Cover Letter
In Phase 3, I had the privilege to complete a research paper on the topic of my choice. My chosen topic was linguicism and sociolinguistics. This topic was very near and dear to my heart because my family and I personally went through linguistic bias and racism. This research paper helped me learn more about an issue that is still prevalent in today’s society, sadly. Yet, at the same time, I found solutions that can be implemented into daily interactions. By far, this paper has been my most favorite that I have written.
My main audience in this research paper were non-native speakers, as well as my professor in my letter format. I tailored my language to appeal to my audience in such a way that I mainly used an academic tone whilst incorporating a personal tone as well; I mainly stuck to the research evidence and explanations, but I also connected my own experiences and thoughts with the subject. I made sure that my tone was credible with enough literary evidence to back up my claims, which in turn, led to a stronger paper.
Through the process of completing this assignment, I have gained several meaningful insights regarding language and literacy. My research skills strengthened, as well as my writing skills. I noticed my sentences became more thoughtful and complex, and my writing became more eloquent. I found that I am easily able to write more in quantity and, more importantly, match it with quality. This phase emphasized my literary control and creativity, two skills that pair very well with each other. I also saw my language became more academic and credible; the more I wrote, I noticed I wrote with meaning.
The concepts that impacted my writing the most in this phase are argumentative evidence and purpose. I was privileged enough to have a meaningful purpose towards my audience in this paper, and I was able to present argumentative evidence in ways I previously never had the opportunity to. My arguing skills became better, as well as my ability to present evidence. Since my purpose was strong, so were my argumentative skills, including the evidence I chose to present besides my claims.
This phase helped me achieve the following course learning outcome: “Recognize the role of language attitudes and standards in empowering, oppressing, and hierarchizing languages and their users, and be open to communicating across different languages and cultures”. There were moments throughout the assignments in which I gained further knowledge on the diversity of language. When I would be working on the paper, I would often think back on my childhood and my current experiences as a college student; I reflected on the people I met throughout my life with different lingual backgrounds and the difficulties they faced. I noticed that all these people were somehow empowered through their linguistic (and other) oppressions. In class, I would notice some of my peers had accents, and regardless, their writing was excellent. This phase helped me truly reflect on the role that language plays in our society today, and I feel very thankful that I was able to write a paper that examined this topic.
Hitha Harish
The Towers at CCNY
Harlem, New York, 10027
November 18, 2021
Professor Hamlet
The City College of New York
Harlem, New York, 10027
Dear Professor,
I would like to write a letter discussing linguicism, sociolinguistics, and the effects of linguistic discrimination many immigrants and non-native English speakers face. My goal in this letter is to present statistical evidence and display the ideologies distributed by credible authors and their research regarding this particular topic. My inspiration for this research paper began when I first noticed as a child that the French accent was always viewed as “fancy”, whilst my parent’s traditional Indian accents were viewed as “funny”. Growing up in a standard American society, where the modern English accent was held as the default expectation, I never had the chance to realize early on that English doesn’t have to sound a certain way. Today, I understand that there are many other factors that influence the prejudice against accents, often referred to as “linguicism”, such as money and immigrational background. Dialects are always stigmatized under the basis of linguistic discrimination due to socioeconomic status and geographical origin with underlying tones of historical influence. In my analysis, I examine how accentism and linguistic racism are induced by societal bias, as well as in which manners they can negatively impact those who are victimized by these social challenges. It is important to educate more people about the ethical issues as well as inspect the root causes of how these issues form.
Linguicism is “discrimination based on language or dialect” (ThoughtCo.) and is often seen in the workplace, educational environments, and social settings where speaking takes place. The core issue of this problem stems from the base ideologies of what exactly English is. People perceive English as an American or British language, but it is not. English is the standard global language, and unsurprisingly, it developed into different forms and dialects as the use of the language was spread throughout various countries and cultures. Yet, there seems to be no embrace of this linguistic diversity because English is viewed as a predominantly Caucasian language. Christine Ro, writer and editor for Worklife, mentions in her 2021 article, The Pervasive Problem of ‘Linguistic Racism’, about internal linguicism, including the linguistic stereotyping that takes place based on geographical advantages and ethnic racism. “‘When English is spoken by some Europeans, including for example French-, German-, Italian-accented English, they can be considered really cute, sophisticated, stylish, [etc.], [but], English spoken by Asians, Africans or Middle Easterners may be viewed as challenging and unpleasant.’” (Ro, Worklife). Society’s perception of race feeds into linguistic racism, as wealthier and developed countries are seen as “luxurious” whilst poorer and developing countries are seen as problematic. Socioeconomic status seemingly takes a prevalent role when society judges an individual’s credibility based on their ability to surpass language barriers.
