Language ideologies in 'American' literary history

Bibliographic Data

ID3852364
AuthorsMichael Boyden (0000-0002-4533-6232, Harvard University Press, corresponding author), Helder De Schutter (0000-0002-2031-984X, KU Leuven)
Year2006
Volume4
Issue3
Pages285-306
Publication date2006-09-01
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessNo
TypeARTICLE
VenueComparative American Studies An International Journal (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 1477-5700 • E-ISSN: 1741-2676
PublisherInforma UK Limited (PUBLISHER • GB)
DOI10.1177/1477570006066774
OpenAlexW1967462468
LanguageEN
Citations received1
References cited24

This article deals with the accommodation of linguistic alterity in US literary histories. It distinguishes between, on the one hand, a liberal language ideology that tends to domesticate the other by claiming neutrality toward language, and, on the other, a romantic ideology that articulates itself by 'foreignizing' the other and by making cultural groups appear more homogeneous and natural than they actually are. This conceptual apparatus is applied to specific instances of linguistic 'forgetfulness' in US literary histories. Rather than expressing a preference for one or the other language ideology, the article considers how both models interact and structure the language debate in the USA. Contrary to how this debate is usually pursued, it proposes a more reflexive approach to the problem of linguistic differences and identity that takes into account the translational work of the discipline of US literary history and highlights its paradoxical logic.Keywords: AMERICAN LITERARY HISTORYLANGUAGE IDEOLOGIESMODELS OF OTHERNESSREFLEXIVITYTRANSLATION PRACTICES(TRANS)NATIONALISM Additional informationNotes on contributorsMichael BoydenMichael Boyden is currently a Boas scholar at Harvard University. He completed a PhD at the University of Leuven in 2006 with a dissertation on Predicting the Past: The Functions of American Literary History. At Harvard, he is working on issues of language and multilingualism in American and Canadian literary histories. He has published in various journals, including previously in Comparative American Studies. Currently, he is editor of the Review of International American Studies. Address: Barker Center, 12 Quincy Street, Cambridge, MA 02138, USA. [email: [email protected]]Helder De SchutterHelder De Schutter is a research assistant in political philosophy at the Centre for Ethics, Social and Political Philosophy of the University of Leuven. His PhD focuses on language rights and linguistic justice. He publishes in such journals as Ethical Perspectives (2005) and Language Problems and Language Planning (2007). He is currently editing a book on Do Co-Nationals Have Priority Over Other Human Beings? (forthcoming from Routledge, co-edited with Ronald Tinnevelt). In 2006 he has been awarded the University of Kentucky’s Prize in ‘European Philosophy from Kant to the Present’. Address: Department of Philosophy, University of Leuven, Kardinaal Mercier Plein 2, B-3000 Leuven, Belgium. [email: [email protected]]

Art · History of literature · Ideology · Language ideology · Linguistics · Literary criticism · Literary science · Literature · Political science · Politics · Sociology · Digital Humanities and Scholarship · History · Law · Philippine History and Culture · Philosophy · Translation Studies and Practices

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