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Literacies and Ethnolinguistic Diversity: Chicago

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Literacies and Language Education

Part of the book series: Encyclopedia of Language and Education ((ELE))

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Abstract

Chicago is in many ways an archetypal U.S. city; it is now a global city, its traditional industrial economy having changed into an information and service-based economy. Since its inception Chicago has been linked to other places in the world through its varied population, making it notably multicultural and multilingual. Contemporary globalization processes intensify transnational links while exerting bi-directional pressures with notable implications for language and literacy. Increased transnational communication, especially via mass media like satellite television, facilitates exposure to varieties of English (e.g., African-American English in rap music). Yet global movements toward sameness simultaneously complement the marked differentiation of ethnic, class and other identities at local levels. Although historical studies of Chicago do not explicitly investigate language or literacy, such knowledge can be inferred from these studies. Most contemporary research on Chicago’s ethnic communities likewise ignores language and literacy practices, including the distinct writing systems brought by recent immigrants. Recent ethnolinguistic research in Chicago, however, shows how people construct different facets of identities via a range of speech genres and literacy practices in both English and non-English languages and dialects. This research has focused on Mexican, Puerto Rican, Italian, Lithuanian, Greek, Swedish, Chinese, Japanese, African-American, African, Arabic, European-American (working class and middle class) populations. Future research could include Polish, Indian, Korean, Native American, Appalachian, and other Spanish-speaking and Asian communities, as well as the interaction among all these populations.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. The Ohio State University, University of Illinois at Chicago, 1421 Sherman Ave. #502, 60201-4814, Evanston, IL, USA

    Marcia Farr

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  1. Marcia Farr
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Correspondence to Marcia Farr .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Professional Development, King's College Dept. Continuing Education &, London, United Kingdom

    Brian V. Street

  2. University of Auckland, Auckland, Australia

    Stephen May

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Farr, M. (2016). Literacies and Ethnolinguistic Diversity: Chicago. In: Street, B., May, S. (eds) Literacies and Language Education. Encyclopedia of Language and Education. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-02321-2_26-1

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-02321-2_26-1

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  • Online ISBN: 978-3-319-02321-2

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