Accentism, another synonym of linguicism, easily takes place within 30 seconds when first interacting with another individual, according to author Dr. Pragya Agarwal. In her 2018 Forbes article, Accent Bias: How Can We Minimize Discrimination In The Workplace?, she mentions issues regarding linguistic profiling and bias. “We form a hierarchical view of accents as per societal and cultural acceptability, and assign values such as pleasantness and prestige but also intelligence.” (Agarwal, Forbes). An individual’s intellect is often judged through their lingual capability, which is unfair to those who work hard to obtain personal goals. In the workplace, diversity in accents is not often welcome, rather, it is a barrier to career development. Several interviewers have admitted that they count an accent against an individual based on the worry that there can be verbal miscommunication in projects, tasks, and public speaking. Agarwal later on mentions standard language ideology, which means that society only validates dialects with the highest social prestige. Author Rosina Lippi-Greene wrote in her 2009 Cambridge University Press research paper, Accent, standard language ideology, and discriminatory pretext in the courts, about the effects of linguicism in court battles regarding workplace discrimination. Lippi-Greene brought up the standard language ideology issue near the end of her paper, “Given the way schools, the broadcast and print media, the entertainment industry, and employers work together to promote a [standard language] ideology, the education of the public is both a lonely and a difficult task” (188, Cambridge University Press). The English language is advertised in a certain mannerism which sets the foundation for an unspoken degree of a particular accent to be upheld. This degree can affect the lives of millions of individuals and several aspects of their lives; jobs can become harder to obtain, the primary and secondary education systems become barriers for higher education, and discrimination develops into an unsettling normalcy that people have to simply adjust to. Perception and bias about sociolinguistics are two key influences that drive linguistic discrimination; people’s judgemental thoughts lead to unjust consequences faced by non-native speakers.
Linguicism can be implemented as a standard bias into humans, including developmental childhood stages. In schools, ethic-accent prejudice seems to be highly prevalent amongst students and teachers, even in other countries. In some countries, international schools tend to value the colonized versions of English; “‘in many post-colonial countries like Sri Lanka, Hong Kong, and India, schools insist on teaching British or American English… Sri Lankan, Chinese, or Indian English are censored from classroom use.’” (ThoughtCo.). From a student’s perspective, Sharada Viswanath entails her and her peers’ experiences regarding accentism in her 2019 article, Mocking accents spreads unjust, offensive stereotypes, published in The Harbinger. Vishwanath brings an excellent point mentioning how when people make fun of British accents, they do it with the intention of making the accent sound overly posh, but when people do the same with non-European accents, they intend to make it sound unrefined. “‘minority groups are treated lower in society and their accents are associated with something undesirable.’” (Vishwanath, The Harbinger). Minorities usually have mild to medium accents, notably if they are first or second-generation, and due to this, they face discrimination of their cultural background. Furthermore, immigrants from developing countries often face a more difficult time adjusting to the American ideals of English, especially within the education system where peers and teachers belittle their different lingual methodology, rather than embracing and aiding in its growth. Amy Lutz, a well-known professor and researcher, discusses the disadvantages Latino youth face drawn from linguistic barriers in her 2007 article, Barriers to High-School Completion Among Immigrant and Later-Generation Latinos in the USA: Language, Ethnicity and Socioeconomic Status, published in Ethnicities. Lutz delves into a more central way to look at the problem of linguicism and socioeconomic status; she displays that “the linguistic barrier is not as high as the socioeconomic barrier and indeed is explained by the ethnic/socioeconomic barriers to high-school completion among Mexican-origin youth” (Ethnicities). Even though language can be a barrier in the American education system, when it is combined with socioeconomic status, the chances of immigrant youth completing their schooling decreases further. The seed of bias and it’s consequential fruit is often borne by the non-native speaking children who eventually grow to become adults without the same advantages as their native-speaker peers.
