Un-standardizing Accent: The Effects of Accentism on Multilingual Speakers and Multicultural Learners

Drawing on the scholarly work of sociocultural and postcolonial theorists and testimonios collected from study participants, this book explores accentism, the systemic form of discrimination against people speaking with an accent deviating from the socially constructed standard accent. Orelus examines the manner in which accents are acquired and the effects of such acquisition on the learning and educational experiences of linguistically and culturally diverse students. He goes on to demonstrate the ways and the degree to which factors such as race, class, and country of origin are connected with nonstandard accent-based discrimination. Finally, this book proposes alternative ways to challenge and counter the accentism that minority groups, including linguistically and culturally diverse students, have faced in schools and in society at large.