6.1 Language Ideologies and Language Criticism in English

Abstract

Language ideology refers to a set of ideas and beliefs about how to use language, its speakers, and the discursive practices in that language community. This ideology implies a level of consistency in a language and its standardised norms and that any deviation from those norms might be considered ‘less than the ideal’ (see the foundational article in this volume). In this article, we provide an overview of how the ‘ideal’ use of the English language has changed over time, and the impact of various socio-cultural events in history on these developments, with a particular focus on pronunciation. We discuss how the almost imaginary concept of a spoken standard emerged in the history of (British) English. A spoken standard labelled Received Pronunciation (RP) formed a model that was influenced by social class, geography, and levels of education. The dominance of RP was further reinforced, when it was adopted by the broadcasters at the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) in 1922, at which point it came to be referred to as BBC-English; the aim of which was to adopt neutral language use that was easily comprehensible to a broad audience. Factors such as the shift in social class and hegemony of languages as well as advances in technology have all contributed to acceptance of more varieties of English and a discouragement of negative attitudes towards lesser-known accents and dialects or non-standard language use, particularly in contemporary Britain and in the United States of America.