Language ideology
Encyclopedia
In sociolinguistics
and linguistic anthropology
, a language or linguistic ideology is a systematic construct about how particular ways of using language
s carry or are invested with certain moral, religious, social, and political value
s, giving rise to implicit assumptions that people have about a language or about language
in general. A common type of language ideology are Standard Language Ideologies, the belief that language homogeneity
is beneficial to society, such as that expressed by the English-only movement
in the United States
. Invested in the Holy Quran, classical Arabic is a good example of language ideology in which it has been always correlated with Islamic practices. In general, differing social speech styles are judged as aspects of social identity and status. Hence, language ideologies involve interpretations and judgments about vocabulary, grammar, accent, and other vocal features used by speakers. Written language practices are also shaped by language ideologies, as can be seen in the many sociolects
that develop online.
Professor of Anthropology
Judith Irvine defines a language ideology as "the cultural system of ideas about social and linguistic relationships, together with their loading of moral and political interests". Walt Wolfram and Natalie Schilling-Estes define language ideology as "ingrained, unquestioned beliefs about the way the world is, the way it should be, and the way it has to be with respect to language". This includes assumptions about the merits of homogeneous language within a society, the perceived beauty of certain languages, whether certain languages or dialects are seen as intelligent or unintelligent, and other notions about the value of certain ways of speaking. These aspects are all studied in the field of sociolinguistics, but the idea of language ideology is a relatively recent area of inquiry, which is primarily explored in linguistic anthropology
.
The study of language ideology is important to many fields of research, including anthropology
, sociology
, and linguistics
. Especially now that anthropology
rejects the idea that culture
or cultures represent homogeneous isolated entities, language ideology has become a useful model for understanding how human groups are organized, despite cleavages in belief and practice. For example, multiple languages are spoken in any given human society. Therefore a theory of linguistics that regards human societies as monolingual would be of limited use. Instead, speakers of different languages or dialects may share certain beliefs, practices, or conflicts involving a language, set of languages, or language in general. That is to say, speech communities may be regarded as “organizations of diversity”) with language ideologies providing that organization.
commentary reveals values attached to particular linguistic forms, as well as the judgments about how people should use language in society. Concepts about the effects of language vary widely among social groups and correct use of speech acts, politeness
, or phonology
acceptance of these values, although this is usually not fully conscious.
Standard Language Ideology – As defined by Rosina Lippi-Green, Standard Language Ideology is "a bias toward an abstract, idealized homogeneous language, which is imposed and maintained by dominant institutions and which has as its model the written language, but which is drawn primarily from the spoken language of the upper middle class
". This represents a belief in standard, uniform way of speaking, which is thought to be a better way of communicating, and also that this is the normal way that language exists. As James W. Tollefson notes, however, “linguists agree that variation is normal and intrinsic to all spoken language, even to standard varieties”. Thus the idea that a standard language, such as Standard American English
, has homogenous phonology
is an idealization, based not on the reality of the language, but instead on the ideas about what language should be.
A current example of language ideology in action would be the debate in the United States
over Spanish
speaking immigrants. The political justifications for an official language
in the U.S. are based on the embedded principles described by both language ideology and nationalistic ideology.
While Spanish-speaking immigrants' use of heritage language is currently seen as a problem in the United States, at the same time middle class English speakers are encouraged to learn foreign languages, including Spanish. According to Pomerantz, language ideologies in the US "function to construct expertise in Spanish as a resource for the professional advancement of middle and
upper-middle class foreign language learners, while simultaneously casting it as a detriment to the social mobility of heritage language users (i.e., U.S. Latinos)".
These assumptions are reinforced by the way that language is taught, through the use of textbooks, dictionaries and grammar lessons.
Standard Language Ideologies often negatively affect the ability of minority language
speakers to succeed in education because the teacher's perception of what constitutes proper language, and therefore intelligence, could be biased against the language or dialect spoken by the student. One possible example of the effect that standard language ideology has on everyday life in modern America is "linguistic profiling." John Baugh, the inventor of the term "linguistic profiling"
has determined that many people can recognize the caller's ethnic dialect on the phone, and if the voice is identified as African-American or Mexican-American, the caller might be subject to racial discrimination.
Sociolinguistics
Sociolinguistics is the descriptive study of the effect of any and all aspects of society, including cultural norms, expectations, and context, on the way language is used, and the effects of language use on society...
and linguistic anthropology
Linguistic anthropology
Linguistic anthropology is the interdisciplinary study of how language influences social life. It is a branch of anthropology that originated from the endeavor to document endangered languages, and has grown over the past 100 years to encompass almost any aspect of language structure and...
, a language or linguistic ideology is a systematic construct about how particular ways of using language
Language
Language may refer either to the specifically human capacity for acquiring and using complex systems of communication, or to a specific instance of such a system of complex communication...
s carry or are invested with certain moral, religious, social, and political value
Value (personal and cultural)
A personal or cultural value is an absolute or relative ethical value, the assumption of which can be the basis for ethical action. A value system is a set of consistent values and measures. A principle value is a foundation upon which other values and measures of integrity are based...
s, giving rise to implicit assumptions that people have about a language or about language
Language
Language may refer either to the specifically human capacity for acquiring and using complex systems of communication, or to a specific instance of such a system of complex communication...
in general. A common type of language ideology are Standard Language Ideologies, the belief that language homogeneity
Diglossia
In linguistics, diglossia refers to a situation in which two dialects or languages are used by a single language community. In addition to the community's everyday or vernacular language variety , a second, highly codified variety is used in certain situations such as literature, formal...
is beneficial to society, such as that expressed by the English-only movement
English-only movement
English-only movement, also known as Official English movement, refers to a political movement for the use only of the English language in official government operations through the establishing of English as the only official language in the United States...
in the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
. Invested in the Holy Quran, classical Arabic is a good example of language ideology in which it has been always correlated with Islamic practices. In general, differing social speech styles are judged as aspects of social identity and status. Hence, language ideologies involve interpretations and judgments about vocabulary, grammar, accent, and other vocal features used by speakers. Written language practices are also shaped by language ideologies, as can be seen in the many sociolects
Sociolect
In sociolinguistics, a sociolect or social dialect is a variety of language associated with a social group such as a socioeconomic class, an ethnic group, an age group, etc....
that develop online.
Introduction
Language ideology refers specifically to the perceptions held by people about language and, more importantly, how those perceptions are projected onto speakers. University of MichiganUniversity of Michigan
The University of Michigan is a public research university located in Ann Arbor, Michigan in the United States. It is the state's oldest university and the flagship campus of the University of Michigan...
Professor of Anthropology
Anthropology
Anthropology is the study of humanity. It has origins in the humanities, the natural sciences, and the social sciences. The term "anthropology" is from the Greek anthrōpos , "man", understood to mean mankind or humanity, and -logia , "discourse" or "study", and was first used in 1501 by German...
Judith Irvine defines a language ideology as "the cultural system of ideas about social and linguistic relationships, together with their loading of moral and political interests". Walt Wolfram and Natalie Schilling-Estes define language ideology as "ingrained, unquestioned beliefs about the way the world is, the way it should be, and the way it has to be with respect to language". This includes assumptions about the merits of homogeneous language within a society, the perceived beauty of certain languages, whether certain languages or dialects are seen as intelligent or unintelligent, and other notions about the value of certain ways of speaking. These aspects are all studied in the field of sociolinguistics, but the idea of language ideology is a relatively recent area of inquiry, which is primarily explored in linguistic anthropology
Linguistic anthropology
Linguistic anthropology is the interdisciplinary study of how language influences social life. It is a branch of anthropology that originated from the endeavor to document endangered languages, and has grown over the past 100 years to encompass almost any aspect of language structure and...
.
The study of language ideology is important to many fields of research, including anthropology
Anthropology
Anthropology is the study of humanity. It has origins in the humanities, the natural sciences, and the social sciences. The term "anthropology" is from the Greek anthrōpos , "man", understood to mean mankind or humanity, and -logia , "discourse" or "study", and was first used in 1501 by German...
, sociology
Sociology
Sociology is the study of society. It is a social science—a term with which it is sometimes synonymous—which uses various methods of empirical investigation and critical analysis to develop a body of knowledge about human social activity...
, and linguistics
Linguistics
Linguistics is the scientific study of human language. Linguistics can be broadly broken into three categories or subfields of study: language form, language meaning, and language in context....
. Especially now that anthropology
Anthropology
Anthropology is the study of humanity. It has origins in the humanities, the natural sciences, and the social sciences. The term "anthropology" is from the Greek anthrōpos , "man", understood to mean mankind or humanity, and -logia , "discourse" or "study", and was first used in 1501 by German...
rejects the idea that culture
Culture
Culture is a term that has many different inter-related meanings. For example, in 1952, Alfred Kroeber and Clyde Kluckhohn compiled a list of 164 definitions of "culture" in Culture: A Critical Review of Concepts and Definitions...
or cultures represent homogeneous isolated entities, language ideology has become a useful model for understanding how human groups are organized, despite cleavages in belief and practice. For example, multiple languages are spoken in any given human society. Therefore a theory of linguistics that regards human societies as monolingual would be of limited use. Instead, speakers of different languages or dialects may share certain beliefs, practices, or conflicts involving a language, set of languages, or language in general. That is to say, speech communities may be regarded as “organizations of diversity”) with language ideologies providing that organization.
Examples
Perhaps one of the most common ways that language ideologies are overtly expressed are when parents, teachers or other authorities suggest corrections to speech practices. Such metapragmaticMetapragmatics
Metapragmatics is a term from linguistics and the semiotically-informed linguistic anthropology of Michael Silverstein, describing language that characterizes or describes the pragmatic function of some speech. Discussions of linguistic pragmatics—that is, discussions of what speech does in a...
commentary reveals values attached to particular linguistic forms, as well as the judgments about how people should use language in society. Concepts about the effects of language vary widely among social groups and correct use of speech acts, politeness
Politeness
Politeness is best expressed as the practical application of good manners or etiquette. It is a culturally-defined phenomenon, and therefore what is considered polite in one culture can sometimes be quite rude or simply eccentric in another cultural context....
, or phonology
Phonology
Phonology is, broadly speaking, the subdiscipline of linguistics concerned with the sounds of language. That is, it is the systematic use of sound to encode meaning in any spoken human language, or the field of linguistics studying this use...
acceptance of these values, although this is usually not fully conscious.
Standard Language Ideology – As defined by Rosina Lippi-Green, Standard Language Ideology is "a bias toward an abstract, idealized homogeneous language, which is imposed and maintained by dominant institutions and which has as its model the written language, but which is drawn primarily from the spoken language of the upper middle class
Social class
Social classes are economic or cultural arrangements of groups in society. Class is an essential object of analysis for sociologists, political scientists, economists, anthropologists and social historians. In the social sciences, social class is often discussed in terms of 'social stratification'...
". This represents a belief in standard, uniform way of speaking, which is thought to be a better way of communicating, and also that this is the normal way that language exists. As James W. Tollefson notes, however, “linguists agree that variation is normal and intrinsic to all spoken language, even to standard varieties”. Thus the idea that a standard language, such as Standard American English
General American
General American , also known as Standard American English , is a major accent of American English. The accent is not restricted to the United States...
, has homogenous phonology
Phonology
Phonology is, broadly speaking, the subdiscipline of linguistics concerned with the sounds of language. That is, it is the systematic use of sound to encode meaning in any spoken human language, or the field of linguistics studying this use...
is an idealization, based not on the reality of the language, but instead on the ideas about what language should be.
