Jennifer Leeman

Este libro ofrece un acercamiento a la sociolingüística y al estudio del lenguaje y la sociedad, que luego se aplica al análisis del español hablado en los Estados Unidos. Además de proporcionar información clave sobre la demografía y la historia del español en dicho país, se analiza su situación sociopolítica, la relación de la lengua con las identidades latinxs, y las formas en que las ideologías y políticas lingüísticas reflejan y condicionan la percepción del español y sus hablantes. Se examina el uso y la representación del español en una amplia gama de contextos, incluyendo el habla cotidiana, los medios de comunicación, las escuelas, el censo y las instituciones gubernamentales y no gubernamentales. Cada capítulo incluye preguntas de discusión y actividades de análisis. Esta edición se basa en Speaking Spanish in the US (2020), pero está pensada específicamente para el público hispanohablante.

También hay una edición en lengua inglesa: https://www.multilingual-matters.com/page/detail/?k=9781788928298

RESEÑAS
"Adoptando un enfoque crítico, socioconstruccionista y absolutamente interdisciplinario, Leeman y Fuller logran enormes avances en la tarea de desentrañar la miríada de fundamentos etnorraciales, geopolíticos y socioculturales que afectan a las personas de habla hispana a la hora de ser contadas, educadas y atendidas dentro de la sociedad estadounidense. Este libro se convertirá, sin duda, en una piedra angular en la formación de la próxima generación de intelectuales y activistas que se dediquen al estudio del español en los Estados Unidos."
Glenn A. Martínez, Ohio State University, Estados Unidos

"El español en los Estados Unidos es una realidad orgánica que no se deja asir con facilidad. Las profesoras Leeman y Fuller se han puesto manos a la obra y no han dejado tema por tratar, debate por discutir ni polémica por afrontar. Hablar español en Estados Unidos es un libro formativo e informativo, pero también atrevido, que refleja la intensidad con que puede vivirse una realidad sociolingüística tan compleja como la estadounidense."
Francisco Moreno Fernández, Universität Heidelberg, Alemania y Universidad de Alcalá, España

"Este excelente libro ya ha establecido su importancia como una perspicaz presentación del español en Estados Unidos, sobre todo desde la perspectiva innovadora de la sociopolítica del lenguaje. La edición en español es significativa tanto por hacerlo accesible al público hispanohablante como por los interesantes desafíos lingüísticos que plantea. El énfasis en el 'lenguaje inclusivo' ejemplifica la sensibilidad de las autoras hacia el lenguaje que sustenta este libro."
Clare Mar-Molinero, University of Southampton, Reino Unido

En definitiva, [este libro] muestra las realidades sociolingüísticas del español en EEUU, visibilizando la diversidad de la comunidad latinx y su relevancia en la historia, sociedad y desarrollo económico de este país. Es un libro accesible para estudiantes e investigadores que no tienen formación especializada en los estudios sobre lenguaje en su contexto sociocultural; sin embargo, también constituye un estudio de largo alcance que indaga perspicazmente las causas etno- racionales, geopolíticas, ideológicas y sociales que subyacen en el discurso que degrada a los hispanohablantes y a sus prácticas lingüísticas.
Discurso & Sociedad, Vol.15(4), 2021

RESEÑAS DE LA EDICION EN INGLES:
"A significant contribution to the study of language in society, this book challenges readers to consider the social and political meanings of speaking Spanish in the United States [...] The inclusion of key terminology, discussion questions, and resources for further reading make this book an ideal text for courses in linguistics, language studies, and a number of other disciplines."
Language in Society 50 (2021)

"Educators, scholars, and students of linguistics, Hispanic linguistics, and Latino studies, as well as academics in other fields and nonacademics interested in the state of Spanish in the US would benefit tremendously from reading this text, as it intertwines many threads quite masterfully and clearly develops how to use an interdisciplinary critical sociopolitical approach to integrate language, identity, and linguistic ideology into teaching and social justice."
Latino Studies, 2021

"Speaking Spanish in the US es, desde ya, un hito en los estudios sobre la lengua española en los Estados Unidos. Marca el camino, o los caminos, a seguir."
Hispania, Volume 104, Number 3, September 2021

