62 pages • 2 hours read
Quiara Alegría HudesMy Broken Language: A Memoir
Quiara Alegría HudesNonfiction | Autobiography / Memoir | Adult | Published in 2021A modern alternative to SparkNotes and CliffsNotes, SuperSummary offers high-quality Study Guides with detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, and more.
Background
Historical Context: Puerto Rican Migration to the United States
After being under colonial Spanish rule for 405 years, the island of Puerto Rico became a colony of the United States in 1898. In 1917, Puerto Ricans were granted US citizenship, allowing them to move freely between the island and the mainland without a passport. However, Puerto Rican migration to the United States did not begin in earnest until the 1950s, facilitated by the advent of air travel. Initially, most Puerto Ricans settled in East Coast cities like New York, Boston, and Philadelphia, creating enclaves that sometimes grew to cover entire neighborhoods. They were the first Hispanic group to migrate to the United States in large numbers. Today, more Puerto Ricans live in the continental United States than on the island of Puerto Rico.
After centuries of colonial rule and exploitation, Puerto Rico suffers from economic instability and high rates of poverty, which drives migration. These issues have been compounded by modern-day difficulties of natural disasters, the debt crisis, and the COVID-19 pandemic. The island remains a territory of the United States. Its residents are citizens; they can serve in the military and are subject to federal laws but cannot vote in general elections and lack full representation in Congress. This remains a controversial relationship, and many argue for a change, such as making the island a US state or allowing the territory greater independence.
Sociolinguistic Context: The Importance of Language in Group Belonging
Language is much more than a means of communication. The language that an individual speaks and how they speak it has many ramifications for their identity and sense of group belonging. Throughout her childhood, Quiara equates “fluency” with “belonging.” She feels she doesn’t belong in her Puerto Rican family because of her “shaky” Spanish. To combat this, she develops “fluency” in Western art, literature, and music, hoping to find a sense of belonging there.
Linguist John Edwards calls language “the most immediate symbolic marker of human affiliation” and argues that “speaking a particular language means belonging to a particular speech community” (Edwards, John. Sociolinguistics: A Very Short Introduction. Oxford University Press. Kindle Edition. 2013. Pg. 2, 82). The language someone speaks and how they speak it often leads the listener to make snap judgments about the speaker’s identity. These judgments can be stigmatizing, especially when combined with other identity factors, such as race, class, and gender.
In particular, there is often a bias against people who speak with non-standard accents and in “dialects.” However, “There is in fact ample scholarly evidence that all dialects are valid systems of communication, and that none is intrinsically better or worse than another” (Ibid, Pg. 7). In other words, the idea of “fluency” is more a social concept than a scientific one. There is no such thing as a “broken language,” and Quiara’s professor is correct when she tells her, “Language that aims toward perfection […] is a lie” (273).
Unlock all 62 pages of this Study GuidePlus, gain access to 9,100+ more expert-written Study Guides.
Including features:
