ABSTRACT
Most of the greatest evils that man has inflicted upon man have come through people feeling quite certain about something which, in fact, was false. The process of language subordination targets not all variation, not all language varieties, but only those which are emblematic of differences in race, ethnicity, homeland, or other social allegiances which have been found to be less than good enough. Ideology is most effective when its workings are least visible, and standard language ideology in the US functions like a silent but efficient machine. Its practitioners are terribly skillful at coercing consent and participation from those people and groups who suffer the most under the weight of language ideology. Language subordination is about taking away a basic human right: to speak freely in the mother tongue without intimidation, without standing in the shadow of other languages and peoples.
