It’s rare, but every now and then I’ll be confronted by how many mistakes I learned through my mother.

Last week at a party, I discovered what a pomelo was. This green-peeled citrus fruit is something I am familiar with, having eaten it throughout my childhood. I always recognized the pomelo as a grapefruit, because they […]

Recently, exchanging pleasantries with a doctor in a suburb of Delhi, I responded, upon being asked where I was from, “I am from Delhi only” (feeling no little pride at my flawless command of Indian English). She shook her head and said, “No, your accent? You are not from here…” I sheepishly sputtered, “I live […]

In doing literature review for language socialization research in the Indian context, I found a provocative chapter written by Mohanty (2006) via the good folks at Google Scholar. This paragraph stood out:

In India, presence of many languages is natural and unmarked in all forms of social and individual communicative acts. Quite early […]

One reason I’ve decided to research language use and identity for my dissertation is because I find that my own identity is constantly in question, both by myself and by others. As an American living in the United States, my linguistic identity should be simple. I should only speak one language, English, and be indifferent […]

I just wanted to follow up on my recent post regarding a complaint I filed with Delta Airlines. I told a few friends and family members of mine that more than anything I wanted a sincere apology. I felt most offended by the fact that the original Delta response placed a monetary value on the […]

I was born Shanga Nomusa White.  Everyone called me Nomusa. Nomusa is Zulu for with grace or kindness. I didn’t realize until I was much older that I was named after my father whose name is Musa. Musa is Arabic for Moses. He changed his name when he converted to Islam. I, followed suit.

Well, actually […]

On Sunday Jen, a fellow CAL student, and I went to the San Francisco International Film Festival (SFIFF) at the Sundance (formerly the Kabuki) to view New Muslim Cool. This film is a documentary about Islam, Muslim youth, identity, and Hip Hop culture. I found out about the screening because it was on my friend’s […]

In a recent talk by Claire Kramsch, she said: “Transcultural competence is not the bland coexistence of multiple cultures under the happy banners of diversity. It is the much more risky circulation of values across historical and ideological timescales; the negotiation of non-negotiable identities and beliefs.”  

What does it mean to negotiate the […]

from today’s New York Times:

Nashville voters on Thursday rejected a proposal to make English the city’s official language and largely to prevent government workers from communicating in other languages.

The proposal was introduced by Eric Crafton, a metropolitan councilman. It was opposed by a broad coalition including the mayor, civil rights groups, business leaders, ministers and the […]