"Este libro es una publicación sumamente interesante para aprender y reflexionar acerca del contexto social, político e ideológico del español en los Estados Unidos en la actualidad y también acerca de las condiciones históricas y otros antecedentes que han moldeado esa situación [...] [E]s altamente recomendable para estudiantes o para investigadores que precisen de referencias sobre temas particulares concernientes al español. 
Infoling 6.24 (2021)

I will plan to use this textbook for my general education-level students, and I would recommend it to instructors teaching courses on the sociopolitics of Spanish in the US; it takes on an ambitious array of potentially sprawling topics in an interesting, focused, and accessible way. This work lives up to its promise, providing a valuable, complex approach to a compelling topic that is of critical importance to higher education in today's political landscape.
Journal of Spanish Language Teaching, 2021

The book is clearly organized and would make an engaging text for a course on Spanish in the U.S. or courses that study the intersection of politics and language. Students of many interrelated disciplines could benefit from this book, as well as Spanish instructors who are ready to implement critical pedagogy in their courses and would like inspiration for where to start.
Spanish as a Heritage Language Vol. 1 No. 1, 2021

This volume is an important addition to the growing body of linguistic research on the oldest European language spoken in what is now the United States. Its focus on the social and political realities of Spanish speakers, as opposed to structural aspects of the language itself, sets it somewhat apart from other studies. While some book-length treatises do mention the sociopolitical dimensions in which Spanish exists, none deals with these as a principal theme.
Journal of Multilingual and Multicultural Development, 2021

DISPONIBLE:
https://www.multilingual-matters.com/page/detail/?k=9781800413955

This book introduces readers to basic concepts of sociolinguistics with a focus on Spanish in the US. The coverage goes beyond linguistics to examine the history and politics of Spanish in the US, the relationship of language to Latinx identities, and how language ideologies and policies reflect and shape societal views of Spanish and its speakers. Accessible to those with no linguistic background, this book provides students with a foundation in the study of language and society, and the opportunity to relate theoretical concepts to Spanish in the US in a range of contexts, including everyday speech, contemporary culture, media, education and policy. The book is a substantially revised and expanded 2nd edition of Spanish Speakers in the USA, including new chapters on the history of Spanish in the US, the demographics of Spanish in the US, and language policy; and expanded chapters on language ideologies, race, identity, media, and education.

A Spanish-language edition is also available: https://www.multilingual-matters.com/page/detail/?K=9781800413931

Reviews
“Adopting a thoroughly interdisciplinary, critical and social constructionist approach, Fuller and Leeman make tremendous strides in teasing out the myriad ethnoracial, geopolitical and sociocultural foundations that affect Spanish speakers in being counted, educated and cared for in US society. This book will undoubtedly become a cornerstone in the formation of the next generation of scholars and activists dedicated to the study of Spanish in the US.”
Glenn A. Martinez, The Ohio State University, USA

“Speaking Spanish in the US is an insightful, accessible, and wide-ranging book that provides a critical counterforce to contemporary discourse that criminalizes Latinx Spanish-speakers and their linguistic practices, showing definitively that Latinx people are now and have always been a vital part of US sociocultural and political economic life”
Hilary Parsons Dick, Arcadia University, USA

"A significant contribution to the study of language in society, this book challenges readers to consider the social and political meanings of speaking Spanish in the United States [...] The inclusion of key terminology, discussion questions, and resources for further reading make this book an ideal text for courses in linguistics, language studies, and a number of other disciplines."
Language in Society 50 (2021)

"Educators, scholars, and students of linguistics, Hispanic linguistics, and Latino studies, as well as academics in other fields and nonacademics interested in the state of Spanish in the US would benefit tremendously from reading this text, as it intertwines many threads quite masterfully and clearly develops how to use an interdisciplinary critical sociopolitical approach to integrate language, identity, and linguistic ideology into teaching and social justice."
Latino Studies, 2021

"Speaking Spanish in the US es, desde ya, un hito en los estudios sobre la lengua española en los Estados Unidos. Marca el camino, o los caminos, a seguir."
Hispania, Volume 104, Number 3, September 2021

