Standardization, Racialization, Languagelessness: Raciolinguistic Ideologies across Communicative Contexts

This article examines the racialized relationship between ideologies of language standardization and what I term “languagelessness.” Whereas ideologies of language standardization stigmatize particular linguistic practices understood to deviate from prescriptive norms, ideologies of languagelessness...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Journal of linguistic anthropology 2016-08, Vol.26 (2), p.162-183
Main Author: Rosa, Jonathan Daniel
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
education
Hispanic people
Ideology
Language ideologies
Language standardization
Language use
Latin language
Linguistic competence
Race
racialization
Sociolinguistics
standardization
U.S. Latinas/os
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Summary:This article examines the racialized relationship between ideologies of language standardization and what I term “languagelessness.” Whereas ideologies of language standardization stigmatize particular linguistic practices understood to deviate from prescriptive norms, ideologies of languagelessness call into question linguistic competence–and, by extension, legitimate personhood–altogether. Throughout the article I show how these ideologies interact with one another, and how assessments of particular individuals' language use often invoke broader ideas about the (in)competence and (il)legitimacy of entire racialized groups. I focus specifically on dimensions of the racialized relationship between ideologies of language standardization and languagelessness in contemporary framings of U.S. Latinas/os and their linguistic practices. I draw on a range of evidence, including ethnographic data collected within a predominantly Latina/o U.S. high school, institutional policies, and scholarly conceptions of language. When analyzed collectively, these sources highlight the racialized ways that ideologies of language standardization and languagelessness become linked in theory, policy, and everyday interactions. In my examination of these data through the lens of racialization, I seek to theorize how ideologies of language standardization and languagelessness contribute to the enactment of forms of societal inclusion and exclusion in relation to different sociopolitical contexts, ethnoracial categories, and linguistic practices. Este artículo examina la relación racializada entre las ideologías de estandarización lingüística y lo que llamo “languagelessness.” Mientras que las ideologías de estandarización lingüística estigmatizan prácticas lingüísticas específicas consideradas como ajenas a normas preceptivas, las ideologías de languagelessness ponen en duda la competencia lingüística – y por extensión, la persona legítima – por completo. A lo largo del artículo, se muestra cómo estas ideologías interactúan entre sí, y cómo las evaluaciones de la práctica lingüística de ciertas personas proyectan a menudo ideas más generales sobre la (in)competencia y la (i)legitimad de grupos racializados. El artículo se focaliza en ciertas dimensiones de la relación racializada entre las ideologías de estandarización lingüística y de languagelessness en los marcos contemporáneos de l@s Latin@s y sus prácticas lingüísticas. Para esto, este trabajo se basa en un corpus que incluye d
ISSN:1055-1360
1548-1395
DOI:10.1111/jola.12116