English with an Accent: Language, Ideology, and Discrimination in the United States

Description

Since its initial publication, English with an Accent has provoked debate and controversy within classrooms through its in-depth scrutiny of American attitudes towards language. Rosina Lippi-Green discusses the ways in which discrimination based on accent functions to support and perpetuate social structures and unequal power relations. This second edition has been reorganized and revised to include: • new dedicated chapters on Latino English and Asian American English • discussion questions, further reading, and suggested classroom exercises, • updated examples from the classroom, the judicial system, the media, and corporate culture • a discussion of the long-term implications of the Ebonics debate • a brand-new companion website with a glossary of key terms and links to audio, video, and images relevant to the each chapter's content. English with an Accent is essential reading for students with interests in attitudes and discrimination towards language. Front Cover English with an Accent Copyright Page Contents List of figures List of tables Preface Acknowledgements Introduction: language ideology or science fiction? 1. The linguistic facts of life All spoken language changes All spoken languages are equal in linguistic terms Grammaticality does not equal communicative effectiveness Written language and spoken language are historically, structurally, and functionally fundamentally different creatures Variation is intrinsic to all spoken language at every level Discussion questions and exercises Notes Suggested further reading 2. Language in motion Changes in progress r-less in Manhattan The Northern Cities Chain Shift (NCCS) Lexical variation Variation in verb morphology: strong and weak verbs Structured variation: the hidden life of language Discussion questions and exercises Notes Suggested further reading 3. The myth of non-accent You’ve got one too Perspective The Sound House Discussion questions and exercises Notes Suggested further reading 4. The standard language myth Standard (American) English Words about words Discussion questions and exercises Notes Suggested further reading 5. Language subordination A model of the language subordination process Rejecting the gift: the individual’s role in the communicative process Discussion questions and exercises Notes Suggested further reading 6. The educational system: fixing the message in stone The setting of goals Appropriacy arguments The results of appropriacy argumentation Good enough English Teacher talk Summary Discussion questions and exercises Notes Suggested further reading 7. Teaching children how to discriminate: (what we learn from the Big Bad Wolf) Storytellers, Inc. The ubiquitous mouse The wolf’s backstory Talking the talk Time and place Disney feature films Original study methodology Getting the hang of Technicolor Lovers and mothers In short Discussion questions and exercises Notes Suggested further reading 8. The information industry The voice of authority Opinion, spin, propaganda Bad is stronger than good The 2008 presidential election Discussion questions and exercises Notes Suggested further reading 9. Real people with a real language: the workplace and the judicial system The nutshell The Civil Rights Act The legal process Discrimination in the workplace Selected court cases Appendix: the U.S. civil court structure Discussion questions and exercises Notes Suggested further reading 10. The real trouble with Black language Grammar: resistance is futile Style, authenticity, and race Defying the definition Anglo attitudes toward AAVE African American attitudes toward AAVE Where we at Discussion questions and exercises Notes Suggested further reading 11. Hillbillies, hicks, and Southern belles: the language rebels Defining the South The Southern Trough Sounds like home to me The map in the mind Hostility with a smile The seduction of accent reduction Discussion questions and exercises Notes Suggested further reading 12. Defying paradise: Hawai’i Hawai’ians talk Hawai’ians at school Talk story: “Without Pidgin, I would cease to be whole” Discussion questions and exercises Notes Suggested further reading 13. The other in the mirror The price of admission Who has a foreign accent? Discussion questions and exercises Notes Suggested further reading 14. ¡Ya basta! Counting in Spanish Diversity over space The Spanish universe The changing colors of Mexico We’re not going anywhere: performing race The everyday language of white racism A sampling of discriminatory language-focused practices against Latinos/as The most vulnerable The workplace Education in the Southwest Hypothetically speaking Summary Discussion questions and exercises Notes Suggested further reading 15. The unassimilable races: what it means to be Asian Institutionalized aggression Half the world Stereotypes Mockery The transmission and rationalization of racism I’m sorry, I just refuse to apologize In the classroom False speakers of language Discussion questions and exercises Notes Suggested further reading 16. Case study 1: moral panic in Oakland How to build a moral panic Portrait of a folk devil African American English in context The setting The triggering event The panic cycle in Oakland Postscript: institutionalized mockery Speaking up Discussion questions and exercises Notes Suggested further reading 17. Case study 2: linguistic profiling and fair housing Tyranny of the Californian majority Heard but not seen I had you at hello A human failing Housing discrimination toward Muslims Summary Discussion questions and exercises Notes Suggested further reading 18. Conclusion: civil (dis)obedience and the shadow of language Shortened bibliography Index