Shame and Pride: Defendiéndose in Narrative

Abstract

This chapter analyzes how Mexican immigrant women interactionally portray and position themselves in relation to language experiences in their narratives. I present a linguistic analysis of the role of constructed dialogues and emotional devices as the main evaluation devices to convey moral stances in these narratives. This analysis illustrates the main hypothesis this book puts forward: Mexican immigrant women in Southern California contest and resist the racialized social order they inhabit, emotionally characterized by shame for not speaking English “well” and pride in the Spanish in which they want to socialize their children. As a consequence, they attempt to restore a moral order based on respect for the linguistic varieties of Spanish and English they speak, as well as the right to use both languages in public.