A current example of language ideology in action would be the debate in the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
over Spanish
Spanish language
Spanish , also known as Castilian , is a Romance language in the Ibero-Romance group that evolved from several languages and dialects in central-northern Iberia around the 9th century and gradually spread with the expansion of the Kingdom of Castile into central and southern Iberia during the...
speaking immigrants. The political justifications for an official language
Official language
An official language is a language that is given a special legal status in a particular country, state, or other jurisdiction. Typically a nation's official language will be the one used in that nation's courts, parliament and administration. However, official status can also be used to give a...
in the U.S. are based on the embedded principles described by both language ideology and nationalistic ideology.
While Spanish-speaking immigrants' use of heritage language is currently seen as a problem in the United States, at the same time middle class English speakers are encouraged to learn foreign languages, including Spanish. According to Pomerantz, language ideologies in the US "function to construct expertise in Spanish as a resource for the professional advancement of middle and
upper-middle class foreign language learners, while simultaneously casting it as a detriment to the social mobility of heritage language users (i.e., U.S. Latinos)".
These assumptions are reinforced by the way that language is taught, through the use of textbooks, dictionaries and grammar lessons.
Implications
Language ideology has wide implications for society including moral and political assumptions about how to best deal with language in society, and thus for a polities' language policy.Standard Language Ideologies often negatively affect the ability of minority language
Minority language
A minority language is a language spoken by a minority of the population of a territory. Such people are termed linguistic minorities or language minorities.-International politics:...
speakers to succeed in education because the teacher's perception of what constitutes proper language, and therefore intelligence, could be biased against the language or dialect spoken by the student. One possible example of the effect that standard language ideology has on everyday life in modern America is "linguistic profiling." John Baugh, the inventor of the term "linguistic profiling"
Linguistic profiling
Linguistic profiling is the practice of identifying the social characteristics of an individual based on auditory cues, in particular dialect and accent. The theory was first developed by Professor John Baugh to explain discriminatory practices in the housing market based on the auditory redlining...
has determined that many people can recognize the caller's ethnic dialect on the phone, and if the voice is identified as African-American or Mexican-American, the caller might be subject to racial discrimination.
See also
- IdeologyIdeologyAn ideology is a set of ideas that constitutes one's goals, expectations, and actions. An ideology can be thought of as a comprehensive vision, as a way of looking at things , as in common sense and several philosophical tendencies , or a set of ideas proposed by the dominant class of a society to...
- Language planningLanguage planningLanguage planning is a deliberate effort to influence the function, structure, or acquisition of languages or language variety within a speech community. It is often associated with government planning, but is also used by a variety of non-governmental organizations, such as grass-roots...
- Language policyLanguage policyMany countries have a language policy designed to favour or discourage the use of a particular language or set of languages. Although nations historically have used language policies most often to promote one official language at the expense of others, many countries now have policies designed to...
- Linguistic AnthropologyLinguistic anthropologyLinguistic anthropology is the interdisciplinary study of how language influences social life. It is a branch of anthropology that originated from the endeavor to document endangered languages, and has grown over the past 100 years to encompass almost any aspect of language structure and...
- Linguistic rightsLinguistic rightsLinguistic rights are the human and civil rights concerning the individual and collective right to choose the language or languages for communication in a private or public atmosphere...
- MetapragmaticsMetapragmaticsMetapragmatics is a term from linguistics and the semiotically-informed linguistic anthropology of Michael Silverstein, describing language that characterizes or describes the pragmatic function of some speech. Discussions of linguistic pragmatics—that is, discussions of what speech does in a...
- LinguisticsLinguisticsLinguistics is the scientific study of human language. Linguistics can be broadly broken into three categories or subfields of study: language form, language meaning, and language in context....
- SociolinguisticsSociolinguisticsSociolinguistics is the descriptive study of the effect of any and all aspects of society, including cultural norms, expectations, and context, on the way language is used, and the effects of language use on society...
- Standard languageStandard languageA standard language is a language variety used by a group of people in their public discourse. Alternatively, varieties become standard by undergoing a process of standardization, during which it is organized for description in grammars and dictionaries and encoded in such reference works...
External links
- Do You Speak American: PBS special
- What Do You Know About Language? Language Myths Survey by Penn State University