Linguistic Oppression & Sociolinguistic Labor

Описание: The first 2023 English Guest Seminar Series event at the University of Jyväskylä, Finland | 27 January, 2023 | hosted by the Department of Language & Communication Studies

More information about this series & link to register for upcoming 2023 lectures: https://www.jyu.fi/hytk/fi/laitokset/...

Slides available at: https://bit.ly/WrightJyvaskyla

Abstract & Bio:
This presentation will begin unpacking the concept of linguistic oppression first by underscoring the inherently embodied nature of both linguistic production and perception. Wright will discuss how identities are perceived, and how those modes of perception–stretched over time–interact with institutions to create the conditions for linguistic oppression. Focusing specifically on communities in the United States, Wright will provide historical examples of institutionalized linguistic oppression which demonstrate the creation and maintenance of Standard language ideologies. These examples will highlight why Standard varieties came to be more easily perceived as being produced by certain groups of people–and why people who are not in those groups have to engage in additional sociolinguistic labor to achieve social mobility. To further illustrate this, Wright will share findings from her recently completed dissertation which combines metalinguistic commentary from Black professionals about their style shifting practices in the workplace with analysis of perceptions of Black professional speech among the general public. Wright will end by considering what a general preference for assimilationist sociolinguistic labor means and the ways in which communities of intellectuals can become better advocates for linguistic justice across disciplines and domains.

Open Access to dissertation: https://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/handle...

Kelly Elizabeth Wright (She/Her/Dr) is an experimental sociolinguist specializing in linguistic oppression and its institutional outcomes. She identifies as a working class Black Biracial cis woman, an Afrolachian raised in Knoxville, Tennessee. Wright is a scholar-activist, working for linguistic justice outside the academy, and interdisciplinarity inside the academy. Her research includes analyzing perceptions of Black professionalism through metalinguistic interviews and sociophonetic experimentation; a machine learning study of lexical racialization in sports journalism; an audit study of linguistic profiling in the housing market; and a meta-analysis of language planning policy in Ghana. Wright is also an accomplished lexicographer.

Dr. Wright's professional affiliations include:
Virginia Tech Language Sciences Program
Virginia Tech Hip Hop Studies Program “Digging in The Crates” Leadership Board
North American Research Network in Historical Sociolinguistics Steering Group | Secretary
American Dialect Society New Words Committee Data Czar
Co-Editor of American Speech Among the New Words
Oxford English Dictionary Researchers' Advisory Group
Linguistic Society of America Media Liaison