin American contexts (León & Falcón, 2016; Andrade et al., 2021). However, internal migration processes from rural spaces to urban cities, which are far from uncommon, have been less studied beyond their relation to the loss of indigenous languages in diglossic contexts. Considering the magnitude of the internal migration wave in Peru since the decade of the 60’s, that is still ongoing, and its effects on the configuration of Limeño society, the aim of this paper is to study the narratives and identity construction of migrant speakers from a discourse analysis perspective. Specifically, I am interested in examining the way in which Andean Peruvian migrants construct their identity through narratives.
This research is guided by the following question: how do Andean Peruvian migrants who have migrated from Southern regions of Peru to the capital, Lima, construct their identity through narratives about their migration process and their daily lives? I am interested in the self-positioning of these speakers in the new context of arrival. Departing from a constructionist framework of identity as a discursive phenomenon (Bucholtz and Hall, 2005), I will analyze a sample of six sociolinguistic semi-structured interviews with bilingual Spanish-Quechua speakers through linguistic microanalysis. I take De Fina’s (2003) proposal according to which the relationship between narrative and identity operates at different levels, relating one of them to the expression and negotiation of membership through “the categorization of self and others” (2003, p. 19). Preliminary findings show that migrant speakers use linguistic strategies to construct their identities in relation to other migrants. The way migrants position themselves in the world through their narratives could be related with the Andean cosmovision where the community gains relevance to the detriment of an individualistic view.
Identity Construction in Narratives by Peruvian Andean Migrants
MBSC Dodge Room 302A
Migration processes have been studied broadly from different perspectives, and in the current globalization context within which we live, the relation between this phenomenon and language has gained relevance (Canagarajah, 2017). Although much of the work in the field has focused on processes of human mobility that involved North-South migrations, the importance of studying South-South migrations is being recognized, ones that involve so-called underdeveloped countries, especially in Latin American contexts (León & Falcón, 2016; Andrade et al., 2021). However, internal migration processes from rural spaces to urban cities, which are far from uncommon, have been less studied beyond their relation to the loss of indigenous languages in diglossic contexts. Considering the magnitude of the internal migration wave in Peru since the decade of the 60’s, that is still ongoing, and its effects on the configuration of Limeño society, the aim of this paper is to study the narratives and identity construction of migrant speakers from a discourse analysis perspective. Specifically, I am interested in examining the way in which Andean Peruvian migrants construct their identity through narratives.
This research is guided by the following question: how do Andean Peruvian migrants who have migrated from Southern regions of Peru to the capital, Lima, construct their identity through narratives about their migration process and their daily lives? I am interested in the self-positioning of these speakers in the new context of arrival. Departing from a constructionist framework of identity as a discursive phenomenon (Bucholtz and Hall, 2005), I will analyze a sample of six sociolinguistic semi-structured interviews with bilingual Spanish-Quechua speakers through linguistic microanalysis. I take De Fina’s (2003) proposal according to which the relationship between narrative and identity operates at different levels, relating one of them to the expression and negotiation of membership through “the categorization of self and others” (2003, p. 19). Preliminary findings show that migrant speakers use linguistic strategies to construct their identities in relation to other migrants. The way migrants position themselves in the world through their narratives could be related with the Andean cosmovision where the community gains relevance to the detriment of an individualistic view.