Chapter 3 – Access and Power in Language Learning
Language Standardization and Minoritization in Education
Bibi Halima and Keli Yerian
Preview Questions
- What is standardized language in educational contexts?
- How do educational contexts play a role in promoting standardized varieties over other varieties?
- What are examples of minoritized varieties within a language?
- What is African American English, and how has it influenced other varieties of English?
As we discussed in the last section, languages are not inherently superior or inferior to one another. It is through social processes that their status as a majoritized or minoritized language is determined. One setting where we see these fabricated linguistic hierarchies is in educational contexts, where some languages are routinely privileged over others.
In this section, we will discuss the role the classroom plays in standardizing and subordinating some varieties over others. The classroom can serve as a gatekeeper to linguistic hierarchies. Educational systems, in the guise of promoting social success, can privilege the language of elites while sidelining minoritized varieties, ultimately eroding the linguistic diversity of societies.
Standardized Language in the Classroom
“I was looked down upon by the teachers because I could not speak their language.”
– Zubair Torwali, 2021, a language activist from Pakistan
Imagine a new student who speaks a home language variety that is different than the one most familiar to the others in the classroom. Every time this student speaks, their way of talking is noticed by their peers and teacher. This new student observes that everyone uses a different way of speaking that is validated by the teacher as the correct and appropriate way to communicate. The student questions their own way of speaking and becomes anxious to learn how to talk “right”!
Most educational contexts adhere to a “correct and appropriate” way of using language, which is often called standard or standardized language (Chapter 1). Behrens and Sperling (2010) define standard language as “the most highly valued language form” in a community (p. 12). Those who use a variety closest to this standard at home are advantaged in and outside of the classroom with academic, financial, social, and emotional rewards. However, “those who fall outside the norm are disenfranchised” (ibid., p. 12). Schools and teachers, in their role of gatekeepers to talking right, can intentionally or unintentionally dismiss the linguistic diversity of their students.
Here is the irony,
Educational contexts, which are intended to provide equal opportunities to all students, can end up introducing and reproducing the categories of dominant versus marginal, center versus periphery, and standard-acceptable versus nonstandard-unacceptable. As Lippi-Green (2012) says, “The educational system may not be the beginning, but it is the heart of the standardization process” (p. 68).
These processes of privileging majoritized over minoritized varieties in education can be seen in second language classrooms too. For example, the standardized variety of French from Paris is most often taught in French language classes in the U.S. but there are many other varieties of French in the world to choose from, including those spoken in other parts of France, in some countries in Africa, in Louisiana, or in Québec. Many of these varieties are not marginal in numbers, though they are marginalized in status. For example, French is spoken in the home by over 6.5 million people in Québec (Lǎpușneanu, 2022). Similarly, the Castilian version of Spanish from Spain is often chosen in second language classrooms despite the fact that the vast majority of Spanish speakers worldwide are from countries in Latin America. Why? The Parisian and Castilian varieties have ongoing prestige due to their centrality in historical colonial education. However, they are not inherently better varieties of French or Spanish.
Minoritization of Other Language Varieties
We can see from these examples of French and Spanish that even within majoritized languages there are minority or minoritized varieties (often called regional dialects or social dialects). Sometimes these varieties are even considered “broken” or “improper” versions of the standardized variety of the language. Linguists, however, dispute this standard language ideology (Chapter 1) and consider all varieties of languages to be equal in value. They see standard language varieties as simply one of the many varieties within a language family (Tegegne, 2016). Therefore in this book, when we use the term language variety we are including both “languages” and “dialects”, without subordinating some varieties as “dialects” of standard “language”.
You might be surprised to know that English, arguably the world’s most dominant language at this time, also has many varieties, not all of which are equally valued. While there are standardized forms of English such as American English (AE) or British English (BrE), there are also many regional varieties of English that have been historically stigmatized and marginalized. For example, Caribbean English, Pakistani English, and Singapore English are varieties that developed following colonial contact. In the U.S., Chicano English, Hawaiian Pidgin, African American English, and Lumbee English are among the many varieties of English that are often considered “nonstandard” and hence incorrect, especially in formal or educational contexts.
As noted above, when students who speak one of these subordinated varieties are in an educational context that values standardized varieties, they easily become marginalized. This devaluation process not only erases linguistic and cultural diversity but also harms people’s identities to the extent that they start questioning their own worth.
