african american and africana studies

Year of Equity Series: Linguists often talk the talk but how can we also walk the walk

Part of diversity is linguistic diversity; part of equity is

linguistic equity; and part of inclusion is linguistic inclusion.

Yet, despite the many university initiatives around diversity,

equity, inclusion and access, language and linguistic diversity

are rarely part of the constellation of identity practices that

are seen outside of linguistics as warranting efforts toward

greater justice. Linguists can and should play an important

role in advocating for the centrality of language within

inclusivity efforts, but many of our efforts to do so are less

effective than we might hope.

In this talk, I’ll explore some of the potential reasons why

this has been the case and imagine (with your insight and help)

some ways that linguists could have more success in our efforts

to enhance linguistic justice. By framing linguistic inclusion

in the context of standardized language privilege, I’ll present

what we know about linguistic discrimination, pinpoint the

linguistic stakes of DEI efforts, highlight some flashpoints

that occur in public discussions about language such as with

pronouns and political correctness, and finally offer some

concrete steps that we as linguists can take to effectively

advocate for the importance of language at all levels of

intervention linked to greater inclusion and equity.

This talk is made possible by generous support from our friends in Modern and Classical Languages, Literatures and Cultures; English; Gender and Women’s studies; Sociology; Writing, Rhetoric and Digital Studies; African American and Africana Studies; and the College of Arts and Sciences.

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