User:AustinPetryk/Sociology of Language

Sociology of Language and Linguistic Injustice

World Englishes and Sociology of Language:

Within sociology of langauge, a theory has emerged called World Englishes. World Englishes refers to the way that different cultures and language communities have changed the English language. During the period of colonization, when English was brought to new lands, it was not always adequate to describe the new environment. There used to be centralized attempts to control the English language. This was done through books like the Oxford English Dictionary. Many British Officials did there best to try to keep English as one uniform language, throughout all of these colonies. This effort was unsuccessful, and was almost impossible to achieve, especially once millions of new English speakers began changing the language in the United States. Recently, books such as the Oxford English dictionary can be seen, not as an Imperial project, but as a new way for Great Britain to help develop world Englishes in a post-colonial era.

According to scholar Edgar Schneider, the process of how a new English was created was similar each time British colonizers spread their language to colonized people. The creation of a new English follows these steps:

1. Foundation
2. exonormative stabilisation
3. nativisation
4. endonormative stabilisaiton
5. differentiation

Schneider's model begins with a group of settlers in a new land. Initially, settlers saw themselves as in the same group as their origin. Initially, settlers also saw the indigenous population as others. However, the sense of "us" begins to erode as time goes on, and settlers begin to see their origin as "others". Moreover, their sense of "us" begins to converge with the indigenous population. Developments of new a English begin when the settlers begin diverging from their origin, and converging with the native population.

Language Profiling and discrimination:

Language profiles provide important insights into the relationships between languages and social identity in the study of sociology of language.  A language profile provides a thorough analysis of a person's linguistic skills, experiences, and preferences. It may contain data on first languages spoken, additional languages spoken, degrees of skill, usage trends, and attitudes toward other languages.  Researchers like Susan Ervin-Tripp and Joshua Fishman have underlined the significance of comprehending how linguistic practices and regulations impact both people and entire communities.

Language profiles can reveal instances of linguistic injustice, which is the marginalization or prejudice of particular languages or dialects, as defined by academics like Monica Heller. One of the most detrimental effects of linguistic injustice in society is marginalization. Marginalization is the denial of access or resources to certain individuals or groups. When individuals or groups are in an area where their language is dominated by another, they become at risk of being denied access to essential resources and may experience exclusion from society. In education, for example, students may experience difficulties in learning and achieving success. For speakers of such languages, this marginalization frequently leads to socioeconomic inequality and limited possibilities. Negative impacts result when housing, job, or educational opportunities are denied based on assumptions about dialect or accent, even if it can be utilized without overt discrimination, such as in court proceedings to identify suspects.The prosecution of O.J. Simpson is a well-known instance of the identification of race based on the auditory sample in a court argument. According to a witness's testimony against Simpson, he once heard a "male Black" voice. The presiding court rejected Mr. Cochran, Simpson's attorney, from objecting.