Language and social justice

Abstract

This chapter is about language and social justice or more precisely about relationships between the way the language is used and the challenge of providing equal opportunities in the society regardless of one’s gender, ethnic identity, wealth, educational background, or other identifiers. There are two main purposes in writing this chapter: One is to show the significance of language in how social structures in a society are produced, maintained, and reinforced, demonstrating why we must avoid narrow definitions of language which underestimate its power and why it is essential to see language as social practice. The second purpose is to display how such a critical awareness of the role language plays helps us understand issues of social concern and create a platform to contribute to empowerment of people. The chapter will also emphasize the pedagogical implications of adopting a critical language awareness perspective for social justice in education.