Term 2
WED, 9:00 AM - 12:00 PM
Language standards and inclusivity: theory & practice
This seminar probes theories of linguistic standardization with the express goal of putting them into practice, while using this practice to further inform theory. The corresponding fields of comparative standardology and linguistic standardization are relatively young in their own rights as academic subjects. Their aim to dehegemonize and decolonize contemporary standard varieties, which has become a goal often talked about but rarely put into practice.
We work with current language theory (whether linguistic, rhetorical or otherwise) and sociohistorical approaches to explore concrete, practicable ways to dehegemonize and decolonize western standard (written) varieties in their contexts, starting with Standard Canadian English. Such standard varieties, hailing virtually without exception from imperial-colonial contexts, are all in need of “opening up”, whether via demotization (widening of the standard) or destandardization (replacement of an existing standard) or a combination thereof.
The question of how the dehegemonization is conducted in concrete social contexts is at the vanguard of current work. This seminar is therefore part of the UBC Research Excellence Cluster on Inclusive Standards (see www.canadianwordcentre.ubc.ca for more). A range of additional events (e.g. Research seminar meetings, Open Townhall-Type Faculty Clubs) accompanies this seminar.
Everyone with an interest in standard language and/or inclusion is welcome. No linguistic knowledge is required (but of course most welcome). An openness to view English as reflected in or department’s name (English Language[s] & Literatures), however, is essential.
Participants have the opportunity to do innovative work on an aspect of inclusivity in the context of the Canadian English Dictionary, the Dictionary of Canadianisms on Historical or, more abstract, theoretical work for the Canadian Word Centre. You may choose to work on another variety of World Englishes (e.g. American English or Jamaican Englishes) or Global Englishes (English as a Lingua Franca), or, if you have a concrete connection, a non-English language.
There is the option to partake with your seminar paper in a thematic collection of papers on Inclusive Linguistic Standard Varieties: Standardization for the 2020s with a major publisher.
The guiding question will be: how can we best distinguish between
- theoretical approaches that are ideal but perhaps unrealistic to be put into practice (lack of user uptake)
and
- best practices for “inclusive standards” that may not be ideal but would bring inclusive standards more into the centre of linguistic debate.
Optional readings and podcasts in preparation for this seminar:
- Chew, John III., 2025. CWOTY – the Canadian Word of the Year, Press Release https://www.canadianenglishdictionary.ca/media/2025-cwoty-release.pdf
- Language Science Institute (UBC). 2024. On data collection and standard languages: a conversation with Stefan Dollinger, https://languagesciences.ubc.ca/news/march-03-2024/data-collection-and-standard-languages-conversation-dr-stefan-dollinger
- Ferrett, Emma. 2025. Interview on Ontario Morning (8 minutes), 31 Dec. 2025, https://www.cbc.ca/listen/live-radio/1-112-ontario-morning/clip/16189867-canadas-canuck-word-year (Emma is a PhD candidate at Queen’s U in English; she took this seminar while at UBC)
- Isai, Vjosa. 2025. Canadian Linguists Rise Up Against the Letter ‘S’. New York Times (Online) 16 Dec. 2025, https://www.academia.edu/145696003/
- The Editorial Board. 2025. A defence of Canadian spelling, with vigour. The Globe and Mail, 26 Dec. 2025, https://www.academia.edu/145676458/
Some scholarly sources for illustration:
Ayers-Bennett, Wendy. 2020. From Haugen’s codification to Thomas’s purism: assessing the role of description and prescription, prescriptivism and purism in linguistic standardization. Language Policy 19, 183–213.
Aryes-Bennett, Wendy & John Bellamy (eds.) 2021. The Cambridge Handbook of Language Standardization. New York: Cambridge University Press.
Costa-Carreras, Joan. 2025. On the Epistemological Status of Comparative Standardology and Standardisation. Caplletra: Revista Internacional de Filologia 78: 249–270.
Dollinger, Stefan. 2019. The Pluricentricity Debate: On Austrian German and Other Germanic Standard Varieties. London: Routledge.
Dollinger, Stefan. 2025. Dialectology as “language making”: hegemonic disciplinary discourse and the One Standard German Axiom (OSGA). In (Dia)lects in the 21st Century: Selected Papers from Methods in Dialectology XVII (Mainz, 2022), ed. by Susanne Wagner & Ulrike Stange-Hundsdörfer, 287–318. Berlin: LangSci Press.
Haugen, Einar. 1966. Language Conflict and Language Planning: the Case of Modern Norwegian. Cambridge: Harvard University Press.
Horner, Kristine & John Bellamy. 2016. Beyond the micro–macro interface in language and identity research. In Routledge Handbook of Language and Identity, ed. by Siân Preece. London: Routledge.
Joseph, John E. 2006. Language and Politics. Edinburgh: Edinburgh University Press.
Joseph, John E., Gijsbert Rutten & Rik Vosters. 2020. Dialect, language & nation: 50 years on. Language Policy 19: 161–182.
Muhr, Rudolf & Juan Thomas (eds.). 2020. Pluricentric Theory beyond Dominance and Non-dominance. Graz: PCL-Press.
Oakes, Leigh & Jane Warren. 2007. Language, Citizenship and Identity in Quebec. Houndmills: Palgrave Macmillan.
Oakes, Leigh & Yael Peled. 2018. Normative Language Policy: Ethics, Politics, Principles. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.