Linguistic Justice

Linguistic Justice takes as its premise that all languages, language varieties, and accents are legitimate and equal. An approach to oral presentations that is grounded in linguistic justice is an approach that foregrounds equity for all speakers regardless of language, dialect, or accent. This approach understands language difference among speakers as a strength, not something that impedes their ability to communicate an effective scholarly presentation.

Anyone can be a successful scholarly speaker! But too often, students feel that the way they speak might prevent them from effectively sharing their research. Such doubts are, in part, rooted in the way that students learn about scholarly speaking. Many students are taught to think of the scholarly presentation as a “performance.” Our research has taught us that when students think about scholarly presentations this way, they focus on elements like “speaking clearly,” “maintaining eye contact,” and “avoiding stutters and mistakes.” These tips can cause anxiety for presenters; moreover, they can imply that there’s one correct way to present or speak publicly. This can cause extra anxiety for students who speak differently—whether due to accent, neurodivergence, gender identity, sexuality, or any other factor that impacts how a person speaks and presents themself.

Instead of taking a performance-focused approach to scholarly presentations, we believe that the scholarly presentation should be understood primarily as an opportunity to communicate about your research. The quality of a presentation is not determined by how you sound, how you look, or how you act while you present; instead, a successful presentation is one in which you find effective ways to communicate your ideas with your audience.

We recognize that human beings are remarkably diverse communicators who can effectively communicate their ideas in a wide variety of ways. Below, we focus on an approach that celebrates one aspect of this diversity — what scholars call “linguistic diversity.” Linguistic diversity refers not just to the number of different languages spoken but also the many ways that a culture’s “official” languages are spoken. Defending and increasing linguistic diversity means fighting for “linguistic justice.” On this page, we share more about how to approach oral presentations through a “linguistic justice” lens.

If you are an instructor looking for ways to cultivate linguistic justice in your classroom, click here.

Some performance-focused approaches to oral presentations can uphold prejudices toward “proper” language use. Advice like “speak clearly” might suggest to speakers that their accent can prevent them from being effective presenters. However, as linguists like to remind us, everyone has an accent! While there is no pure or neutral way of speaking a language, different ways of speaking nevertheless are often judged as better or worse. For instance, the linguist Rosina Lippi-Green observes the disadvantages experienced by second-language speakers, noting that some presenters will be stigmatized based on how they sound speaking English, even though the way their spoken English sounds “cannot predict the quality and effectiveness of any given utterance or that person’s worth as a communicator.” What Lippi-Green is talking about here is called “linguistic discrimination.” Fighting for linguistic justice means rejecting linguistic discrimination and recognizing the value in different ways of speaking.

Linguistic discrimination doesn’t only impact presenters with accents but also affects students who speak differently for various reasons. Scholars have found that women are more likely to feel less confident in their voices than men (Ferreira Marinho et al. 2017); neurodivergent students may find normative public speaking advice about maintaining eye-contact or a still posture impossible to follow (Price 2011); and presentation skills textbooks that focus on dress and voice can marginalize and disadvantage trans students (Sanchez 2019).

Watch the video below for a quick introduction to linguistic discrimination and linguistic justice:

Reflect

Some questions you may want to ask yourself after watching this video: How is your own intersectional identity expressed by how you speak? Have you ever faced discrimination based on the way you speak? Has the way you speak helped you to find community or connect with a culture? What is the role of the listener when hearing voices that sound different or seem hard to understand? What could your role be in promoting linguistic justice in your classrooms and on your campus?

What can you do?

Improving linguistic justice on campus requires cultural change that can only be achieved with collective effort and institutional support. It is not the individual responsibility of a student to change the attitudes or expectations of their peers or instructors. Nonetheless, a better understanding of the relationship between language, identity, and discrimination can help you feel more confident in oral presentation settings and allow you to grow both as a presenter and an audience member.

• Develop your “Critical Language Awareness.” Recognize that speaking is not something that can be done in “right” or “wrong” ways, and that such judgments are deeply tied to power dynamics in society. Check out the resources and readings linked below to learn more. Knowing that language norms are shaped by culture, and that there is not just one correct way to speak, can be empowering.
• Some students who speak English as an additional language may feel self-conscious about the way they speak English, particularly in oral presentations. While this is a natural feeling, see if you can focus less on what you feel are the “weaknesses” in your English ability or pronunciations, and more on the strengths you bring as a multilingual student. Consider how you can use the deep resources of all the languages you speak in your academic work.
• When listening to a presentation, think about what your responsibilities are as the listener. Instead of tuning out a voice that, to you, seems different or hard to understand, try leaning in and listening harder. Instead of asking someone to repeat themselves, check in with yourself first to see what you can do to make the communication go more smoothly.
• Remember that everyone has an accent. All over the world, certain languages or accents are awarded higher status than others, but these status hierarchies are due to cultural norms and not the speaker’s ability to communicate their message.

Learning more about linguistic justice can be a way to name what you are experiencing, advocate for yourself, and be part of conversations about equity and language. Here are some key terms:

Thanks to Ihomehe Agbebaku for filming and editing the above video and for assembling the definitions featured on this page. We are also indebted to Dr. Sandra Zappa-Hollman and to Dr. Marie-Eve Bouchard for their ongoing contributions to our understanding of linguistic equity.