Fall 2005

LIN 350 • Language Ideology in the US

Course Description

An ideology is a closely organized system of beliefs, values, and ideas that form the basis of a social, economic, or political philosophy or program. The premise of this course is that an ideology of language domination and subordination is woven into the fabric of American society. The course explores the interrelationship of language, ideology, and discrimination in the United States by examining topics such as the relationship of language variation to regional and social identity the nature of standard language ideology (SLI) the role of public education in the indoctrination of SLI to children the reinforcement of SLI by the mass media the promotion of linguistic stereotyping and prejudice by the entertainment industry the exploitation of SLI by employers to discriminate against certain groups of people the reinforcement of SLI by the judicial system to protect the status quo

Grading Policy

A case of language ideology/language discrimination in four different areas such as these: dictionaries and reference works, textbooks, standardized testing, teacher certification, mass media, entertainment industry, workplace, naturalization, voting, cultural identity--each study constituting 25% of the semester grade.

Texts

Lippi-Green, Rosina, English with an Accent. London and New York: Routledge, 1997. Milroy, James, and Lesley Milroy, Authority in Language, 3rd ed. London and New York, 1999. Schmidt. Ronald. Language Policy and Identity Politics in the United States. Philadelphia: Temple University Press, 2000.

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