Linguicism Experiences: Examining Language Discrimination in Society

This essay examines the concept of linguicism and its impact on individuals, focusing on the experiences of Robyn Kina and Daisy Li. The introduction establishes language as a fundamental human ability and explores how language use reflects personal experiences. The paper compares the cases of Kina, an Aboriginal woman, and Li, a Chinese immigrant, both of whom faced language discrimination. Kina's inability to express herself clearly in English led to legal issues, while Li experienced social and emotional isolation due to her accent. The essay highlights how language skills develop under family and peer influence, influencing language development. It references the works of sociologists and linguists to support the argument that language-trait discrimination is a societal issue that can lead to inequality, especially in legal settings. The essay concludes by emphasizing the significance of understanding and addressing linguicism to prevent injustice and promote equality.

Running Head: ENGLISH 1
Experience with linguicism
Name of student
Name of University

ENGLISH 2
Introduction
The use of language is seen as an essential human ability, and the kind of language one
uses and how he speaks gets reflect his experiences with the language. The same language can be
spoken differently by different people and may sound different. The paper evaluates if Robyn
Kina and Daisy Li had the same experience with linguicism.
Robyn Kina, an aboriginal woman, was unable to express herself arcuately in English,
and that led to her incarceration. As she could not express herself clearly in English, she was
unable to defend herself. Thus, in her case, her experience with linguicism is negative as she
faced language discrimination that further led to miscommunication and injustice. Daisy Li’s
case is quite similar to Kina as she is not able to speak the standard form of English and with the
right accent. Although she did not suffer any imprisonment, she did face emotional and social
isolation. Her experience with linguicism is that of discrimination in society.
Although Robyn Kina and Daisy Li had did not face the same experience with
linguicism, their experiences can be linked as they both suffer from language discrimination. In
Kinas' case, it is her Aboriginal communicative style that is the problem while Daisy Li, who is a
Chinese immigrant, suffered because of the limitations of her English. Sociologists and linguists
assert that language skills are developed under the influence of family and peers. The more
insular languages spoken by immigrant families do impact language development in the next
generation (Tan, 1990)
Tan (1990) explores the sense of perfect English in her mother, Daisy Li’s English, which
is neither an English nor a Chinese structure. It is the passion, imagery, the rhythms of the speech
that reveal the nature of her thoughts. Tan finds herself using a different kind of English at home

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and with her parents and looks at it as their language of intimacy, which is a different kind of
English. However, that kind of English would be unacceptable in society.
A good example can be given by the variety of Aboriginal English (AE) spoken by
Aboriginals throughout Australia. AE is different from Standard Australian English, and there is
a wide variation in the AE varieties in different areas (Eades,1996). Kina suffered because of the
communication difficulties and misunderstandings that arose when she faced the trial as she
spoke Aboriginal English. She missed many opportunities not just because she was an
indigenous woman with limited education, but had little clue as to what those layers were talking
about (Thomas,2006).
U.S. Civil Rights Act forbids any discrimination based on color or language or race. Still,
it is not uncommon to see injustices taking place in society because of the link between language
and social identity. The area of focus here is discrimination that is focused on language-trait
(LTF), and such discriminations are rationalized and justified in everyday life as well as in courts
(Lippi-Green, 1994).
Robyn Kina and Daisy Li’s experiences with linguicism clearly show that language-trait
discrimination is expected to be normal in society and can lead to inequality in different fields
and realms of society. Such discriminations can be dangerous in courts and lead to the
miscarriage of justice.

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References
Eades, D. (1996). Legal Recognition Of Cultural Differences In Communication: The Case Of
Robyn Kina, Elsevier Science Ltd, 16(3), 215-227.
Lippi-Green, R. (1994). Accent, standard language ideology, and discriminatory pretext in the
courts. Language in Society, 23(1), 163-198.
Thomas, H. (2006). Failure of justice system that feels all too familiar. The Australian, 1(1), 1–2.
Tan, A. (1990). Mother Tongue. Under Western Eyes” in Threepenny Review, 1(1), 315–320.