Linguistic discrimination

Lasana Trawally and Michael Nakamura

AMES and University of Utah

Intro Videos
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3KCL97s1lJg

What is it
Linguistic discrimination: discrimination against someone based on his or her

speech.
Language discrimination does not include discrimination based upon an
individuals appearance, but rather focuses upon the style of speech used by an
individual, such as accent, size of vocabulary, and syntax.
Linguistic discrimination can occur across different ethnic background.

A Linguistic Discrimination Experiment

John Baugh- a professor at Stanford university, developed a theory

regarding linguistic discrimination. He called his theory linguistic

profiling
To look into how american respond to different accents and voices, Baugh
uses a payroll phone to call local apartment mangers in Detroit..
Linguistic profiling is one of the most acceptable discrimination.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HJ778_tsqjs

Language discrimination
There is an idea that there is a correct way to speak English, and anything

that deviates from this way is incorrect, lazy or unintelligible

People who speak with an accent are often judged as uneducated and
unsophisticated.
People are less likely to accommodate to people who have accents that are
not to be from a cultural background that is not Caucasian.
ask or Ax

Linguistic discrimination in Education

Student who speak English as a second language are often

times forced to take esl classes, causing many of those

students forgetting their native tongue.
Standardized tests bias
Documentary on former students of Martin Luther Jr
Elementary

In Conclusion
Linguistic discrimination is a real form of discrimination

and remains a big issue

Linguistic discrimination is hard to prove
Linguistic prejudice can have real consequences and many
people dont even recognize it existence.
Closing question

Sources
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States. Human Rights

and Social Justice Writing Contest Miami University (Ohio). Retrieved from
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Ingram, P.D. (February 2009). Are accents one of the last acceptable areas for discrimination? Journal of
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Johnson, P. (April 5, 2002). Linguistic profiling. The Black Commentator. Retrieved from http://
www.blackcommentator.com/linguistic_profiling_pr.html
kmm010 (2008, April 28). Linguistic discrimination in school African American English. Retrieved from
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WWIbIA9BltQ
McGarrity, L. (2012, May 8). DSYA Linguistic Profiling- John Baugh. Retrieved from
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HJ778_tsqjs
Name-Omitted Interviewer, personal communication, December 3, 2015
Rice, P. (February 2, 2006). Linguistic profiling: The sound of your voice may determine if you get that
apartment or
not. Washington University in St. Louis Newsroom. Retrieved from
http://news.wustl.edu/news/Pages/6500.aspx
Shousterman, C. (October 30, 2013). Linguistic prejudice is a real prejudice (and has real consequences).
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http://africanamericanenglish.com/2013/10/30/linguistic-prejudice-is-a-real-prejudice-and-has-realconsequences/
Smith, T. (October 28, 2002). Linguistic profiling. NPR Morning Edition. Retrieved from
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