Home

How we pronounce Uvalde says a lot about the power of language in mixed communities

Leave a comment

Click the link below the picture

.

You-VAL-dee.

You-VAHL-day.

Oo-VAHL-deh.

When tragedy struck Uvalde, journalists flooded into the small Texas town to report on the aftermath of the shooting at Robb Elementary School.

That included NPR’s own team — and it didn’t take long for discussion to break out amongst staff about how to say the name of the town on air.

First, there was “you-VAL-dee,” the anglicized pronunciation that’s commonly accepted by locals.

But some people there also call it “ooh-VAHL-deh,” closer to the Spanish pronunciation, or “you-VAHL-day,” which sounds like a middle ground between the two.

Because Uvalde is a town made up of mostly Latino or Hispanic residents, according to the U.S. Census Bureau data, landing on a “correct” pronunciation is tricky — the language of the people who live there exists on a sliding spectrum between Spanish and English, and often consists of a combination of the two.

But how we say Uvalde matters because it represents a long lineage of how Latinos have been racialized in the U.S. and in South Texas, specifically.

.

President Biden and first lady Jill Biden drive past a memorial site in the town square of Uvalde set up for those killed in the school mass shooting, on their way to Robb Elementary School on Sunday in Uvalde, Texas. Wong Maye-E/AP

.

.

Click the link below for the article:

https://www.npr.org/2022/06/03/1102860709/uvalde-pronunciation

.

__________________________________________

Leave a Reply

Fill in your details below or click an icon to log in:

WordPress.com Logo

You are commenting using your WordPress.com account. Log Out /  Change )

Twitter picture

You are commenting using your Twitter account. Log Out /  Change )

Facebook photo

You are commenting using your Facebook account. Log Out /  Change )

Connecting to %s

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

The Orthosphere

Wherever an altar is found, there civilization exists - Joseph de Maistre

Clouds Curiosity Corner

A community of movie lovers to discuss all things cinema related! Reviews, suggestions, and more! <3

A dreamAchieve.wordspress.com

Achieve your goals with hard work

Hackaday

Fresh hacks every day

Babsje Heron

Great Blue Herons: A study in patience and grace

Print Test Page

Check Your Printer Quality

paeansunpluggedblog

songs unheard by the poet next door

This, that and the other thing

Looking at life through photography and words

The Wild Coach

You are an important nexus of energy

Cindy Bruchman

Photography. Observations. Adventures. Let's talk.

Time To Talk Beauty

A world of beauty ... from Scotland

Julia's books

Sharing my passion for books with views, news and reviews

Tasty Eats

Tasty recipes from chef Ronit Penso's kitchen

Cruzar la Noche

Poemas y Cuentos para Insomnes

My World

<meta name="p:domain_verify" content="8d9ac2e0a18e01ddc774daf55e52f1f6"/>

In the Net! - Pictures and Stories of Life

Sometimes, life is like that.

the orang-utan librarian

welcome to the virtual library

Light Motifs II

Paula Light's Writing Site | The Classic Edition

writing to freedom

words to inspire and empower

Words and Herbs

For all who appreciate the beauty of words, flowers and homecooking

ASSHOLES WATCHING MOVIES

Our opinions don't stink!

journalread

Writings and Witterings

TanGental

Writing, the Universe and whatever occurs to me

Ivor.Plumber/Poet

An Old Plumber, An Ex-Carer, An Amateur Poet, Words From The Heart

Adventures in reading, running and working from home

Liz Dexter muses on freelancing, reading, and running ...

This is Another Story

About life, fantasy, and everything in between

Asomarse al Abismo

¿Qué es el mal?

willowdot21

An insight to a heart mind and soul.

The happy Quitter!

It started when I gave up smoking and went from there!

Creyzex

No Limits to Creativity: Explore with Creyzex

Writings of Red

—to be seen yet remain hidden.

Jolly Princess at World Wide Web

Blog, Culture, Health and Wellness, Hobbies, Home Management, Indoor Plants, LIfestyle, Plants

Meeka's Mind

the passions of a science fiction writer

Dawn Pisturino's Blog

My Writing Journey

snapshotsincursive

Interesting stories about everyday moments.

Emotional Shadows

where all emotions are cared for!

Fake Flamenco

Connecting the Americas, Bridging Cultures Supergringa in Spain: A Travel Memoir

flashlight batteries - Ali Grimshaw

writing circles & poetry to keep your light on

Notes From the Hinterland

A blog about nature, home, community, books, writing, the environment, food, and rural life.

%d bloggers like this: