Ileana Perez
Contact Information
Graduate Fellow
she/her/hers
Areas of Expertise
- Heritage language, translanguaging and multilingual practices
- Raciolinguistics and language & identity
- Community-engaged research
Education
- Ph.D., Hispanic Linguistics, The Ohio State University (in progress, May 2026)
- M.A., Hispanic Linguistics, The Ohio State University, 2022
- B.A., Spanish, California State University - Fullerton, 2020
Ileana Pérez is a Ph.D. candidate in Hispanic Linguistics at The Ohio State University. Her work focuses on the linguistic practices and identities of Latinas in Ohio, exploring how Spanish functions as a resource for community-building, cultural expression, and everyday interaction. Grounded in sociolinguistics, linguistic anthropology, and raciolinguistics, her dissertation examines the role of mentorship and community-based spaces in shaping linguistic practices and cultural identities within Latine communities.
Ileana Pérez is deeply committed to collaborative and community-engaged research with Latine communities in Ohio. Her work emphasizes reciprocal relationships, centering the voices, experiences, and perspectives of community members themselves. Beyond her dissertation research, she has explored heritage Spanish and the rhotic production of heritage speakers, as well as creative language use in popular culture. Notably, her work on Bad Bunny’s translanguaging practices was published in the edited volume The Bad Bunny Enigma: Culture, Resistance, and Uncertainty, examining how his lyrics blend linguistic creativity with cultural expression and Latine identity.
In addition to her academic research, Ileana has worked in public-facing spaces such as COSI, where she developed Spanish-language activities designed to make linguistics more accessible, interactive, and engaging for diverse audiences. Through her scholarship and outreach, she seeks to bridge academic inquiry with meaningful community engagement and cultural understanding.