Ethnicity by Harris (2013)

Harris, R. (2013). Ethnicity. In J. Simpson (Ed.), The Routledge handbook of applied linguistics. London: Routledge.

            Amidst the confusion of how to conceptualize ethnicity in its very essence, Harris, in this chapter, adapted Stuart Hall’s interpretive frames (p. 345). Respective to these frames, which I would call ‘gradation’, he cited tensions (pp. 346-347), which brought the conceptualization of “ethnicity” (pp. 347-348), and birth of applied linguistics in the field (p. 348).

            He highlighted several stages of colonization and showed how the Anglo perspectives on language planning and policy posed threats to a colony’s ethnicity and ‘progress’ (pp. 349-350). With the growth of English varieties (see World Englishes on p. 351) and migration of non-native English speakers to Anglo centers of the world, taught English language is considered to have taken a form as “proxy for a general discourse of hostility” (pp. 352-355). This part of the chapter deeply tugs a string in me, of my ethnic background and extends to the people from the examples presented. Today, research on the field is constantly challenged by the changing landscape of ethnicity and language use (p. 355). These challenges are brought by social actors that in themselves transcending ethnic boundaries and class (p. 356).

            It should be noted that Harris gave limitations in the article’s discussion. In this light, language is portrayed as a key player of modernity, hostility, and unity across ethnicities. English being the language of ‘progress’ changed the make up of the colonies, e.g., Sub-Saharan Africa. Moreover, it showed that even though ethnic language vitality and instrumentality are threatened by imposing English language in education, there could still be ways to facilitate harmony among ethnicities and languages as seen on the examples from Singapore and the African American Vernacular English case.

At this juncture, applied linguistics moved from being heavily focused on education to involvement in language planning and policy. Applied linguistics in the area of ethnicity and language is preparing itself to accommodate such developments in the field.