"Este libro es una publicación sumamente interesante para aprender y reflexionar acerca del contexto social, político e ideológico del español en los Estados Unidos en la actualidad y también acerca de las condiciones históricas y otros antecedentes que han moldeado esa situación [...] [E]s altamente recomendable para estudiantes o para investigadores que precisen de referencias sobre temas particulares concernientes al español. 
Infoling 6.24 (2021)

En definitiva, Speaking Spanish in the US muestra las realidades sociolingüísticas del español en EEUU, visibilizando la diversidad de la comunidad latinx y su relevancia en la historia, sociedad y desarrollo económico de este país. Es un libro accesible para estudiantes e investigadores que no tienen formación especializada en los estudios sobre lenguaje en su contexto sociocultural; sin embargo, también constituye un estudio de largo alcance que indaga perspicazmente las causas etno- racionales, geopolíticas, ideológicas y sociales que subyacen en el discurso que degrada a los hispanohablantes y a sus prácticas lingüísticas.
Discurso & Sociedad, Vol.15(4), 2021

I will plan to use this textbook for my general education-level students, and I would recommend it to instructors teaching courses on the sociopolitics of Spanish in the US; it takes on an ambitious array of potentially sprawling topics in an interesting, focused, and accessible way. This work lives up to its promise, providing a valuable, complex approach to a compelling topic that is of critical importance to higher education in today's political landscape.
Journal of Spanish Language Teaching, 2021

The book is clearly organized and would make an engaging text for a course on Spanish in the U.S. or courses that study the intersection of politics and language. Students of many interrelated disciplines could benefit from this book, as well as Spanish instructors who are ready to implement critical pedagogy in their courses and would like inspiration for where to start.
Spanish as a Heritage Language Vol. 1 No. 1, 2021

This volume is an important addition to the growing body of linguistic research on the oldest European language spoken in what is now the United States. Its focus on the social and political realities of Spanish speakers, as opposed to structural aspects of the language itself, sets it somewhat apart from other studies. While some book-length treatises do mention the sociopolitical dimensions in which Spanish exists, none deals with these as a principal theme.
Journal of Multilingual and Multicultural Development, 2021

This chapter examines the classification of Latin Americans and Latinxs in Western Europe censuses from epistemic, discursive, and policy perspectives: who is included and who is left out in tabulations of Latinxs and Latin Americans; how census classificatory practices reflect and bolster particular constructions of ethnoracial, national, and Latinx identities; and how these classification schemes emerge from but also limit public policies. I frame the absence of ethnoracial classification in the majority of Western European censuses as a triple denial: the denial of ethnoracial and cultural diversity within the nation-state, the denial of the impact of European colonialism, and the denial of racism. I examine how the lack of ethnoracial classification in general, and the lack of a Latin American or Latinx category even in the few places that do have ethnoracial classification, invisibilize Latinxs, impacting access to public resources and obscuring inequities. The shifting classification of Latinxs in the US census is provided as a point of comparison.

Sociolinguistic concerns are of paramount importance in heritage language (HL) education because the macro-sociolinguistic context shapes HL speakers’ language experiences, knowledge, and use, as well as their socioaffective relationship to the language. This chapter offers a historical overview of sociolinguistic research related to HL speakers, as well as a discussion of current concerns, including: the sociolinguistic characteristics of HL speakers; macro-sociolinguistic issues such as societal language ideologies and policies, and HL identities; and sociolinguistic research in educational contexts. In addition, we examine the place of sociolinguistics in HL curricula and we offer specific recommendations for HL educators. We conclude by identifying areas for future research

