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Key research themes
1. How do historical and structural processes shape the co-naturalization of language and race and perpetuate racial and linguistic inequalities?
This research area investigates the intertwined historical formation of race and language categories, especially through colonial and modern nation-state processes, revealing how these categorizations have been co-naturalized to normalize racial hierarchies and linguistic stigmatizations. Understanding these structural co-productions of language and race is crucial to contesting white supremacy and the persistence of racial and linguistic inequalities in diverse socio-political contexts.
Key finding: This paper elaborates five key components of a raciolinguistic perspective, centering on the colonial and modern co-naturalization of race and language categories, and showing that racialized and linguistic stigmatizations... Read more
Key finding: The chapter emphasizes the macro-level socio-economic and political forces—including global capitalism and institutionalized racism—that reproduce racialized hierarchies through language and colorism in the U.S. context. It... Read more
Key finding: By delineating three analytical approaches—Distinctive Ethnoracial Language, Acts of Ethnoracial Identity, and Racialization—this paper traces how language serves as a semiotic vehicle that naturalizes race, sustains ethnic... Read more
Key finding: This work clarifies that race lacks biological foundation but persists through historical socio-political constructs, underscoring that racist categorization and discourse are maintenance mechanisms of racial hierarchies. It... Read more
Key finding: This article critiques the Euro-American centric framing of racism and anti-racism, emphasizing the plurality of racisms globally, including cultural racisms that rely on perceived cultural markers besides biological... Read more
2. How does linguistic racism manifest in educational and social institutions, and what are its effects on marginalized language users?
This theme covers empirical investigations into linguistic racism as enacted in educational settings and institutional contexts. It explores how language ideologies, such as English-only policies and native-speaker norms, reproduce racial and linguistic hierarchies, leading to microaggressions, exclusion, identity erasure, and psychological harm for marginalized linguistic minorities. These studies illuminate the need to address institutional practices and ideologies perpetuating linguistic racism.
Key finding: This comprehensive review documents how language teaching has historically been shaped by racist colonial practices and calls for expanding language pedagogy to critically address race and racism. It identifies persistent... Read more
Key finding: This commentary synthesizes empirical research illustrating linguistic racism experienced by multilingual students and indigenous community members, highlighting covert and overt manifestations such as English-only mandates,... Read more
Key finding: The paper argues that counselors often unconsciously perpetuate linguistic oppression by imposing dominant language norms that marginalize clients whose primary language is not Standard English. It evidences that language... Read more
Key finding: This analysis reveals that language policies, such as English-only movements in the U.S., function as mechanisms of cultural and linguistic erasure aimed at assimilation that perpetuate systemic racism. It situates language... Read more
3. What are the complexities involved in addressing racist language, hate speech, and slurs in legal and social contexts?
This research focus examines the multifaceted challenges of defining, legislating, and contesting racist language and hate speech. It considers the interplay between freedom of expression and the prohibition of incitement while analyzing linguistic and legal perspectives on the nature of slurs, hate speech, and racist discourse. The work calls attention to the contextual, pragmatic, and intersectional dimensions that complicate efforts to regulate racist language effectively.
Key finding: This monograph articulates the legal and linguistic challenges in defining and regulating hate speech, emphasizing that universally accepted definitions are unattainable due to divergent legal systems and the complex... Read more
Key finding: Applying an intersectional methodology, this article underscores the need for nuanced engagement with racist hate speech within international law, highlighting the limitations of broad definitions and stressing the importance... Read more
Key finding: This experimental study reveals that slurs are perceived as more hurtful than their neutral noun counterparts, but also that some neutral nouns themselves cause more harm than adjective-noun phrases, indicating the... Read more
Key finding: The paper philosophically and socio-historically analyzes the n-word, arguing the need for its prohibition in public discourse to prevent racial discrimination. It differentiates between 'use' (intentional derogation) and... Read more