Could the standardisation of language narrow disparities in achievement in education amongst people of different social class, and within and across ethnicities and genders, and could this have implications for injustices and inequities in wider society? In analysing socio-economic diversity through the lens of its correlation with language, this…

It came as a surprise to me, after an extensive Google search and reading of numerous policies, that English, and more specifically Standard Australian English, is not the official language of Australia (ACARA, 2016c; Lo Bianco, 1987). There are examples cited by the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) (1999) that state, 'English is regarded as…

This paper examines the official requirement for the promotion of standard English using Bourdieu's concepts of the production and reproduction of legitimate language. It explores the political drive behind the demand for this standard dialect in England and, through a survey on the views of fifty-two 14 and 15 year olds, analyses the impact that…

Being up front with students about Standard English as "the language of power" allows them to learn valuable lessons about Standard and non-Standard English dialects. In this article, the author describes an eighth-grade language unit that helps students understand the value of dialects and standardized English. The author concludes that the…

Ethnolinguistic vitality, communication accommodation, and markedness model frameworks guided research assessing language ideologies, practices, and criticism among multi-ethnic Locals in the Hawaiian Islands. Results from Study 1 indicated that respondents draw from widespread ideologies that influence them to employ Standard English in…

Every multicultural society has a language of power--the language spoken by members of the dominant group or groups--as well as languages that lack power because they are spoken by members of the subordinate group or groups. The ascension of one language over another has long been a source of controversy in Hawai'i, as it has in many parts of the…

Presents details of the language shifts among the various sections of the Chinese-speaking population in Hong Kong and analyzes patterns of allegiance. Notes that complex social, economic, and political pressures will affect future language in Hong Kong and that, within the domains of family, work, and others, the use of Modern Standard Chinese is…

Critiques the practice of conforming to Standard English when teaching writing. Argues that when more attention is paid to form than to content, students' words and thoughts become devalued. Emphasizes the need to teach students to hold their own voices sacred, and discusses instructional strategies which encourage this attitude. (MM)

In an "Esquire" magazine column, John Simon attempts to trivialize, through visual satire, the articulation by Wayne O'Neil of the linguistic position that teaching standard English perpetuates oppression and is itself oppressive; but his attempt provides, instead, a vivid representation of the political relationship between the teaching of…