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Article
"Jugos There?" Codeswitching Strategies in Bilingual Picturebooks
Children's Literature in Education (2021)
  • Amina Chaudhri, Northeastern Illinois University
Abstract
Contemporary publications of bilingual picturebooks for children reflect an array of creative and editorial choices about how multiple languages coexist in a single ‘contact zone.’ This linguistic and literary analysis focuses on picturebooks with embedded bilingual text. We study the variety of code-switching strategies that Latino and South Asian authors and illustrators use and suggest implications for readers of differing language proficiency levels. Our analysis highlights three forms of code-switching strategies in a selection of acclaimed contemporary picturebooks that include Spanish and Hindi/Urdu embedded in text and illustrations. While attitudes towards bilingualism and non-English languages in the US are often hostile, writers and artists are carving a place for multilingual creative expression in children’s literature.
Keywords
  • Picturebooks,
  • bilingualism,
  • multicultural,
  • codeswitching,
  • Spanish,
  • Hindi,
  • Urdu,
  • multicultural children’s literature,
  • linguistic analysis,
  • literary analysis
Publication Date
Spring March 20, 2021
DOI
https://doi.org/10.1007/s10583-021-09444-x
Citation Information
Amina Chaudhri. ""Jugos There?" Codeswitching Strategies in Bilingual Picturebooks" Children's Literature in Education (2021)
Available at: http://works.bepress.com/amina-chaudhri/3/