Linguistic Racism Today: New Expressions, Same Old Story

Linguistic racism is a form of cultural racism, using discursive constructions of language use and related linguistic hierarchies as a proxy for the racialised discrimination and subordination of Indigenous peoples and other ethnolinguistic minorities. It has been with us for generations, given its close links to both colonialism and nationalism. Still, it is once again increasingly prominent today, particularly in light of the rise and influence of conservative populist movements.

In this presentation, Professor Stephen May will first trace the interdisciplinary strands that underpin our theoretical understandings of linguistic racism. These include the role of language in nation-state formation in the sociology of nationalism, the advent of 'new racisms' in the sociology of racism, the exploration of 'everyday racisms' in social psychology, and direct discussions of linguistic racism, drawing on work in both language ideology and, more recently, raciolinguistics.

Stephen May will then illustrate the resilience and continued expansion of linguistic racism via his own national context, Aotearoa New Zealand, focusing specifically on the public contestation of the increasing normalisation of te reo Māori, the Indigenous Māori language, in contemporary New Zealand society.

Date

Friday 30 May 2025

Time

1 to 2 pm

Location

Online via Zoom

Speaker

Professor Stephen May
University of Auckland, New Zealand