Discover Top Posts Tagged with #raciolinguistics

Popular Recent

9.30.20 // thesis research has taken me back to raciolinguistics (a mix of anthropology, linguistics and race studies) It's so relevant to our current world and shows how language shapes our lives and the ideas of race! If you want to learn more or chat about it, send me an ask or dm, I'd love to discuss!!!

#studyblr #studyspo #gradblr #linguistics #study #motivation #anthropology #raciolinguistics #langblr #100 days of productivity #language #thesis #grad student #stratstudy

i didn’t know there was a term for this but ,,, kinda digging it

#a linguist speaks #raciolinguistics #sociolinguistics #sociology #race #linguistics #lingblr

I’m reading Who’s Afraid of the Transracial Subject?: Raciolinguistics and the Political Project of Transracialization by H. Samy Alim and I don’t quite have the words right now to express how this resonates to me as a mixed kid

#racism #raciolinguistics #linguistics #eliasramblings #definitely a rec

A talk from Kelly Wright about raciolinguistic profiling, as part of a virtual speaker series at the University of Kent which has had several linguists on to give talks recently, including Kirby Conrod and Lauren Ackerman. Description:

In this talk, Kelly Wright (University of Michigan) discusses the history of raciolinguistic profiling and what it means, and delves into her own research on how your linguistic variety can affect your opportunities. There is an extensive Q&A session following the talk, with a wide-ranging discussion of the benefits and drawbacks of using your native linguistic variety, linguistic privilege, and linguistic attitudes. We also talk through some practices and advice to follow in your own situation. Slides as PDF (including links).

#linguistics #kelly wright #raciolinguistics #raciolinguistic profiling #linguistic discrimination #racism #talks #sociolinguistics #linguistic profiling #university of kent

‘Terminology’ - How a museum reckons with language choice

“The names and terminology used to describe and categorise people played a vital role in the whole edifice of slavery. Certain words became the tools of racism and, regrettably, are still in use today.

We have tried to be careful in our use of language in this gallery. In particular we have tried to avoid using terms that strip individuals of their humanity -- since this was a tactic central to the imposition of slavery.

The world 'slave,' for example, implies a thing or commodity rather than a human being. We have used the term 'enslaved African' wherever possible.

In the main we have avoided using the terms 'Black' and 'White,' preferring 'African' or 'European.' But in the Legacies section of the gallery we engage with the word 'Black' as it is used to refer to the non-White post-war migrant settlers in Britain.”

While perusing the exhibits at the Museum of London Docklands last weekend, I was pleasantly surprised to come across this sign, which provides one of the most in-depth explanations I’ve ever seen of a museum’s linguistic choices.

The museum, a branch of the Museum of London, focuses primarily on the history of the docks and London as a site of trade, which of course is heavily intertwined with the UK’s long history of slavery.

Discussing painful historical events comes with many challenges, including how and when [not] to use certain words that carry historical baggage or offensive meanings. I applaud the Museum of London for acknowledging these challenges and facing them head-on by providing an explanation of why they use the language in the exhibit.

Other signage used an interesting tactic in profiling important historical figures. Instead of highlighting the individual’s name, the placards led with that person’s relevance to the context: “Slaveowner” or “Abolitionist,” followed by a textual explanation that included their name. This approach makes the information easier to digest (understanding a concept rather than trying to memorize names), and avoids reverential treatment of history’s villains.

I did not encounter the concept of using “enslaved person” instead of “slave” until I was well into my sociology coursework at university, and I regret that it did not come up earlier in my education. It is just one of countless examples of how the linguistic repertoire available to us shapes the way we think about our world, our history, and other people. Hopefully other museums, schools, and spaces of education are being similarly thoughtful about explaining their terminology choices.

#linguistics #language #lexical choice #sociolinguistics #sociology #history #slavery #museum of london #museums #terminology #raciolinguistics #words #lexicon

Read and/or listened to in October and November

Not pictured:

Es, Margaretha A. van. 2017. Stereotypes and Self-Representations of Women with a Muslim Background: The Stigma of Being Oppressed. Cham, Switzerland: Palgrave Macmillan.

Haraway, Donna. 2006. “A Cyborg Manifesto: Science, Technology, and Socialist-Feminism in the Late 20th Century.” The International Handbook of Virtual Learning Environments, 117–158.

Ishihara, Noriko, and Andrew D. Cohen. 2014. Teaching and Learning Pragmatics: Where Language and Culture Meet. Routledge.

Kasper, Gabriele, and Shoshana Blum-Kulka, eds. 1993. Interlanguage Pragmatics. New York: Oxford University Press.

Mendoza-Denton, Norma. 2008. Homegirls: Language and Cultural Practice Among Latina Youth Gangs. New Directions in Ethnography 2. Malden, MA: Blackwell Publishing.

#reading #racecraft #raciolinguistics #islam #anthropology #joan didion #octavia butler #parenting

Code Switch on NPR One | 29:33

Sociolinguist Amelia Tseng is on NPR Codeswitch talking about heritage language learning and identity. Description:

Shereen and Gene look at "racial imposter syndrome." It's what one listener described as feeling fake, or inauthentic, in her identity. We invited listeners to write in, and hundreds of bi-racial and multi-cultural people shared their views. We'll also talk to social scientists about the basic need for belonging and the role language plays in identity. Later, writer Heidi Durrow joins us. She's founder of The Mixed-Remixed Festival, the largest annual gathering of its kind in the U.S.