本文是一项关于美国“拉美裔”认同符号化与神圣化建构的个案研究。

人类学传统的研究对象是“远方的异文化”，其对“我文化”的研究也主要集中在少数族裔的研究上，在美国主要表现为对印第安人的研究。但是，从上世纪60年代开始，人类学的研究对象逐渐扩大到主流文化，美国的人类学家开展了广泛的美国社会群体研究，其中就包括各个族裔与主流社会文化的互动研究，取得了丰富的成果。拉美裔作为美国最大的少数族裔，其与美国主流文化的互动和认同研究，在该背景下得到了快速发展，本文即为该领域的一项探索性研究。

通过在美国波士顿为期四个月的田野调查发现，语言和信仰在“拉美裔”的认同建构中具有最为重要的作用且呈现出层级性特征。在Congregation（堂会）“圣俗两重性”的活动中，语言符号化地将其与使用其他语言的群体进行区隔，而语言所承载的共同文化，模塑的共同价值和思维方式，产生着凝聚群体和建构认同的功能，奠定了其认同基础。宗教信仰则神圣化地将其与信仰相同宗教和信仰不同宗教的群体进行区隔，宗教信仰所承载的共同文化，模塑的共同价值，引导的共同行为规范，则进一步产生了凝聚群体认同的功能。这种神圣性成为建构认同的核心要素。

本文首先描述了波士顿地区拉美裔在整体人口中的政治、经济与社会地位，揭示了Congregation不同于一般意义上Church的内部独特的语言与信仰、神圣与世俗相互糅合及其“圣俗并举”的特征。

其次，分析了拉美裔社会身份认同、族裔认同和国家认同建构中语言与信仰的重要作用。在语言层面，Congregation受其圣俗两重性决定区别于Church，西班牙语作为宗教活动和堂会世俗化活动的语言，其对形成拉美裔“移民/教友/信徒”三种不同的社会身份认同发挥着重要的作用；西班牙语又是标识拉美裔“语言共同体”、“语言文化共同体”和“语言价值共同体”的符号，从外部排他和内部凝聚两角度建构了拉美裔的族裔认同；在国家认同的建构中，西班牙语作为官方认可的“参政语言”，“英西双语”作为拉美裔的“社会身份标识”，符号化地表征了拉美裔的公民身份，建构了政治认同和美国精神认同，完成了国家认同的制度和核心价值的双重建构。

在信仰层面，通过外部宗教差异的区隔和内部共同仪式与宗教实践的凝聚，建构了“信仰共同体”的社会身份认同；进而又在促进族裔自我延续、统一文化价值和建立交流共享三个方面，建构了“信仰集合体”的族裔认同；同时，信仰建构了跨族裔的国家精神认同，使不同文化、不同国家移民、不同族裔因相同信仰结成“信仰联合体”，神圣化地完成了国家认同建构。

最后，分析了语言与信仰在认同建构中的逻辑关系，即语言处于第一步的基础地位，信仰处于第二步的核心地位。信仰具有超越语言符号性的作用，神圣化地建构了涵盖不同语言背景的“信仰联合体”。而语言静态反映的文化与价值，在信仰层面得到了重塑，并延展到群体行为中，获得了动态的实践。从而信仰在语言的基础建构之上，发挥着核心作用。

This paper is a case study on the symbolical and sacred construction of identity of Latino American.

The traditional research object of the anthropology is "distant other cultures", and its research on "my cultures" is mainly concentrated on the study of ethnic minorities, mainly in the United States as the study of Indians. However, since the 1960s, the anthropological research objects have gradually expanded to mainstream culture. American anthropologists also have conducted extensive research on different American social groups, including interaction studies between various ethnic groups culture and social mainstream culture, and have acquired rich results. Latino, as the largest minority in the United States, The research about it has developed rapidly in the context of interaction and identification with American mainstream culture. This paper is an exploratory study in this field.

Through a four-month field work in Boston, the United States, it was found that language and belief play the most important role and exhibit hierarchical characteristics in the construction of identity of Latino American. In the "Duality of Sacredness and Secularity" activity of Congregation, the language separates it symbolically from groups using other languages, and the common culture, the common values and the way of thinking carried by the language, produce The function of gathering groups and constructing identities, which has laid the foundation for its identification. Religious belief separates it sacredly from groups that believe in the same religion and believe in different religions. The common culture, the common values, and the common behavioral norms carried by religious beliefs further produce the group identity. This sacredness becomes the core element of constructing identity.

This article first describes the political, economic, and social status of the Latino American in the overall population in Boston, and reveals the unique feature of Congregation that different from Church, which is the combination of language and belief, Sacredness and Secularity.

Secondly, it analyzes the important role of language and belief in the construction of Latino American social identity, ethnic identity and national identity. At the language level, Congregation is distinguished from Church by the duality of Sacredness and Secularity. Spanish, as the language of religious and secular activities, plays an important role in the formation of three different social identities of Immigrants, Members and Believers. Spanish is also a symbol for the Latino "linguistic community", "linguistic and cultural community" and "linguistic value community", which constructs the Latino ethnic identity from the perspective of external exclusivity and internal cohesion. In the construction of national identity, Spanish is officially recognized as the "language of participation in politics", and "English-Spanish bilingualism" is the Latin American "social identity mark", symbolizing the Latino citizenship and constructing political identity and The American spiritual identity, which completes the dual construction of the national identity in system and core values levels.

At the level of belief, through the separation of external religious differences and the cohesion of internal common rituals and religious practices, a social identity of "community of belief" is constructed; And then the ethnic identity of the "collection of belief" has been constructed by the unified culture and value, the ethnic self-continuity and the Communication. At the same time, the belief has constructed a cross-ethnic national spiritual identity which combines different cultures, different countries and different ethnic groups as a "belief union" because of the same belief. So the belief completes sacred the construction of national identity.

Finally, it analyzes the logical relationship between language and belief in the construction of identity, that is, language is in the basic position of the first step, and belief is in the core position of the second step. The belief has the function that transcends the symbolism of language and constructs a "belief union" covering different language backgrounds. Besides, the culture and value reflected statically by language have been reshaped at the belief level, and extended to group behaviors gaining a dynamic practice. Therefore, belief plays a core role on the basis of language construction.