ERIC Number: EJ915440
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2011
Pages: 21
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-1534-8458
EISSN: N/A
Negotiating Business, Negotiating Self: Crossing Cultural Borders in Bilingual Entrepreneurial Contexts
Collier, Shartriya
Journal of Language, Identity, and Education, v10 n1 p1-21 2011
Characterized by both cultural and gender-based barriers to English language learning, language learning is a continual process of identity renegotiation, as several theorists have argued. While this identity renegotiation has been explored for women who assume the roles of wives, daughters, and employees, less attention has been directed to the dynamic language use processes that occur for women who intermix the role of entrepreneur into their already complex lives. This article examines how one immigrant woman business owner used social and task-oriented talk in the L1 and the L2 to move beyond boundaries of race, culture, and language when interacting with her African American clientele and her Chinese workers. The analysis also draws upon interview responses from more than 20 bilingual women entrepreneurs to highlight their challenges, triumphs, and shifting identities as they navigate their roles as English language learners, entrepreneurs, and women. (Contains 1 table.)
Descriptors: Language Usage, Role, Second Language Learning, English (Second Language), Self Concept, Bilingualism, Gender Differences, Cultural Differences, Entrepreneurship, Females, Immigrants, Native Language, Race, African Americans, Chinese Americans, Employees, Interviews, Interpersonal Communication, Communication Strategies, Employer Employee Relationship
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Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Evaluative
Education Level: N/A
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A