"Making our own language": The translanguaging practices of transnational youths in Zacatecas, Mexico

Abstract

This dissertation explores the discursive practices of twenty-three transnational youths located in Zacatecas, Mexico. The analysis of the qualitative data obtained is informed by Translanguaging )—a practical theory of language (Li Wei, 2018b)—. Translanguaging breaks away from the structuralist paradigm of linguistic analysis and is rather described as a "practice that involves dynamic and functionally integrated use of different languages and language varieties. More importantly, it is taken as a process of knowledge construction that goes beyond language(s)" (Li Wei, 2018b, p. 15 italics in original). In incorporating translanguaging, this study draws on moment analysis as the core unit of inquiry focusing on naturally occurring languaging and participants' metalinguistic commentaries (Li Wei, 2011; Zhu Hua & Li Wei, 2016). The study has two main objectives. The first is to identify the translanguaging practices of the participants. This is achieved through the analysis of their discourse within the context of semi-structured interviews and writing compositions conceived as translanguaging spaces. The data analysis resulted in a collection of Translanguaging Natural Occurrences (TNOs) )—representing participants' translanguaging practices in their everyday activities across myriad social domains)—. The second objective is to explore the ways in which the translanguaging practices of participants explain their identity construction. This is accomplished by analyzing the data corresponding to participants' Metalinguistic Commentaries (MLCs). Through their insights, the youths in this study reveal personal processes of identity construction at the same time as illuminating broader discourses of belonging anchored in the prevailing ideologies of language and identity across the multiple social domains they navigate within the transnational fields they inhabit.