Language and Linguistic Justices for Classrooms and Communities

This book explores how we think about and use language shapes the identities, histories, and places around us by asking two questions: What could our communities sound and feel like if voiced, monolingual Mainstream American English wasn’t the assumed norm? And how can we change our listening before we ask others to change their language?

When you hear someone speak or see someone sign, they reveal their identities and communities: language holds who we are and who we are becoming. This book explores how the ways we think about and use language shapes the identities, histories, and places around us by asking two questions: What could our communities sound and feel like if voiced, monolingual Mainstream American English wasn’t the assumed norm? And how can we change our listening before we ask others to change their language?Through examples in classrooms, communities, universities, homes, libraries, and virtual spaces, we explore the concepts of language justice and linguistic justice. Each chapter features voices and stories from the grassroots collective the Linguistic Justice Collaborative to examine the research and historical contexts behind language, race, history, and place interwoven with practical examples and case studies from linguistically inclusive and sustaining spaces. From developing a Deaf studies curriculum to subversive teaching in world language classrooms to sustaining Black linguistic joy in the home, each chapter explore how language and linguistic justices are being pursued through participatory research and a clear theory of change. Practical action steps are provided to help educators, families, youth, administrators, researchers, and anyone committed to language and linguistic justices to enact change. By addressing whose languages, literacies, and histories are prioritized and whose are marginalized, this book offers a framework and action plan for building more culturally, historically, and linguistically responsive learning environments across classrooms and communities.