Linguistic Justice at the Studio
Written by Rose Huentelman in collaboration with Sydney Reynolds
What is linguistic justice and why does the Studio have a statement about it?
The term “linguistic justice” can be hard to define because sometimes it refers to academic scholarship and sometimes it means social action. It is actually both of these things. We see linguistic justice as the collective work of people who:
- Insist that all languages and language varieties are equal
- Challenge systems and policies that uphold language and discourse discrimination
- Continuously push those systems towards a reality where language equity is realized
To our Studio visitors, we believe having a statement on linguistic justice is essential for solidifying our commitment to you. Every day we see you come to us with papers and presentations, readings and ideas. All our interactions involve language and so much of ourselves is expressed in our languages. Thank you for your trust and for sharing your knowledge with us. To those in our community committed to change, we want you to know how much we honor, appreciate, and value this shared linguistic expression and your commitment to justice.
What is the Studio’s approach to Linguistic Justice?
We, at the Studio, know (and linguists have long said) that language is inextricable from identity, so language rights are human rights.
We know there is no such thing as a standard English, since living languages are always changing. Standard language ideology refers to a system of beliefs that places language varieties in a hierarchy with a socially constructed and upheld standard–sometimes called standardized academic English–at the top.
We know that standard language ideology is exclusive, limiting, and often a mask for linguistic discrimination and racism, sexism, ableism, classism, etc.
We also know that academic institutions, like the one we are in, often privilege what is perceived as standardized forms of writing, which are constructed and enforced by reader/listener perceptions.
Knowing this, we aim to disrupt these systems by centering students’ language choices as they navigate these realities.
How do we do this?
We started this statement by talking about our consultations with you, and that’s where we want to return.
Programs that support writing often encounter a service dilemma: students are told they have to perform standardized academic English in order to achieve success (good grade or job) and so need access to tools that help them do so. And yet at the same time, successful performance of standardized academic English is actually determined by the reader (professor, boss) and not by any given characteristic of writing.
So what do we do with your papers in a consultation?
We have contextualizing conversations with you about linguistic justice. We talk about what’s at stake for you, what resources you have at your disposal, the potential presence of linguistic discrimination, and above all, what you want to do. Then we support you in those decisions.
This could look like contacting your professor for more specifics about what they are looking for; this could look like starting a conversation with your professor about language ideology; this could look like revising the tone or syntax of your writing to make it sound more like standardized academic English (‘formal’ or ‘proper’); or this could mean reaffirming your original writing choices and equipping you with ways to talk about or defend them.
In the end, what we want to do is practice linguistic justice with you.
Visitors,
We want to hear from you so we can better support you and learn more ourselves.
If you have thoughts, suggestions, stories, or questions you’d like to share please contact us. Gabe Gossett, the Head of the Research & Writing Studio, or his designee if he is on leave, will respond to your message.
Posted November, 2023
More Resources
Departing for a better writing center: Advancing language justice through staff professional development.
Aguilar-Smith, S., Pouncil, F., & Sanders, N. (2022). Departing for a better writing center: Advancing language justice through staff professional development. The Peer Review, 6(1). https://thepeerreview-iwca.org/issues/issue-6-1/departing-for-a-better-writing-center-advancing-language-justice-through-staff-professional-development/
Students’ right to their own language.
Conference on College Composition and Communication. (1974). Students’ right to their own language. College Composition and Communication, 25. https://prod-ncte-cdn.azureedge.net/nctefiles/groups/cccc/newsrtol.pdf
Undoing appropriateness: Raciolinguistic ideologies and language diversity in education
[WWU Subscription Link]
Flores, N., & Rosa, J. (2015). Undoing appropriateness: Raciolinguistic ideologies and language diversity in education. Harvard Educational Review, 85(2), 149–171. https://meridian-allenpress-com.ezproxy.library.wwu.edu/her/article/85/2/149/32176/Undoing-Appropriateness-Raciolinguistic-Ideologies
The “standard English” fairy tale: A rhetorical analysis of racist pedagogies and commonplace assumptions about language diversity.
Greenfield, L. (2011). The “standard English” fairy tale: A rhetorical analysis of racist pedagogies and commonplace assumptions about language diversity. In L. Greenfield & K. Rowan (Eds.), Writing centers and the new racism: A call for sustainable dialogue and change (pp. 33–60). University Press of Colorado. https://www.jstor.org/stable/j.ctt4cgk6s.6
Teaching antiracist reading
[WWU Subscription Link]
Inoue, A. B. (2020). Teaching antiracist reading. Journal of College Reading and Learning, 50(3), 134–156. https://www-tandfonline-com.ezproxy.library.wwu.edu/doi/full/10.1080/10790195.2020.1787079
The linguistic facts of life
[WWU Subscription Link]
Lippi-Green, R. (2011). The linguistic facts of life. In English with an accent: Language, ideology and discrimination in the United States (pp. 5–26). Taylor & Francis Group. https://ebookcentral-proquest-com.ezproxy.library.wwu.edu/lib/wwu/reader.action?docID=958316&ppg=30&pq-origsite=primo
Should writers use they own English?
Young, V. A. (2011). Should writers use they own English? In L. Greenfield & K. Rowan (Eds.), Writing centers and the new racism: A call for sustainable dialogue and change (pp. 61–72). University Press of Colorado. https://doi.org/10.2307/j.ctt4cgk6s.7