Kelsey Harper

​

My current research addresses the question of how exposure to the diverse linguistic environment in the United States changes notions of linguistic and national identity among self-identifying Peruvians. Specifically, I am most interested in the sociolinguistic processes that influence this group’s variety of Spanish. This includes a more humanistic approach of how Peruvians view their own variety of Spanish as it comes into contact with the other varieties of the language in the context of the United States.

​

This research not only describes what happens to Peruvian Spanish through cross-cultural experience, but on a larger scale will provide insight into the inner workings of cultural subsets situated within a larger, more prevalent minority group. While Peruvians are one of the more represented South American countries in terms of number of immigrants in the United States, they nevertheless remain a minority within the larger community that is considered Hispanic. The term Hispanic itself results problematic, as it is an umbrella term that encompasses people from over 20 different countries, each with diverse linguistic norms and even high degrees of internal heterogeneity. The idea then, is to observe how this subset responds to a prescribed label that subsumes national and linguistic identity. The findings have the potential to be applicable not only to Peruvians in the United States, but also other lesser-represented subsets of minority populations as well.

​

I plan to answer the questions posed above through ethnographic field research in areas of the United States with sizable Peruvian populations, namely Paterson, New Jersey, as well as in Houston, Texas and the surrounding areas. Through interviews and observation of this group, I will focus qualitatively on Peruvians’ linguistic experiences and their attitudes toward other language varieties with which they come into contact. Other research has focused on linguistic attitudes in Peru toward variations of the Spanish language (de los Heros, 2001). The United States provides an interesting new climate to explore how these attitudes are similar to or different than those observed in a predominantly Peruvian context.

​

My research interests are not limited to Peruvian Spanish in the United States. Having experience as a teacher of both English and Spanish as a foreign language, I value research in the areas of second language acquisition and foreign language pedagogy. In my first year as a doctoral student, I coauthored “Language Proficiency and NNESTs (Non-Native English Speaking Teachers)” which discussed the complexities involved in teaching a language as a non-native speaker. I hope to continue expanding my research in these fields and incorporate them into my future career and personal program of research.

 

Lastly, I value practicality in research and I look not only for implications for the group which I am studying, but also for general implications in multi-dialectal societies involving minority varieties. While my research provides insight into individual attitudes towards linguistic variety only in specific contexts, future avenues for investigation could include comparing the findings with other subsets of linguistic minorities. Through raising awareness of  linguistic variation, my research helps to deconstruct stereotypes and promote a multifaceted understanding not only of Hispanics in the United States, but also groups that are subjected to a blanket label.