The Fusion of Language and Ethnic Identity: The Voices of Hispanic Emerging Adults in New Mexico and Oklahoma

Sample

The rising US Hispanic population engenders a greater need to understand intercultural dialogue between this ethnic group and the dominant society. Hispanics are often viewed as a homogenous group (Umana-Taylor & Fine 2001); however, interactions of Hispanic groups with the dominant society will never be precisely the same because of diverse nationalities, immigration history, and familial generation status within the Hispanic culture. Comparing two different yet related Hispanic communities in New Mexico and Oklahoma provides a broader contextual understanding of the dialogue/relationship between Hispanics and the dominant society. Accordingly, investigating how these two groups of Hispanic emerging adults fuse their ethnic identity with their language practices will foster greater comprehension of the intricacies of intercultural dialogue, with specific reference to this group. This study demonstrates that groups—and individuals within them—utilize different approaches in their interactions with the dominant society. Not only are the language practices varied, but a wide-ranging ethnic identity orientation, from cultural fusion to individual ethnic identity achievement, is presented.