ABSTRACT
Pierre Bourdieu was among the first to suggest in his landmark book Distinction: A Social Critique of the Judgment of Taste (1984) that language policy and use are ideologically driven. He argues that legitimization of particular languages and dialects in education and other public spheres are determined by sociopolitical and economic power relations. In other words, the choice of language(s) and language varieties for education, mass media, government administration, and the economic market is not a neutral and objective determination but rather an ideological process that encompasses historical, political, and economic power relations. Blommaert (2013), McCarty, Collins, and Hopson (2011), and Pennycook (2013) have subsequently argued for historical and sociopolitical awareness of language ideologies and their role in supporting or delegitimizing languages/dialects and those who use them. In this chapter, we first discuss the historical construction of ideologies and then analyze how the specific dominant ideologies of standard language, linguistic nationalism, and commodification marginalize minoritized languages, their speakers, and nonstandard language practices. We then describe the processes and intended outcomes of engaged ideological analysis.
