Unit 2: Linguistics and Language Myths

Unit two provides an overview of the linguistic principles required to call into question many faulty assumptions about language that must be examined in order to achieve linguistic justice. These principles include: the arbitrary nature of language, the standardization process, the equal validity and utility of all languages and dialects, the fact that the classification of “good” and “bad” English is a social rather than linguistic construction, and the exclusionary nature of Standard American English. 

Go Further

Appalachian English

• "Appalachian English" (website) by the University of South Carolina. A resource for laypeople and linguists about Appalachian English and "its pronunciation, grammar, and much more."

Black Language

• "African American English through the Years" - A Presentation by Dr. Lisa Green. This 1 hour and 20 minute video offers a much more in-depth, nuanced overview of  African American Vernacular English (Black language).

• Linguistic Justice: Black Language, Literacy, Identity and Pedagogy by April Baker-Bell. This book "brings together theory, research, and practice to dismantle Anti-Black Linguistic Racism and white linguistic supremacy and provides ethnographic snapshots of how Black students navigate and negotiate their linguistic and racial identities across multiple contexts." 

• Other People's English: Code-meshing, Code-switching and African American Literacy by Vershawn Ashanti Young, Rusty Barret, Y'Shanda Young-Rivera, and Kim Brain Lovejoy. This anthology is a "practical resource translates theory into a concrete road map for pre- and in-service teachers who wish to use code-meshing in the classroom to extend students’ abilities as writers and thinkers and to foster inclusiveness and creativity." 

Code Switching

• The Taxing Performance of Code Switching by Katherine Mangan. This article from The Chronicle of Higher Education's Race on Campus series defines code switching and looks at how it affects BIPOC employees in higher education.

Sociolinguistics

• An Introduction to Sociolinguistics by Ronald Wardhaugh and Janet M. Fuller. This book "helps students develop a critical perspective on language in society as they explore the complex connections between societal norms and language use."

• English with an accent: Language, ideology, and discrimination in the United States by Rosina Lippi-Green. This text "has provoked debate and controversy within classrooms through its in-depth scrutiny of American attitudes towards language. Rosina Lippi-Green discusses the ways in which discrimination based on accent functions to support and perpetuate social structures and unequal power relations." 

Linguistics (General)

• English Language and Linguistics Online: "ELLO is a modular introductory courseware in English linguistics developed by a linguistic-department network of 4 German universities: Osnabrück, Hannover, Braunschweig and Göttingen. This website is designed as a study aid for undergraduate students of linguistics and consists of 15 modules covering courseware on general linguistics as well as on selected subfields."