[1] Nagoya Bunri University, Japan, rage_and_grace@jcom.zaq.ne.jp
Abstract
This study aims to examine the underlying causes of the hate against Asian Americans in relation to coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). Using discourse analysis, the author analyzes interview data collected before the outbreak of the pandemic in the Bay Area of the United States. Anti-Asian sentiment did not start after the beginning of the outbreak. Rather, it has existed in American society, and people in the Asian community have faced prejudice and hate incidents before the outbreak as well. This study examines the discourse in two ways: discourse as practices and discourse as language in use. Through the analysis of interview data, this study aims to 1) shed light on Asian Americans’ experiences and reveal the racism Asians are subjected to; 2) examine how the discourse affects the identity and situation of Asians under a certain dominance; 3) analyze how discourse reproduces systemic violence against Asian Americans. The analysis shows that the same discourse which has positioned Asians as the “other” is reproduced both socially and politically and that is a reason for violence against Asian Americans. However, it is further revealed that Asian people construct their identity through these discourses, by either internalizing or opposing them.
Keywords: Discourse analysis; COVID-19; racism; hate crime; Asian Americans
References
Alim, H. S., Lee, J., and Carris, L. M. (2010). ““Short Fried-Rice-Eating Chinese MCs” and “Good-Hair-Havin Uncle Tom Niggas”: Performing Race and Ethnicity in Freestyle Rap Battles”. Journal of Linguistic Anthropology, 20(1), 116-133.
Bourhis, R. Y. (1979). “Language in ethnic interaction: A social psychological approach”. In: Giles, H. and Saint-Jacques, B. eds 1979. Language and Ethnic Relations. Oxford: Pergamon. Pp.117-141.
Cabanatuan, M. (March 19, 2020). “Coronavirus: Asian American groups compile hate crime reports as Trump persists in ‘Chinese virus’ attacks.” San Francisco Chronicle. https://www.sfchronicle.com/bayarea/article/Coronavirus-Asian-American-groups-compile-hate-15144295.php
Cameron, D. (2001). Working with Spoken Discourse. London: Sage.
De Fina, A. (2006). “Group identity, narrative and self-representations”. In: De Fina, A., Schiffrin, D., and Bamberg, M. eds 2006. Discourse and Identity. New York: Cambridge University Press. Pp. 351-375.
Della Cava, M. (2020). “Asian Americans in San Francisco are dying at alarming rates from COVID-19: Racism is to blame.” USA TODAY. https://www.usatoday.com/in-depth/news/nation/2020/10/18/coronavirus-asian-americans-racism-death-rates-san-francisco/5799617002/
Edelsky, C. (1981). “Who’s got the floor?”. Language in Society, 10, 383-421.
Foucault, M. (1976). La volonté de savoir (Volume 1 de Histoire de la sexualité). Éditions Gallimard.
Giles, H., Coupland, N., and Coupland, J. (1991). “Accommodation theory: communication, context and consequence”. In: Giles, H., Coupland, J., and Coupland, N. eds 1991. Context of accommodation. Cambridge University Press. Pp. 1-68.
Gover, A. R., Harper, S. B., and Langton, L. (2020). “Anti-Asian Hate Crime During the COVID-19 Pandemic: Exploring the Reproduction of Inequality”. American Journal of Criminal Justice, 45(4), 647-667. Doi: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12103-020-09545-1
Hasunuma, A. (1998). “Fukushi “yahari・yappari”-o megutte [About an adverb “yahari/yappari”]”. In: Yoshida, K. ed 1998. Kotoba-kara ningen-o [Human by language]. Kyoto: Showado. Pp. 133-148.
Hayashi, R. and Hayashi, T. (1995). “Power of English Loanwords in Japanese Discourse”. In: Tickoo, M. L. ed 1995. Language and Culture in Multilingual Societies: Viewpoints and Visions. Singapore: Seameo Regional Language Center. Pp. 194-208.
Holmes, J. (2006). “Workplace narratives, professional identity and relational practice”. In: De Fina, A., Schiffrin, D., and Bamberg, M. eds 2006. Discourse and Identity. New York: Cambridge University Press. Pp.166-187.
Iino, M. (2000). Mou hitotsu-no nichibei kankeishi －funsou to kyouchou-no naka-no nikkei amerikajin [Another history of Japan-America relations －Japanese Americans in conflicts and alliances]. Tokyo: Yuhikaku.
