Language and race: 12 Flashcards

1
Q

What is the folk theory of race, and who was is proposed by?

A

Proposed by Jane Hill, it states that race is a basic category of human biological variation, combined with the belief that everyone has to be assigned a race.

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
2
Q

What are some objections to the folk theory of race?

A
  1. Human populations are not unambiguously, clearly biological distinct groups
    - There is a lot of genetic varaition within so-called racial groups (94%) than between them (6%)
  2. There is a gradual rather abrupt physical variation (ex: skin colour)
    - Physical traits (skin colour, hair type) are independent from one another
How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
3
Q

Why is race a social fact?

A
  1. It influences people’s perceptions/identities
    Rather than existing biological essence, it is better thought of as radicalization
    - The concept of race provides us with insight into the cultural and social meanings people attribute to perceived/actual biological differences (skin colour, hair type)
  2. The parameter of racial classification is not a biological given:
    - People cannot be grouped into racial categories based on a physical set of features
    Race means something different in each society because it is a social construct/varies from place to place
How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
4
Q

Why is race tied to power and inequality?

A

societies use race as a construct to establish systems of power, forming “dominant languages and cultures”.

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
5
Q

What was the AAA statement about race?

A

the human capacity for achieving, and functioning within present-day cultures is blocked by so-called “racialized groups”.
- Their biological inheritance is a product of historical and contemporary circumstances.
- Due to this and the SLI race and biology cannot be socially separated.

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
6
Q

What is the standard ideology of race?

A

the bias of race is idealized and homogonously spoken by dominant institutions which name and model language (stated by lippie-green)
- this is primality modelled by the upper middle class.

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
7
Q

What is the standard language ideology (SLI)?

A

The belief that one language is the “correct” or “best” and that other varieties are “incorrect” or less valid
- Language as apolitical
- One language- one nation ideology

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
8
Q

Why do people buy into SLI?

A

a. Markedness: not speaking the standard stands out, it is marked
b. Language as capital: speaking the standard comes with a reward

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
9
Q

What is the accommodation theory?

A

Social psychology theory that explains how and why people change their communication style based on the situation
- The accents we hear go through our language ideology filters (the human minds method of detecting language and accents, and determining if they are good or bad)

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
10
Q

Why does education develop racist ideologies?

A

Children are socialized into specific prejudices and are directed into the language ideology of the middle class.

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
11
Q

what is AAE? And how do people perceive it?

A

African-American English
- Their language is often perceived as a messy language with slang and grammatical mistakes
- Often perceived as Indexing/signalling something about the speaker

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
12
Q

How is the AAE similar to other languages?

A

a. Rule governed: has its own phonology, morphology, syntax, semantics and pragmatics.
Like “socially expectable English”, AAE has regional variation.

b. AAE is learned in a particular social setting (like any language):
- People easily code-switch between Black English and other varieties of English, depending on social context (accommodation theory).

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
13
Q

What is another example of how the AAE is similar to other languages?

A

Invariant or habitual “be” (they are the same, but are used to describe the differences between “regular English”, and AAE).
- This grammatical position is used to indicate whether something happens consistently or not.
- Does grammatical work: indicate habitual behavior or the usual state of being
- She was happy vs. she is happy

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
14
Q

What are the double negatives, and why has it been stigmatized?

A

A statement which contains two negative words
- EX: I can’t get anything done
- This Existed before and was even common in Shakespeares’ time
- Throughout history, it became stigmatized because people in higher classes stopped using them, it is seen as something that can make language unclear.

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
15
Q

What are examples of double negatives being used in other languages?

A

French: je ne veux rien

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
16
Q

What is the difference between asks, and aks?

A

an alternate pronunciation of the word asks in AAE).
- Goes back hundreds of years
It is a valid way of English pronunciation, but people see that it fails to have proper pronunciation (Lack of correspondence between sound and symbol in English)

  • Language ideologies such as these “naturalize” racial categories: rather than social categories shaped through (sociohistorical).
  • The status assigned to standard English is arbitrary and merely a function of politics (SLI)
17
Q

How is racism in langauge?

A
  1. Over racism ( racist assertations that are seen, heard, or described?)
    - Racism is not just a quality of individuals, but its a product of institutions.
  2. White public space: the way language is used in public spaces to construct and maintain racialized hierarchies
    - Unmarked vs. marked language use (language as a capital, and markedness)
  3. White linguistic normalcy: Standard Language Ideology Self-
    - Ex: spanish people are conscious about “Spanish” accents in English. - - But it’s acceptable to have English accents in Spanish (language ideologies and stereotypes naturalize racial categories)
    - This heterogeneity (quality of being diverse) is not permitted (ex: Puerto Ricans)
18
Q

How is mock Spanish converted as a racist discourse?

A

a. Direct indexicality: humorous, cosmopolitan (includes many cultures/people)
b. Indirect indexicality: elevates whiteness, racializes Spanish speakers
- If there was more awareness of these stereotypes (mock Spanish jokes would not be funny)

19
Q

How do people make sense of overt racism?

A
  • Covert racism racializes its subordinate group through indirect indexicality
  • Racism is enacted through language, within interaction (through behaviour and conversations)