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2. Investigating Language Ideologies in Spanish as a Heritage Language
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C H A P T E R 2 Investigating Language Ideologies in Spanish as a Heritage Language Jennifer Leeman, George Mason University I N THE 1990S the study of language ideologies gained wide currency within linguistic anthropology and sociolinguistics, and this theoretical framework is also proving valuable in the analysis of instruction in Spanish as a heritage language (SHL). Language ideologies consist of values and belief systems regarding language generally, specific languages or language varieties, or particular language practices and ways of using language (Kroskrity 2004; Woolard 1998). Examples of language ideologies include notions about the relative worth of different languages, what constitutes ‘‘correct’’ usage, how particular groups of people ‘‘should’’ speak in given situations, whether minority languages are compatible with citizenship, and whether one can ‘‘truly’’ belong to a given ethnic group without speaking the language associated with it. Although there are multiple understandings of exactly how to define language ideologies, there is wide agreement that they are rarely, if ever, exclusively about language. Instead, language ideologies mediate between language and broader social structures, and they are intertwined with ideologies about other social phenomena—such as gender, socioeconomic status, race, and nation—as well as with beliefs about the people who speak given languages or varieties or who engage in specific language practices. Research on language ideologies has some overlap with studies of language attitudes. However, language attitude research has its roots in the field of psychology and thus tends to emphasize individual beliefs and to pay less attention to the politics of language. In contrast, the study of language ideologies, and of the language policies and actions that embody them, has emphasized the connection of ideologies to questions of power. This connection, as well as a focus on 43 44 JENNIFER LEEMAN shared rather than individual beliefs about language, is apparent in Irvine’s (1989, 255) definition of language ideologies as ‘‘the cultural system of ideas about social and linguistic relationships, together with their loading of moral and political interests.’’ Thus, the study of language ideologies not only entails the examination of belief systems and their interaction with other social systems; it also explores how language ideologies emerge from and reinforce power relationships , as well as how certain ways of thinking about language simultaneously interact with other social structures. A key goal of research on language ideologies is to understand how seemingly commonsense and taken-for-granted notions about language are complicit in the reproduction of social hierarchies. For example, researchers have analyzed how monolingualist ideologies of language —which imagine monolingualism as a universal norm and link multilingualism to cognitive confusion, intergroup conflict, and a lack of national cohesiveness—contribute to the portrayal of bilingual speakers as intellectually compromised and of minority languages as inherently unpatriotic (Leeman 2004, in press; Schmidt 2002; Urciuoli 1996). Because school is a key site where young people are socialized into hegemonic value systems, research on pedagogical policies, practices, and materials can shed light on how language ideologies are reproduced in SHL instruction. In particular , research on language ideologies in SHL can reveal and problematize implicit assumptions regarding the goals of language instruction, the value of Spanish, the kinds of people who speak Spanish, the relationship of Spanish to ‘‘authentic ’’ Latino identity, and which kind of Spanish is ‘‘best,’’ among other issues. In addition, research on language ideologies in SHL can also deepen our understanding of the relationship between educational contexts and language ideologies circulating in the broader society, such as those that privilege varieties of Spanish spoken by monolingual elites outside the United States and portray the language practices of bilinguals as deficient. Furthermore, by critically analyzing the language ideologies reflected and reinforced in SHL, this kind of research can challenge dominant hierarchies and suggest directions for a more socially responsive pedagogy. LANGUAGE IDEOLOGIES AND SHL: THE THEORETICAL FRAMEWORK In his synthesis of research on language ideologies, Kroskrity (2004) identifies five interrelated ‘‘levels of organization’’ or layers of meaning that characterize languages ideologies. This section defines these five levels and discusses their application to SHL. The first feature of language ideologies is that they are linked to the social, political, or economic interests of particular groups of people. Notions about which varieties of language are ‘‘standard,’’ ‘‘correct,’’ or aesthetically more pleasing are not neutral or arbitrary, and they serve to legitimate the accrual of [44.197.251.102] Project MUSE (2024-03-19 06:23 GMT) INVESTIGATING LANGUAGE IDEOLOGIES IN SPANISH 45 disproportionate...