Jeung, R. (April 3, 2020). “Incidents of coronavirus discrimination march 26-April 1, 2020: a report for A3PCON and CAA.” Asian Pacific Policy and planning Council. https://www.asianpacificpolicyandplanningcouncil.org/wp-ontent/uploads/Stop_AAPI_Hate_Weekly_Rep ort_4_3_20.pdf
Kim, C. J. (1999). “The Racial Triangulation of Asian Americans”. Politics & Society, 27(1), 105-138.
Kim, J. Y. (1999). “Are Asians Black?: The Asian-American Civil Rights Agenda and the Contemporary Significance of the Black/White Paradigm”. The Yale Law Journal, 108(8), 2385-2412.
Kang, E. Y. (March 31, 2020). “Asian Americans feel the bite of prejudice during the COVID-19 pandemic.” NPR WBEZ Chicago. https://www.npr.org/local/309/2020/03/31/824397216/asian-americans-feel-the-bite-of-prejudice-during-the-c-o-v-i-d-19-pandemic
Kurokawa, N. (2006). “Repetition in Japanese Conversational Discourse”. ICU studies in Japanese language education, 3, 65-79.
Kuroki, M. (2012). “Jendaa・esunishiti・shuukyou tono koushou: hokubei ajiakei josei-no fukugouteki aidentiti [Negotiation of gender, ethnicity and religion: Intersectional identity of Asian women in North America]”. In: Ota, Y. ed 2012. Anthropology of political identity: struggle for democracy and transformation of power in the twenty-first century. Kyoto: Showado. Pp. 161-186.
Kushida, S. (2006). Sougokouichitsujo-to kaiwabunseki: “hanashite”-to “kyou-seiinsei”-o meguru sanka-no sosikika [Interactional principle and conversation analysis: organization of participation in connection with “speaker” and “co-membership”]. Kyoto: Sekaishisosha.
Mangan, D. (March 18, 2020). “Trump defends calling coronavirus ‘Chinese virus’ －‘it’s not racist at all.’” CNBC. https://www.cnbc.com/2020/03/18/coronavirus-criticism-trump-defends-saying-chinese-virus.html
Maybin, J. (2001). “Language, Struggle and Voice: The Bakhtin/Volosinov Writings”. In: Wetherell, M., Taylor, S., and Yates, S.J. eds 2001. Discourse Theory and Practive: A Reader. London: Sage. Pp. 64-71.
Nguyen, T. (May 21, 2020). “Asian Americans have disproportionately high mortality rate from COVID-19 in California.” Nichi Bei. https://www.nichibei.org/2020/05/asian-americans-have-disproportionately-high-mortality-rate-from-covid-19-in-california/?fbclid=IwAR0ITOMB872A9A3MmdGyN7XViKtFi7tzmF3dRWfcCG6FTzpufq5daMK0h4k
Papenfuss, M. (March 19, 2020). “Photographer Captures Trump’s Handwritten ‘Chinese’ Virus Revision On Speech Script.” HUFFPOST. https://www.huffpost.com/entry/trump-coronavirus-chinese-virus-photograph-racism_n_5e73eaa4c5b6f5b7c54130a5
Robert, D. and Shenhav, S. (2014). “Fundamental Assumptions in Narrative Analysis: Mapping the Field”. The Qualitative Report, 19(38), 1-17.
Sacks, H., Shegloff, E. A., and Jefferson, G. (1977). “The preference for self-correction in the organization of repair in conversation”. Language, 53(2), 361-382.
Schiff, B. and Noy, C. (2006). “Making it personal: shared meanings in the narratives of Holocaust survivors”. In: De Fina, A., Schiffrin, D., and Bamberg, M. eds 2006. Discourse and Identity. New York: Cambridge University Press. Pp. 398-425.
Tajfel, H. (1981). Human groups and social categories: studies in social psychology. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Takezawa, Y. (1994). The Transformation of Japanese American Ethnicity: The Effects of Internment and Redress. University of Tokyo Press.
Tannen, D. (2007). Talking Voices: Repetition, Dialogue, and Imagery in Conversational Discourse 2nd Edition. New York: Cambridge University Press.
van Dijk, T. A. (1993). “Principles of Critical Discourse Analysis”. Discourse and Society, 4, 249-283.
van Dijk, T. A. (1998). Ideology: A multicultural approach. London: Sage.
Wodak, R. and Reisigl, M. (2015). “Discourse and Racism”. The handbook of discourse analysis, 576-596.
Zhou, M., Yu, Y., and Fang, A. (May 9, 2020). “We are not COVID-19: Asian Americans speak out on racism.” NIKKEI Asia. https://asia.nikkei.com/Spotlight/Coronavirus/We-are-not-COVID-19-Asian-Americans-speak-out-on-racism