Iowa 6

Listen to Iowa 6, a 23-year-old woman from Sioux City, Iowa, United States. Click or tap the triangle-shaped play button to hear the subject.

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BIOGRAPHICAL INFORMATION

AGE: 23

DATE OF BIRTH (DD/MM/YYYY): 06/08/1994

PLACE OF BIRTH: Sioux City, Iowa

GENDER: female

ETHNICITY: Hispanic/Mexican-American

OCCUPATION: graduate student

EDUCATION: some graduate school

AREAS OF RESIDENCE OUTSIDE REPRESENTATIVE REGION FOR LONGER THAN SIX MONTHS:

At the time of this recording, the speaker had lived in East Lansing, Michigan, for two-and-a-half years.

OTHER INFLUENCES ON SPEECH:

The speaker was raised in a Mexican-American, Spanish-speaking household. Today she considers English to be her dominant language because of her studies and interactions as an undergraduate and graduate student. Her parents were born and raised in Mexico.

The text used in our recordings of scripted speech can be found by clicking here.

RECORDED BY: Jason Dernay (under supervision of Deric McNish)

DATE OF RECORDING (DD/MM/YYYY): 21/11/2017

PHONETIC TRANSCRIPTION OF SCRIPTED SPEECH: N/A

TRANSCRIBED BY: N/A

DATE OF TRANSCRIPTION (DD/MM/YYYY): N/A

ORTHOGRAPHIC TRANSCRIPTION OF UNSCRIPTED SPEECH:

I love it. It’s much more beautiful-er than, like, Iowa ‘cause Iowa is just– it doesn’t have, like, all the greenery space, I guess. But, it’s, it’s basically the same, just without all the greenery. Mm, uh, I guess not that different, especially ‘cause it’s still the Midwest, so, if it were, like, on either coast, then maybe I would feel much more, like, different. Um, in regards to homesickness with my family, it’s not that bad ‘cause we have phones and I, like, video Snapchat them, like, all the time. So, I haven’t really felt that homesickness, really, as much as I thought I was, so that’s good.

Mhm, um, so, student-affairs administration basically. I went into my undergrad, and I had this, like, big idea of, like, like, working for some, like, news station back home, but then, once I started to do, I guess, more interviews with students about, like, just, like, different array of, like, subject areas, and again, they were in, like, college so they were developing themselves, so I noticed that. I was way more intrigued by the development that students were making throughout college. Um, so I was like, “Hey, is there a career in this?” And one of my mentors: She, like, told me, so, I was like, “Oh my God, please sign me up!” Um, and so I went through this, like, national program call NUF: National Undergraduate Student Affairs Professional, something like that; um, I forgot, it was, like, two years ago. Um, and, so, just throughout that process, um, learned about Michigan State and that also that Michigan State has a Chicano-Latino studies. My end goal is to be a professor in Chicano-Latino studies and bring all that, like, knowledge and history back to Iowa State University, hoping that ethnic studies will still be funded. …

Um, it’s definitely not the goal, but I wouldn’t be opposed to it ‘cause I don’t necessarily have a goal of institution I would like to go to. Um, I do love big universities ‘cause that’s the only thing I know, right? Um, but then, also going back home to Sioux City, Iowa, I would love to have that option, just to be back home, um, with my Mom and Dad and help them out, like, financially. Um, but, as f- far as, like, job opportunities, with student-affairs administration, I don’t know how that looks like in my hometown, so we’ll see what happens.

Um, hmm, in regards to the university different feel, being a grad student does have an effect on, like, the community aspect; so there’s a lot of isolation in grad school. Um, and, so, coursework, in that regard, it’s — it does have a different feel because at the same time it’s not that many assignments that it can get overbearing sometimes, but, I mean, at the end of the day it’s gonna to get done and it’s what I want to do, so that’s what keeps pushing me forward. …

Um, I actually — so that’s always a struggle, right; when you go into undergrad like, “Oh my God, I’m going to do this career; in four years I’m going to get this degree; I’m going to get this job in this field.” And then, all of a sudden, like everything changes; you’re like, “Oh my God, I’m going to grad school.” Which, I knew that, like, from a young age that I wanted to get my, like, doctor’s degree; um, I just didn’t know how that would look like because, being first gen [generation], you just don’t know what that looks like. And even just being, like, a regular student, like even if you’re not first gen and your parents haven’t gone to grad school, whether that be masters or Ph.D program, you just don’t know what that process is like. Um, so, yeah, it’s just — it’s different because, again, I was like, “OK, I’m 23.” I don’t feel bad; I don’t feel, um, horrible. I just feel, uh, like I’m on the right path.

[Subject speaks Spanish]: Um, crecía con una familia — con una familia Mexicana. Um, Mis papas son de Guadalajara, Zapotlanejo. Um, Y ellos crecieron alli en Mexico, y mi papa vino aqui, um, los Estados Unidos, cuando tenía, like, quince anos, uh, y después se eso conoció a mi mama alla en Mexico en una fiesta se enamoraron, toda la cosa, uh, despues de eso se casaron, y yo si aqui en Iowa en los estados unidos. Tengo tres hermanas menores, yo soy la mayor, um, una tiene 22 anos, la otra 18, una tiene 7 anos so es una gran diferencia. Para siendo la mayor siento una gran responsabilidad estando, um, aqu en Michigan State University, um, en mi postgrado.

[English tranlastion: Um, I grew up with a family — with a Mexican family. Um, My parents are from Guadalajara, Zapotlanejo. Um, and they grew up there in Mexico, and my dad came here, um, the United States, when he had, like, fifteen years, uh, and after that he met my mom there in Mexico at a party; they fell in love, the whole thing; uh, after that they got married, and I did here in Iowa in the United States. I have three younger sisters. I am the oldest; um, one is 22 years old, the other 18; one is 7 years old or is a big difference. For being the oldest, I feel a great responsibility being, um, here at Michigan State University, um, in my graduate school.]

TRANSCRIBED BY: Jason Dernay (under supervision of Deric McNish); transcription of Spanish and English translation by subject

DATE OF TRANSCRIPTION (DD/MM/YYYY): 24/11/2017

PHONETIC TRANSCRIPTION OF UNSCRIPTED SPEECH: N/A

TRANSCRIBED BY: N/A

DATE OF TRANSCRIPTION (DD/MM/YYYY): N/A

SCHOLARLY COMMENTARY:

The speaker’s first language is Spanish, so pronunciation may reflect gaps in English-language knowledge rather than speech patterns.

COMMENTARY BY: Deric McNish

DATE OF COMMENTARY (DD/MM/YYYY): 03/01/2018

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