Migrant identity construction. A case study of Latin American immigrants living in London

Abstract

This thesis aims to examine and shed light on three main phenomena. One is the study of language and identity construction through language via a comparative analysis of the discourses of sixteen Latin American immigrants of six different nationalities living in London. I analyse how the participants self-present in relation to the figure of the immigrant and how they categorise themselves and other Latin Americans when they describe their work and social experiences in the various social domains in which they have interacted in London. A second aim is the study of language ideologies in which ideologies of English as the means to socioeconomic mobility and inclusion in a receiving society as well as monoglot and standard ideologies, among others are under scrutiny.

In the analysis of the participants’ self-presentations, categorisations and language ideologies, I take into account material and symbolic aspects of social class and ideologies of neoliberalism whose conceptualisations have been lacking in sociolinguistic studies. They offer us insights into how the participants construct and make sense of their social relations and a better understanding of their identities, realities and social alignments as well as a window into social processes of exclusion among Latin Americans. The discourse analysis that I undertake through a sociocognitive approach within Critical Discourse Studies aims to reveal the inner social layers that constitute the Latin American community and that might affect or hierarchically organise their social relations and interactions within the Latin American community.

A third aim is to examine Latin Americans’ linguistic repertoire. I employ the analytical term bivalency to account for the participants’ linguistic practices illustrative of their migration trajectories and the language contact zones in which they live and work. Examining how they use language in context can help us understand how they name their socioeconomic realities and experiences at the same time that it brings about the diversity of a group of people who have been lumped together as one single community.

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ORCID for Darren Paffey: orcid.org/0000-0003-2709-8012

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