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Presentation Type

Open Access Oral Presentation

Keywords

Code switching (Linguistics); Alma's way (Television program); Bilingualism;

Abstract

Alma’s Way, a bilingual children’s animated television program from Fred Rogers Productions about a six year old Puerto Rican girl living in the Bronx of New York City with her family, premiered on PBS Kids in October 2021. Through the use of discourse analysis, this academic paper explores characters’ use of linguistic and cultural practices. Discourse analysis focuses on the main character, Alma, as well as her friends, her immediate family (Junior, Mami, Papi), and her mother’s side of the family (Abuelo, Tía Gloria, Uncle Nestor, Cousin Eddie). The analysis of 12 episodes chosen at random, a total of 264 minutes, shows that bilingual characters primarily use Spanish to express cultural references such as a particular dish or music, kinship terms, expletives, and as a way to cultivate relationships between family members and friends. By exploring these linguistic practices of emblematic code-switching together with the portrayal of cultural practices, the authenticity of these practices used within a multilingual community can be evaluated. Despite their linguistic differences, all characters are able to communicate easily with each other, including secondary characters who are not Latino or Spanish speaking. While previous research has found that children’s programs generally contain a “nationality-neutral Spanish accent” and portray generic Latino characters (e.g., de Casanova, 2007), this study found that Alma’s Way contains realistic representations that portray the usage and integration of two languages and cultures as both normal and a positive marker of identity. This proposal is for an individual presentation and will require audiovisual equipment.

Start Date

3-4-2023 1:00 PM

End Date

3-4-2023 2:15 PM

Faculty Advisor

Elise Dubord

Department

Department of Languages and Literatures

Student Type

Graduate Student

Comments

This entry was a part of the following session:

  • Date: Monday, April 3, 2023
  • Time: 1:00 to 2:15 p.m. (in Spanish)
  • Moderator: Juan Carlos Castillo

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application/pdf

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Apr 3rd, 1:00 PM Apr 3rd, 2:15 PM

Tú dices “plátano” y yo digo “mofongo”: Una representación de la normalización del biculturalismo en Alma’s Way

Alma’s Way, a bilingual children’s animated television program from Fred Rogers Productions about a six year old Puerto Rican girl living in the Bronx of New York City with her family, premiered on PBS Kids in October 2021. Through the use of discourse analysis, this academic paper explores characters’ use of linguistic and cultural practices. Discourse analysis focuses on the main character, Alma, as well as her friends, her immediate family (Junior, Mami, Papi), and her mother’s side of the family (Abuelo, Tía Gloria, Uncle Nestor, Cousin Eddie). The analysis of 12 episodes chosen at random, a total of 264 minutes, shows that bilingual characters primarily use Spanish to express cultural references such as a particular dish or music, kinship terms, expletives, and as a way to cultivate relationships between family members and friends. By exploring these linguistic practices of emblematic code-switching together with the portrayal of cultural practices, the authenticity of these practices used within a multilingual community can be evaluated. Despite their linguistic differences, all characters are able to communicate easily with each other, including secondary characters who are not Latino or Spanish speaking. While previous research has found that children’s programs generally contain a “nationality-neutral Spanish accent” and portray generic Latino characters (e.g., de Casanova, 2007), this study found that Alma’s Way contains realistic representations that portray the usage and integration of two languages and cultures as both normal and a positive marker of identity. This proposal is for an individual presentation and will require audiovisual equipment.