ABSTRACT
Little is known about how language brokering experiences may shape youths’ development as emerging adults. Almost everyone had continued language brokering for parents, but many had reached a turning point and experienced some tensions around engaging in language brokering during their early 20s. These tensions and turning points, however, were shaped by other developmental transitions and relationships in their lives. Exploring the complex interactions among brokers’ agency and choices, developmental timing, and relationships provides additional insights into the shifts that occur as language brokers emerge into adulthood. The extant work has highlighted that, as one move into adolescence, brokering tasks may become more public, difficult, and consequential. Although language brokering may begin in childhood, many individuals continue to broker throughout adolescence and into emerging adulthood. Language brokering occurs within relationships between parents and their children. Language brokering experiences shape one’s emerging adulthood, as brokers continue to support their families, linguistically, culturally, and, in some cases, financially.