In his analysis of the category Aryan in India, Hutton (2019) demonstrates the key role of academic scholarship in colonial and postcolonial discursive formations and he shows that competing understandings of Indian identities and languages are entangled with specific political agendas. But while politics are inseparable from academic epistemologies, this does not mean that there is a one-to-one correspondence between a specific discourse of identity and a specific political position or ideology. Instead, Hutton explains, a single discourse can be linked to multiple competing or contradictory ideologies; in the Indian case, Aryanism is undergirded by and deployed in the service both of British colonialism and of anti-colonial resistance. In this essay, I take up Hutton's concern with the tensions between academic and public conceptions of ethnoracial identity, as well as the multiplicity of political agendas that identity categories can serve, by looking at ethnoracial catego-rization in the United States census. Rather than analyzing the specific identity categories and labels, I focus on the political motivations and discursive effects of ethnoracial classification as a practice, highlighting how the symbolic and political impacts of classification have shifted since the first US census was conducted in 1790. I discuss the multidirectional flows of academic understandings of race, public policy, and ethnoracial groups' political mobilizations in the design of census categories, as well as the interplay among different types of expertise about identity. Conflicts and tensions between different types of expertise, together with competing understandings of ethnoracial identity, are seen not only in the design of the questions but also in the misalignment between the institutionally recognized identity categories and individuals' self-identification and identity claims when completing the census. https://doi.org/10.1075/lcs.00020.lee Language, Culture and Society 2:1 (2020), pp. 92-99. issn 2543-3164 | e-issn 2543-3156

Resumen: Dado el uso frecuente de las estadísticas censales en los estudios del multilingüismo, este artículo argumenta que es necesario examinarlas desde una perspectiva crítica que tenga en cuenta la relación entrelazada de los aspectos metodológicos e ideológicos de los censos. En contraste con los estudios previos que por lo general han examinado uno o dos elementos de la producción de un censo, como por ejemplo la selección de temas y categorías a incluirse, la formu-lación de las preguntas, o el procesamiento de los datos, este artículo analiza críticamente la problemática en cada paso del censo, enfatizando cómo están en-trelazados los aspectos administrativos, epistémicos y ideológicos a lo largo del proceso y presentando ejemplos ilustrativos. Ya que es imposible separar las es-tadísticas de sus orígenes como instrumento del Estado y componente del discur-so oficial, al utilizarlas en los estudios académicos nos urge examinarlas crítica-mente para entender qué ideologías encarnan y reproducen. Palabras clave: Censos, ideologías lingüísticas, análisis crítico 1. El nexo de la clasificación, la política y la ideología Los censos nacionales (y en algunos casos, regionales) recogen información so-bre un abanico de características socioculturales de la población, tales como el uso y/o conocimiento lingüístico, la identidad etnolingüística o cultural y el lugar de nacimiento. Como consecuencia de que los datos censales los producen agen-cias e institutos oficiales de estadísticas, tienden a considerarse sumamente obje-tivos y fiables. Además, estas agencias oficiales normalmente gozan de recursos

Researchers across disciplines have analyzed the ethnoracial classification of Latinxs in the US census, as well as the ideological, political, and material underpinnings and effects of such classification. In this article, I advance our understanding of the census’ reproduction of racial identities and racial discourse in two ways. First, I demonstrate that sociolinguistic theory and methods can shed new light on census classification in three distinct areas: (1) the categories and classifications themselves, (2) the negotiation of ethnoracial classification during census interviews, and (3) the language in which censuses are conducted. Second, I demonstrate that census-taking does not consist simply of recording preexisting ethnoracial identities, or of disseminating official discourses from interviewers to respondents. Instead, census interviews involve the intersubjective construction and production of ethnoracial identities, as interviewers and respondents negotiate the meaning of the categories provided and their places within them.

In this article, I argue that census language questions, policies and ideologies are intertwined and mutually reinforcing. Thus, analyses of census language questions
must examine the specific policies for which language statistics are produced, as well as the ideologies that undergird those policies and the production of language statistics. After examining the history of language questions and related policies in the US, I apply this approach in an analysis of the US Census Bureau’s current language question, arguing that US language policy as well as official statistics on multilingualism are constrained by monolingual ideologies that center on English as the key point of reference and the marker of full personhood and national belonging. My analysis focuses on four interrelated realms: 1) US language policy and its emphasis on “Limited English Proficiency” in assigning language rights, 2) the broader ideological context, 3) the language question itself, and 4) the impact of language ideologies on survey design and data collection within the US Census Bureau.

