Language Ideology and Public Discourse

Over the past two decades, the notion of language ideology has gained considerable momentum in different strands of scholarship that aim to unpack how language works in society. Language ideology has its roots in North American linguistic anthropology as a concept within which to explore the “mediating links between social forms and forms of talk” (Woolard, 1998, p. 3). Whilst it is axiomatic for linguists that “all languages are equal” in terms of their meaning-making potential and their worth as objects of academic inquiry, a cursory glance at any sociolinguistic environment in the “real world” will reveal a different scenario—one in which linguistic phenomena are unequally ranked according to different meanings and values, so that, say, “language” X is believed to be lexically richer, more logical or beautiful, and thus better suited for wider communication within a polity than “dialect” Y. It is precisely the belief systems underlying such social processes of naming, signifying, and valorizing linguistic practices that the notion of language ideology aims to capture. This entry will begin by clarifying the notion of language ideology, followed by a reflection over the notions of public versus private in relation to language ideology. The entry will conclude with some current developments and directions in language ideology research. Keywords: discourse analysis; linguistic anthropology; sociolinguistics; ideology; sociocultural language studies