Linguistic discrimination and resistance: Puerto Rican youth language ideologies

Language is a fundamental part of students’ culture and identity, significantly impacting their academic experiences. Minoritized students often face linguistic discrimination through prescriptive ideologies or deficit views of their linguistic abilities. Latinx students, particularly, may encounter negative ideologies that undermine their bilingualism portraying them as incapable of speaking either English or Spanish. This study explores the language ideologies and their impact on the educational experiences of young (15–24 years old) Puerto Rican Spanish speakers in Hampden County, Massachusetts, which has one of the highest populations of Puerto Ricans in the mainland United States. In some districts, Latinx students make up nearly 80% of the student body. Findings reveal that deficit identities and the devaluation of linguistic capital persist for many of these students impacting how they perceive school settings. However, these youths are actively challenging these ideologies and reclaiming their linguistic capital through various affective strategies.