Furthermore, prejudice against lingual barriers has been prevalent for a long time, so much so that it begins seriously affecting immigrant children, not just adults. Many children and older youth of Hispanic and/or Latino backgrounds struggle in the U.S. education system due to language barriers. The system does not accommodate a bi-lingual learning perspective, and it can be difficult for children to adapt to two different types of learning environments. An article was written by researchers and writers, Erin Bumgarner and Lin Meiko, “Hispanic Immigrant Children’s English Language Acquisition: The Role of Socioeconomic Status and Early Care,” regarding how early childhood education (ECE) can aid Hispanic children in English language proficiency, as well as how their socioeconomic status (SES) impacts their fluency in language and literacy. They found in their studies that a majority of first and second-generation youth who usually struggle with language benefit from an early childhood education program, which in turn can lead to better literacy and language skills for them to be proficient in English. Yet, interestingly, they found that children from lower-income backgrounds benefit the most and perform better than the children from higher-income backgrounds. This can be a possible solution to the problems regarding the language barriers most children from various cultural backgrounds face. Especially if the child is a first-generation immigrant, because it can be burdensome to have poor English proficiency and navigate one’s way through America. But the question still remains: what about their accent? The prejudice and judgment still stem from having a foreign accent but dependent on place of origin, which seems unfair and unjust to many immigrants who work hard to come to America and build a life.
Although, based on the article previously mentioned by Erin Bumgarner and Lin Meiko, it can be argued that ESL and accent training programs can aid in the lack of English proficiency. It is true that there are such programs that aim to tailor clients into becoming more “American” and fix students’ English-speaking skills. But this problem is not rooted in simple grammatical errors or a clearer speech pathology, it is stemmed into the minds of individuals who inhabit a privileged society. Non-native speakers of English struggle to meet with the demands of the native-speaking society; the obstacles they face during the process are certainly grueling. Job opportunities decline, educational excellence is lower, societal integration becomes more difficult, and all these issues lead to them getting stuck in a loop of a low-quality lifestyle which then becomes a generational problem. The key solution presented is perhaps the only option; perspectives must be changed. Employers should be more open to diverse candidates during the hiring process, teachers should not enforce the standard English expectations upon non-native speakers, peers should become more inviting of immigrants, and society should become more aware of why accentisim can ruin a prosperous economy and a morally just civilization.
I truly hope this letter shined a light on a common issue that is often overlooked. Perhaps it can entail some change in societal thinking, no matter how minute it may be. English is never a solid construct, and neither is language. It can come in all forms, shapes, and sizes, just like people. My childhood showed me ways to hide my accent because of a social expectation I was trying to fit into, but as a fully grown woman today, I see that I was never the only one. This is the story of millions of immigrants and non-native speakers; I aim to be part of the progressive change and embrace my background. Even though it is too late to alter my accent, I can be a contributing member of society by accepting the various forms of English I come across in my life. There is no standard accent for English, yet unfortunately, there is a standard expectation that has been developed by socioeconomic hierarchies and immigrational opposition. In conclusion, sociolinguistic factors such as wealth and place of origin should never define who a person is or give prejudice against their linguistic intellect. We are all human beings who deserve equal respect and value regardless of the factors previously mentioned. Language is felt, never spoken.
Sincerely,
Hitha Harish
Student at The City College of New York
Works Cited
Agarwal, Dr. Pragya. “Accent Bias: How Can We Minimize Discrimination in the Workplace?” Forbes, Forbes Magazine, 29 June 2021, https://www.forbes.com/sites/pragyaagarwaleurope/2018/12/30/bias-is-your-accent-holding-you-back/?sh=719637be1b5a.
Bumgarner, Erin, and Meiko Lin. “Hispanic Immigrant Children’s English Language Acquisition: The Role of Socioeconomic Status and Early Care Arrangement.” Early education and development 25.4 (2014): 515–529. Web.
Lutz, Amy. “Barriers to High-School Completion Among Immigrant and Later-Generation Latinos in the USA: Language, Ethnicity and Socioeconomic Status.” Ethnicities 7.3 (2007): 323–342. Web.
Lippi-Green, Rosina. “Accent, Standard Language Ideology, and Discriminatory Pretext in the Courts.” Language in Society, vol. 23, no. 2, Cambridge University Press, 1994, pp. 163–98, http://www.jstor.org/stable/4168513.
Nordquist, Richard. “What Is Linguicism (or Linguistic Discrimination)?” ThoughtCo, ThoughtCo, 13 Apr. 2017,
Ro, Christine. “The Pervasive Problem of ‘Linguistic Racism’.” BBC Worklife, BBC, 3 June 2021, https://www.bbc.com/worklife/article/20210528-the-pervasive-problem-of-linguistic-racism.
Vishwanath, Sharada. “Mocking Accents Spreads Unjust, Offensive Stereotypes.” THE ALGONQUIN HARBINGER, The Harbinger, 29 May 2019, https://arhsharbinger.com/18714/opinion/mocking-accents-spreads-unjust-offensive-stereotypes/.
