Vol. 9:3 (2012) ► pp.400–419
The story of the tallat
Latin American bar workers, Catalan-speaking customers, and coffee
Many Latin Americans who emigrate to Spain arrive in Barcelona, where they encounter Catalan for the first time. Many find jobs in bars shortly after arriving, where they have to deal with not understanding Catalan-speaking customers. In this article, I present selected data from interviews from a four-year qualitative, ethnographic study of the languages, migration, and identities of Latin American immigrants in Barcelona, in which participants describe their first and early encounters with Catalan. One theme that recurred in interviews was that of bar workers not understanding orders for a tallat, an espresso coffee with a shot of warm milk, known as a ‘cortado’ in Spanish. I also bring in data from a government media campaign promoting Catalan use with immigrants and a comedic sketch that parodies the same campaign using the ordering of a tallat as an example. Together, the data illustrate the multilayered, discursive construction of the story of the tallat.
https://doi.org/10.1075/sic.9.3.02mar
Cited by
Cited by 3 other publications
This list is based on CrossRef data as of 13 march 2024. Please note that it may not be complete. Sources presented here have been supplied by the respective publishers. Any errors therein should be reported to them.