Negotiating Business, Negotiating Self: Crossing Cultural Borders in Bilingual Entrepreneurial Contexts

Abstract

Characterized by both cultural and gender-based barriers to English language learning, language learning is a continual process of identity renegotiation, as several theorists have argued. While this identity renegotiation has been explored for women who assume the roles of wives, daughters, and employees, less attention has been directed to the dynamic language use processes that occur for women who intermix the role of entrepreneur into their already complex lives. This article examines how one immigrant woman business owner used social and task-oriented talk in the L1 and the L2 to move beyond boundaries of race, culture, and language when interacting with her African American clientele and her Chinese workers. The analysis also draws upon interview responses from more than 20 bilingual women entrepreneurs to highlight their challenges, triumphs, and shifting identities as they navigate their roles as English language learners, entrepreneurs, and women.