Critical language awareness

{{Tone|date=December 2023}}

In linguistics, critical language awareness (CLA) refers to an understanding of social, political, and ideological aspects of language, linguistic variation, and discourse. It functions as a pedagogical application of a critical discourse analysis (CDA), which is a research approach that regards language as a social practice.{{Cite journal|last1=Mosley Wetzel|first1=Melissa|last2=Rogers|first2=Rebecca|date=2015-12-01|title=Constructing racial literacy through critical language awareness: A case study of a beginning literacy teacher|journal=Linguistics and Education|series=Special Issue on Critical Language Awareness Approaches in the Americas: theoretical principles, pedagogical practices and distribution of intellectual labor|volume=32, Part A|pages=27–40|doi=10.1016/j.linged.2015.03.014}} More specifically, critical language awareness is a consideration of how features of language such as words, grammar, and discourse choices reproduce, reinforce, or challenge certain ideologies and struggles for power and dominance.{{Cite journal|last=Luke|first=Allan|date=2012-01-06|title=Critical Literacy: Foundational Notes|journal=Theory into Practice|volume=51|issue=1|pages=4–11|doi=10.1080/00405841.2012.636324|s2cid=143472605|issn=0040-5841|url=https://eprints.qut.edu.au/41519/2/41519.pdf}}

Regarding linguistic variation, linguist Norman Fairclough argued that it is insufficient to teach students to use "appropriate" language without considering why that language is preferred and who makes that decision (as well as the implications for speakers who do not use "appropriate language").{{Cite web|title=Global capitalism and critical awareness of language|url=http://www.schools.ash.org.au/litweb/norman1.html|first=Norman|last=Fairclough|accessdate=2009-07-29|publisher=Schools on the Web|url-status=dead|archiveurl=https://archive.today/20120909092406/http://www.schools.ash.org.au/litweb/norman1.html|archivedate=2012-09-09}}

CLA generally includes consideration of how a person may be marginalized by speaking a particular way, especially if that way of speaking serves as an index of their race, ethnicity, religion, social status, etc.

Because power is reproduced through language, CLA is "a prerequisite for effective democratic citizenship, and should therefore be seen as an entitlement for citizens, especially children developing towards citizenship in the educational system".{{cite journal|author=Clark, Romy|year=1990|title=Critical Language Awareness Part I: A Critical Review of Three Current Approaches to Language Awareness.|journal=Language and Education|volume=4|issue=4|pages=249–60|issn=0950-0782|url=http://www.eric.ed.gov/ERICWebPortal/custom/portlets/recordDetails/detailmini.jsp?_nfpb=true&_&ERICExtSearch_SearchValue_0=EJ437787&ERICExtSearch_SearchType_0=no&accno=EJ437787|accessdate=2009-07-29|doi=10.1080/09500789009541291}}{{cite journal|last=Reginald Mpho Monareng|first=Rakwena|title=The Critical Language Awareness Perspective within the English Second Language Teacher Development|journal=The International Journal of the Humanities|volume=5|issue=1|pages=67–74|url=http://ijh.cgpublisher.com/product/pub.26/prod.968|accessdate=2009-07-29|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170801151225/http://ijh.cgpublisher.com/product/pub.26/prod.968|archive-date=2017-08-01|url-status=dead}}{{cite journal|author2=Deborah Mehl|author3=Shirley Pendlebury |year=1991|title=Grey areas and open minds: critical language awareness for student teachers |journal=Journal of Curriculum Studies|volume=23|issue=5|pages=435–448|issn=1366-5839|doi=10.1080/0022027910230506|author=Mehl, Deborah}}{{cite journal|first=H. Samy Alim|year=2005|title=Critical Language Awareness in the United States: Revisiting Issues and Revising Pedagogies in a Resegregated Society|journal=Educational Researcher|volume=34|issue=7|doi=10.3102/0013189X034007024|url=http://edr.sagepub.com/cgi/content/abstract/34/7/24|accessdate=2009-07-29|last=Alim, H. S.|pages=24–31|s2cid=145104059|archive-date=2009-06-01|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090601040938/http://edr.sagepub.com/cgi/content/abstract/34/7/24|url-status=dead}}