Negotiating Words & Worlds: An Autoethnography of Linguistic Identity Development
Location
Room 210
Proposal Track
Research Project
Session Format
Presentation
Preferred Time
Friday morning
Abstract
As a speaker of African American Vernacular English (AAVE) there was no separation of the words and worlds I journeyed. This autoethnography emerged from my fieldwork to encourage linguistic diversity and writing portfolios in the assessment of middle school students in an urban school. As a novice researcher and new doctoral student, I entered the project with strong beliefs and subjectivities about language use and expectations. Over the course of the study, my research journals revealed many biases and contradictions. To uncover the source of these beliefs I engaged in a process of deep reflection, which ultimately unearthed the sources of my linguistic conflicts. An in-depth exploration of over twenty year of experiences revealed the dynamics that influenced my linguistic identity. Drawing from Critical Race Theory and literature on AAVE and Standard American English (SAE) my narrative account was analyzed to help me understand how power and social contexts influenced my language choices. This narrative encourages teachers and teacher educators to reflect on the interaction between their own personal beliefs and practices.
Keywords
Autoethnography, Critical Race Theory, AAVE, Linguistic Diversity
Recommended Citation
Thomas, Clarice, "Negotiating Words & Worlds: An Autoethnography of Linguistic Identity Development" (2015). Georgia Educational Research Association Conference. 10.
https://digitalcommons.georgiasouthern.edu/gera/2015/2015/10
Negotiating Words & Worlds: An Autoethnography of Linguistic Identity Development
Room 210
As a speaker of African American Vernacular English (AAVE) there was no separation of the words and worlds I journeyed. This autoethnography emerged from my fieldwork to encourage linguistic diversity and writing portfolios in the assessment of middle school students in an urban school. As a novice researcher and new doctoral student, I entered the project with strong beliefs and subjectivities about language use and expectations. Over the course of the study, my research journals revealed many biases and contradictions. To uncover the source of these beliefs I engaged in a process of deep reflection, which ultimately unearthed the sources of my linguistic conflicts. An in-depth exploration of over twenty year of experiences revealed the dynamics that influenced my linguistic identity. Drawing from Critical Race Theory and literature on AAVE and Standard American English (SAE) my narrative account was analyzed to help me understand how power and social contexts influenced my language choices. This narrative encourages teachers and teacher educators to reflect on the interaction between their own personal beliefs and practices.