“If an individual cannot find any social acceptance for her language outside her own speech communities, she may come to denigrate her own language, even while she continues to use it” (Lippi-Green, 2012, p. 68).
African American English (AAE)
One example of a widely-spoken minoritized variety within English is African American English (AAE). AAE is natively spoken by many African Americans and Black Canadians, particularly in urban communities. This variety of English has many similarities with Standardized English but also some important differences in terms of vocabulary, pronunciation, and grammar (Sidnell, 2012). For example, habitual be is a way of talking about habitual behaviors in AAE that is not found in mainstream American English. An example of this is, He be driving there, which can be translated to He drives there regularly.
Even though AAE is simply a different way of speaking English, these features are often considered just “slang” and discouraged in school contexts. We can see this attitude from the controversy that erupted in California in 1996. At that time, the Oakland California School Board debated and passed a resolution to allow AAE to be used in their schools but this quickly gave rise to a national backlash against this decision. Under pressure from the public, the Board later reworded the resolution to stress proficiency in Standard English as a goal while de-emphasizing AAE. The controversy eventually faded from the consciousness of the public but the question of how to change the language ideologies that prevent us from acknowledging and valuing distinctive varieties of a language (and the diverse people who speak them) remains an ongoing debate (Behrens & Sperling, 2010).
Please watch this video to learn more about AAE. The guest presenter is Dr. Rachel Weissler, professor of Linguistics at the University of Oregon.
After watching the video, complete the exercise below.
AAE Drag and Drop Exercise
Now test your AAE knowledge. Drag AAE example phrases on the left and drop them to their correct corresponding meanings on the right side.
Respecting Linguistic Diversity in Education
By now it should be clearer why some students in your school were considered to have the “right” language variety while others struggled to find a voice that was valued. In fact, all variations of a language are valid linguistically and should be understood as such. We believe educational institutions should respect all language forms and not encourage teachers to be the gatekeepers for one form alone. We also hope that the next time you hear someone with a way of speaking different than yours, you do not judge them against any standards you might have inherited from your classroom or society. Instead, we hope you recognize that they do not need to forget or change their speech for anyone; it is their identity!
“Language prejudice remains a ‘legitimate’ prejudice; that is, one can generally say the most appalling things about people’s speech without the fear of correction or contradiction.”
– O’Neil, 1998, p. 17
References
Behrens, S. J., & Sperling, R. L. (2010). Language, education, and cultural change. In S. J. Behrens, & J. A. Parker (Eds.), Language in the real world: An introduction to linguistics (1st ed.). Routledge Publishers.
Lippi-Green, R. (2012). English with an accent: language, ideology, and discrimination in the United States [2nd ed.]. Routledge.
Lǎpușneanu, D. (2022, October 18). Top French-speaking countries: How many people speak French? Mondly by Pearson. Retrieved May 10. 2024, from https://www.mondly.com/blog/french-speaking-countries/
O’Neil, W. (1998). Ebonics in the media. The Radical Teacher, 54, 13–17. http://www.jstor.org/stable/20709977
Sidnell, J. (2012, June 12). African American English (Ebonics). University of Hawaii, The Charlene Sato Center for Pidgin, Creole and Dialect Studies. Retrieved May 10, 2024, from https://www.hawaii.edu/satocenter/langnet/definitions/aave.html
Tegegne, W. (2016). The attitude of teachers towards varieties of a language and its effects on learners’ education and self esteem. Journal of Literature, Languages and Linguistics, 18(1), 93-97. Search in Google Scholar
Usman, N. (2021, June 22). Linguistic diversity in Pakistan. American Pakistan Foundation. Retrieved May 10, 2024, from https://www.americanpakistan.org/blog-main-feature/pakistan-linguistic-diversity
In this context, a strategic decision-making process that elevates a language(s) as more important, superior, or proper than others
In this context, a strategic decision making process that makes a language(s) seem inferior and less appropriate or important than others
A variation of a language specific to a certain geographical location or region
A variety spoken by a social group that is not necessarily located only in one region
A shared version of a dialect or a language in a community. This term is used as a neutral term to avoid the distinction between language and dialect
Something that is unfairly disregarded and socially discredited leading to discrimination against it
Something (such a language varieties or social groups) that is disempowered and excluded from mainstream discourse leading to struggle for visibility