In a constantly changing world, it’s only natural that language continues to evolve as well. Words or phrases that no longer apply are phased out and in their place emerges lexicon that better reflect the diversity of gender, race, and sexuality in contemporary culture. From under-privileged children being taught how to read at home with cookbooks, to groups of students who adopt the use of new words to better explain experiences they see in their own communities, educators are also recognizing the need to understand how changing culture influences the way students of different backgrounds speak.
In this episode of The Oxford Comment, we chatted with SJ Miller, Deputy Director of Educational Equity Supports and Services at the NYU Metropolitan Center for Research on Equity and the Transformation of Schools; and David E. Kirkland, author of “Black Musculine Language” from The Oxford Handbook of African American Language, and Executive Director of the NYU Metropolitan Center for Research on Equity and the Transformation of Schools; to discuss the developments we’re seeing in today’s English lexicon and how we can positively incorporate linguistic change instead of dismissing it.
Featured image credit: Microphone by BreakingTheWalls. CC0 public domain via Pixabay.