Language Ideology in the Workplace and the Judicial System Lippi-Green, Chapter 8

The Workplace and the Judicial System…  Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 provides recourse for workers who are discriminated against on the basis of race, color, religion, sex, or national origin provides recourse for workers who are discriminated against on the basis of race, color, religion, sex, or national origin created Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) created Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC)

The Workplace and the Judicial System…  EEOC Guidelines on Discrimination Because of National Origin (1988: ¶1606.1, emphasis added)  Defines national-origin discrimination “broadly as including, but not limited to, the denial of equal employment opportunity because of an individual’s, or his or her ancestor’s place of origin; or because an individual has the physical, cultural or linguistic characteristics of a national origin group.”

The Workplace and the Judicial System…  “[a]n adverse employment decision may be predicated upon an individual’s accent when – but only when – it interferes materially with job performance” (Civil Rights Act of 1964, paragraph 701 ff., 42 United States Code Annotated (USCA) paragraph 2000e ff.)

The Workplace and the Judicial System… Employers’ arguments accepted by courts:  1. Refusal to acknowledge accent as an immutable characteristic of national origin (misrecognition)  2. Allowing direct and non-factual association of negative social values with stigmatized linguistic variants (disinformation)  3. Willingness to allow the media to set its own standards on the basis of personal preferences, even when those preferences necessarily involve language- focused discrimination (claiming authority)  4. Lack of concern with established facts about language structure and use, or with consistent, non-prejudicial evaluation of language skills (disinformation)

The Workplace and the Judicial System… Summary (pp )  “If ideology is most effective when its workings are least visible then the first step must be to make visible the link between the enforcement of standard language ideology and social domination. The educational system is the obvious point of departure, but that system is itself part of the problem. Given the way schools, media, and employers work together to promote language ideology, the education of the public is both a lonely and a difficult – but certainly not an impossible – task.

The Workplace and the Judicial System… Summary (pp )  Beyond education, linguists have hard-won knowledge to offer which would be of some assistance in the difficult questions faced in matters of language policy, but that knowledge is often not sought; if sought, it may be summarily rejected; in either case, it is often hotly resented. Nevertheless, there are good reasons to persevere. This type of behavior causes real harm to real individuals, and it deserves attention.”