Evangelina Brignoni

Authors in a Latino Family:: Communication, Transformation, and the Exception Tothe Rule Evangelina Brignoni

Evangelina Brignoni explores the notion that Latinosmostly express their thoughts and emotions, constructtheir identities, and transmit inter-generationallytheir rich heritage through the oral domain oflanguage. Authors in a Latino Family: CommunicationTransformation and the Exception to the Rule"focuses on the exception to the above-mentionedpopular view: that Latinos primarily communicate inthe oral realm. The author explores the writings ofthree members in her own family by applying amulti-method approach - a microstoria analysisinterviews through videography and analysis ofwriting samples. This multi-generational story whilecontextualized historically and politically aims tochallenge the popular view of oral dominance inLatino culture. Furthermore it elucidates thedynamics of written communication and language choicepreference in the very particular historical andcultural context of Puerto Rico and Puerto Ricanmigration to the United States. Although this book isbased on one Latino family's history there areimplications for classroom teachers who areinterested in validating the stories students bringto the school setting."