For my STEP project, I participated in the Hispanic Studies study abroad program in Valencia, Spain. Alongside fellow students from the United States, I took two classes (Spanish Cinema and Spanish Literature) with Universitat de Valencia professors. When I was not in class, I explored different areas of Spain, including the following: Barcelona, Madrid, Peñíscola, Alicante, Toledo and Granada. I lived with a host mom and two roommates who also attend Ohio State.
While in Spain, my eyes were opened to the connection between language and identity. Spain is a country with rich linguistic diversity. While castellano (Spanish) is the official language of Spain, several autonomous communities have their own official languages– Catalonia has Catalan, Galicia has Galician, and the Basque Country has Basque. There are also distinct regional dialectal differences within each language. For example, the castellano of Andalusia has linguistic features that are remarkably distinct from the castellano of Castille-La Mancha. While I knew these facts coming in, thanks to my linguistic classes, I didn’t fully understand the extent to which language, identity, and pride are intertwined.
My deeper understanding of language and identity that developed while I was in Spain was influenced by both my classes and small interactions I had with strangers. In my Spanish Cinema class, I learned that the autonomous communities that speak languages other than Spanish (Galicia, Catalonia, and the Basque Country primarily), oftentimes use their languages as forms of resistance, as a way of distinguishing themselves from the rest of Spain and representing the complex historical and political relationships they have with the rest of the peninsula. We watched the blockbuster Spanish movie Ochos apellidos vascos, which taught me that speaking a certain language in Spain means identifying oneself as part of a social group and aligning oneself with all of the stereotypes that have been assigned to that group, for better or for worse.
The most powerful lessons, however, came from what I consider “micro interactions”, or short moments I shared with strangers. For example, I once referred to valenciano, the dialect spoken in Valencia, as catalán, the language spoken in Catalonia, to a taxi driver. Valencian and Catalan are so similar that many linguists consider them to be two names for the same language, so I thought that referring to them as the same thing would be culturally appropriate. The taxi driver was offended, assuring me that Valencians do NOT speak Catalan and that the languages can not be equated. I realized that if one can be so offended when their language is mistyped, language must be tied to their very personal identity. As a result, I worked to better educate myself on the languages spoken in Spain and their intricacies.
I had many “micro interactions” with strangers, such as customer service workers, that were surprised when I started speaking Spanish. Sometimes, I would speak in English with my friends and then switch to Spanish with Spaniards. They were excited to hear Spanish, commenting on our Spanish skills and eager to hear why we were studying Spanish in school. They seemed honored to hear that we chose to study their language in school, as if learning Spanish was a way of showing our respect for their country and their people. I concluded that if their language was not so important to them, they wouldn’t have been so excited to hear foreigners speak it. They hold their Spanish near and dear to their hearts, and they are ecstatic when others choose to learn it.
This understanding that language and identity are so intrinsically intertwined will be incredibly valuable as I pursue my career as an elementary school teacher. Oftentimes, students who don’t speak English as their native language are asked to leave their native language at home entirely and only speak English while in school. However, I now understand that when we ask students to privilege English and reject their home language, we are in effect asking them to leave a core part of themselves at home. I want to create a classroom environment where all students feel safe, welcomed, loved, and free to be their complete selves. Therefore, when I have my own classroom next year, I will invite students to speak their native language in the classroom. I will elevate and honor all languages equally, celebrating linguistic diversity.
