A Bridge to Portugal: Language and Identity in Bridgeport, CT
Résumé
Here I present the results of BridgePORT, an ethnographic study I
carried out in 2018 within the Portuguese community of Bridgeport, CT (USA).
I describe language use and representation among Portuguese speakers within
the community, and I investigate the integration of these speakers into the
dominant American English speech community. Through my fieldwork, I
observe mixing practices in day-to-day interaction, while I also consider the
evolution of the Portuguese language in light of language contact and speakers’
discourse as this relates to ideologies about the status of Portuguese within the
community. My findings rely on questionnaires, participant observation of verbal
interaction, and semi-structured interviews. My aim is to show how verbal
practice shapes the process of identity construction and how ideas of linguistic
“purity” mediate the maintenance of a link to Portugal and Portuguese identity.