LLRC Faculty Spotlight

Challenging Stereotypes Based on Accent and Skin Color and Promoting Multilingualism 

Dr. Elena Davidiak is a full-time lecturer in the Department of Hispanic Languages and Literatures at Stony Brook University. She teaches all levels of Spanish courses, Medical Spanish, and graduate seminars in Hispanic Linguistics. She holds a Ph.D. in Hispanic Linguistics and an M.A. in TESOL/Spanish. In her Hispanic Linguistics course and graduate seminar, students study phonology, syntax, dialectology, historical linguistics, and sociolinguistics, and analyze the Spanish language critically. In her Medical Spanish course, students gain valuable internship opportunities in hospitals, where they interact with speakers of diverse Spanish varieties and observe how they are treated in medical settings.

As part of the instructor team in Elementary Spanish I and II, Dr. Davidiak engages students in a project where they interview family, friends, and community members, creating audio and video recordings to share in class. Through this, students learn about their family histories, the popular culture their friends love, and the real-life language used in everyday interactions in stores and on the street. Dr. Davidiak stated:

“We have a truly diverse community on campus as well as in our local community on Long Island and in New York City. Our students in Spanish classes reflect this diversity. Some come from the Dominican Republic or the Caribbean, while others come from southern regions of South America.”

Dr. Davidiak recognizes the complexity of languages and how different phonological and morphosyntactic features of Spanish speakers are tied to various social identities. For instance, Caribbean Spanish accents originating from those from Southern Spain, such as Andalusian Spanish, may be considered less prestigious, while accents from other regions may be considered superior. She stated:

“Unfortunately, accent and skin color discrimination is widespread across the Americas. Every language variety is legitimate, and stereotyping based on accent or appearance is wrong.”

Dr. Davidiak’s first language is Russian, and she also speaks Portuguese and German, in addition to Spanish and English. Her son is already fluent in Russian, Spanish, and English. She is particularly concerned about the misunderstandings surrounding multilingual children's language development. Many multilingual children need time to absorb multiple languages before they start speaking, yet parents, educators, and even pediatricians often fail to recognize this process. Some encourage children to speak only one language, believing that bilingualism hinders learning. This Anglophone-based monolingual attitude persists even in liberal and progressive communities. Dr. Davidiak strongly advocates for bilingual education, fully understanding its cognitive and cultural benefits. 

Interviewed and written by Eriko Sato

January 29, 2025