Although they typically include just one or two questions about language, censuses and large-scale government surveys are a rich source of data for examining patterns and trends in language knowledge and use. This chapter begins with a brief history of census taking, which dates back several millennia and which became a key administrative technology of modern nation-states and colonial projects. Motivations for the nineteenth century introduction of census questions about language knowledge and use are then discussed, with particular attention paid to methodological concerns regarding the focus and formulation of the questions. This chapter presents major contributions from three areas, (1) the field of survey methodology, (2) research on survey language questions, and (3) analyses of the ideological aspects of census language questions, and then provides information about additional large-scale surveys on language and education. The challenges of using census data in language research are then discussed, including the inconsistency of questions asked in different places, changes in the questions over time, and reliability and validity concerns regarding self-report data. The chapter concludes with a consideration of recent trends in survey methods and how these are likely to affect censuses and surveys about language.

Leeman, J. (2016) La clasificación de los latinos y latinas en la historia del censo de los Estados Unidos: la racialización oficial de la lengua española. In José Del Valle (ed.) La historia política del español. Madrid: Editorial Aluvión. 354-379.

The U.S. Census Bureau’s language statistics are used by a wide range of public and private interests but many users are unaware of what those statistics mean or the reasons they are produced. This article examines how and why the Census Bureau asks about language, paying special attention to the interplay of public policies and language questions. After presenting a taxonomy of census language questions and their policy uses, I turn to the U.S. Census Bureau’s current language question, explaining both the development of the question and synthesizing the research that has been used to evaluate its validity and reliability, as well as discussing how U.S. language policies have changed since the current language question was adopted. Finally, I present the results of a recent qualitative study that sought to determine the basis of respondents’ answers to the Census Bureau language question, as well as to explore the criteria that respondents use when evaluating the English-speaking ability of other household members

After critically examining the multiple meanings of the term “heritage language education,” this chapter focuses on ‘foreign’ language instruction for students with prior home exposure to this language. We provide an overview of this fast growing area of second language acquisition and educational linguistics, as well as analyze the language ideologies embodied in this pedagogical and research paradigm. We argue that, despite its roots in minority language and civil rights roots movements, the model of heritage language education dominant in the US does not challenge hegemonic linguistic hierarchies that frame English monolingualism as the norm and relegate minority languages (and their speakers) to the margins.

The U.S. Census Bureau’s American Community Survey (ACS) is the primary source of data on languages spoken in the U.S. Respondents are asked a three-part language question for all household members five years old or older. The first part of the question asks whether the person speaks a non-English language in the home. For those who do, respondents are asked to specify the language and then to report how well the individual speaks English (Very well, Well, Not well, Not at all). ACS language data are central to the implementation of federal language policy, including the language minority provisions of the Voting Rights Act and Executive Order 13166, which requires federal agencies to take “reasonable steps” to provide Limited English Proficient (LEP) individuals “meaningful access” to programs and activities, and they are also widely used by researchers and commercial entities. Previous Census Bureau studies have examined data quality utilizing a quantitative approach, for example, by utilizing reinterviews to investigate consistency of reporting survey responses or by comparing responses to other measures of English language ability. However, researchers have not employed qualitative methods to examine respondents’ subjective interpretations of the questions or their reasons for responding as they do. In order to address this gap in the research, 61 Spanish-speaking adults completed an abbreviated version of the Spanish-language version of the ACS and then participated in cognitive interviews regarding their interpretation of the three-part language question and the basis of their language evaluations. Results revealed frequent false negatives in interviewer-administered surveys regarding whether respondents spoke a language other than English at home. Other findings included a great deal of variability in the criteria that participants used to evaluate their own and others’ English speaking ability.

Intro:

In recent years three trends have had a significant impact on language teaching in the United States: (1) a growing awareness and application of the national Standards for Foreign Language Learning (2006), (2) an increase in the number of people who speak languages other than English at home, and (3) a greater emphasis on service learning in secondary and post-secondary education. These trends have contributed to a proliferation of service-learning programs in which university students studying a ‘foreign’ language (often, but not only Spanish) earn college credit while engaging in a service project in a local community of speakers of that language. These trends also provide the sociohistorical context in which community-based service learning programs are situated, and they shape educators’ and students’ understanding of, and relationship to, local minority language communities. Thus, there is a need for critical analysis of the underlying assumptions and the ideological as well as the material impact of such programs.

