This week’s topic is related to such diversity: language discrimination. As you approach this topic, which is also related to things we’ve talked about – like social variation, regional variation, and the prescriptive/descriptive distinction – please prepare yourself mentally for some emotionally challenging material.
This blog assignment has two parts. As you will see, the example of language discrimination in Los Angeles that we discuss (first part) is from only a few years ago, and it is not hard to find even more recent examples (second part). But facing this material is all the more important right now, given the social issues that we are currently grappling with in American society. Considering diversity in this way will also help prepare us for appreciating the topic of language endangerment, which we will get to next week.
First part:
Please read this Nolo webpage on Language and Accent Discrimination. Then, please read this article from the Los Angeles Times on a case from 2012 concerning a group of Tagalog-speaking nurses in Los Angeles. (Tagalog is the most common language spoken in the Philippines, and is sometimes referred to as “Filipino”). After you have read these two things, please post a 200 word (minimum) reaction to the Filipino nurses case. Your reaction should NOT just involve your personal opinion of the situation; you should analyze/discuss some aspects of the nurses’ rights—based on the Nolo description that you read—that were violated by their employers.
Second part:
Search news outlets on the internet and try to find another recent example of language discrimination (in the USA, or elsewhere in the world) and post a 200-word description/discussion of it. Again, unfortunately it’s not to hard to find really disturbing and hateful stuff (like this, or this).; try your best to focus on the facts regarding the aspects of people’s legal rights that might be threatened or violated in the cases that you find. Finally, please provide a link the case you talk about, so that we can all go and read about it too.
Easy vocabulary, no plagiarism (study pool only allows 15% AND BELOW). No need for citations.
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