Cushing, I and Snell, J orcid.org/0000-0002-0337-7212 (2023) Prescriptivism in education: from language ideologies to listening practices. In: Beal, JC, Lukač, M and Straaijer, R, (eds.) The Routledge Handbook of Linguistic Prescriptivism. Routledge Handbooks in Linguistics . Routledge , London, UK , pp. 194-212. ISBN 9780367557843
Abstract
Linguistic prescriptivism is a deeply embedded feature of education, particularly schools, which are spaces marked by imbalances in power and the maintenance of white, middle-class values and language practices. In this chapter, we use genealogical methods to show how the historical foundations pertaining to the construction of the “standard language” in England continue to shape contemporary policy and practice. We adopt a language ideological framework to do so, taking a standard language and raciolinguistic perspective which critically examines the listening practices and anxieties of those in power. We frame prescriptivism as a language ideological phenomenon which carries material implications and consequences for marginalised speakers on the grounds of race and class. We pay particular attention to the constructed and arbitrary distinction between “standard” and “nonstandard” language in schools and the role that prescriptivism plays in the perpetuation and maintenance of this. Critiquing a variety of mechanisms including state-mandated curricula, professional standards for teachers and pedagogical approaches, we show how prescriptivism gets transformed from a standard language and raciolinguistic ideology into everyday practices which contributes to the ongoing suppression of marginalised groups. We also consider how prescriptivism operates not just as a mechanism of regulating spoken and written modes, but we offer an expanded view which includes the prescribing of other semiotic forms such as body positioning, gesture, movement, hair and clothing. Within this, we show how prescriptivism works as a deeply embedded, structural form of racialised and classed language policing which is enacted by policy makers, management, teachers, and students.
Metadata
Item Type: | Book Section |
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Authors/Creators: |
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Editors: |
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Copyright, Publisher and Additional Information: | © 2023 the author(s). This is an Accepted Manuscript of a book chapter published by Routledge in The Routledge Handbook of Linguistic Prescriptivism on May 5, 2023, available online: http://www.routledge.com/9780367557843. |
Dates: |
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Institution: | The University of Leeds |
Academic Units: | The University of Leeds > Faculty of Arts, Humanities and Cultures (Leeds) > School of English (Leeds) |
Depositing User: | Symplectic Publications |
Date Deposited: | 11 May 2022 14:36 |
Last Modified: | 05 Nov 2024 01:13 |
Published Version: | https://www.routledge.com/9780367557843 |
Status: | Published |
Publisher: | Routledge |
Series Name: | Routledge Handbooks in Linguistics |
Identification Number: | 10.4324/9781003095125 |
Open Archives Initiative ID (OAI ID): | oai:eprints.whiterose.ac.uk:186668 |