This article addresses Spanish for native speakers (SNS) instruction from the perspective of critical pedagogy, including the critical examination of dominant educational paradigms as well as the proposal of alternative models. Emphasizing the inherently political nature of education and the role of language in the production of knowledge, culture, and identities, the author analyzes current models of SNS and argues that appropriateness-based models designed to promote expansion of students’ linguistic repertoires may reinforce dominant sociolinguistic hierarchies and deny student agency. An emerging critical approach is considered, and a proposal that emphasizes the political— as well as the formal and social—aspects of language, and the promotion of student agency is presented. Specific suggestions for the implementation of the proposed approach are provided.

This article builds on research on institutional language policies and practices, and on studies of the legitimization of racial categories in census data collection, in an exploration of language ideologies in the US Census. It traces the changes in language-related questions in the two centuries of decennial surveys, contextualizing them within a discussion of changing policies and patterns of immigration and nativism, as well as evolving hegemonic notions of race. It is argued that the US Census has historically used language as an index of race and as a means to racialize speakers of languages other than English, constructing them as essentially different and threatening to US cultural and national identity.

This article presents a critical analysis of language ideologies in the instructional discourse of Spanish for heritage speakers in the United States. We focus on the discourse present in prefaces and introductions to Spanish for heritage speakers textbooks published between 1970 and 2000. Whereas previous research on language ideologies in heritage language instruction has tended to focus on standard language ideologies, in our analysis we broaden the perspective to examine a wider range of ideologies that are part of an institutionally entrenched and socially pervasive politics of knowledge. Our analysis revealed that the intertextual discourse emerging in Spanish Heritage Language (SHL) textbooks correlates with broader ideologies regarding the societal role of the university, the positioning of ethnic studies programs, and the portrayal of cultural and linguistic diversity within academia and society at large. Further, mirroring the evolution of these ideologies, we found that discourses of textbooks from the 1970s and 1980s tend to underscore access, inclusion, and representation for minority Spanish language students while textbooks published in the 1990s emphasize economic competitiveness and globalization. In our discussion of this move from the portrayal of Spanish as linked to student identity to the commodification of linguistic and cultural diversity, we underscore the multifaceted and often contradictory implications of these two ideological constructions.

Jennifer Leeman, Igone Arteagoitia, Boris Fridman, & Catherine Doughty Georgetown University INTEGRATING ATTENTION TO FORM WITH MEANING: FOCUS ON FORM IN CONTENT-BASED SPANISH INSTRUCTION ABSTRACT This study examined the effects of focus on form ...

Publikationsansicht. 6459269. Towards a new classification of input :--an empirical study of the effect of recasts, negative evidence, and enhanced salience on L2 development /--by Jennifer Leeman. (2000). Leeman, Jennifer. Abstract. Thesis (Ph. ...

In conjunction with the launch of the Graduate Certificate in Spanish Heritage Language Education, the Department of Modern and Classical Languages is pleased to announce a new online lecture series.

For the 2021-2022 academic year we are thrilled to host four experts in Spanish heritage language education, critical pedagogies, and antiracist approaches to language education.

All lectures are free and open to the public but advance registration is required: https://spanish.gmu.edu/events/category/shle-online-lecture-series

https://channelviewpublications.wordpress.com/2021/10/28/putting-gender-inclusive-language-into-practice-in-english-and-spanish/

In the English-language edition of our book Speaking Spanish in the US: The Sociopolitics of Language (2020) we discussed the competing positions regarding gender-inclusive language, the ideologies that underlie them, and their connection to broader social and political issues. In addition to talking about gender inclusivity, we also used gender-inclusive language throughout. As we prepared the Spanish-language edition, Hablar español en Estados Unidos: La sociopolítica del lenguaje, the cross-linguistic differences between English and Spanish came into sharp relief. Specifically, although we were able to adapt our discussion about gender inclusivity for a Spanish-speaking audience without much difficulty, putting it into practice proved a bit more complicated.