1. Handbook of Language & Ethnicity Chapter 8: Psychology By Amado M. Padilla

2. What is psychology?

3. The science of behavior Language is of course a behavior – unique to humans Developmental psychologists look at language acquisition Cognitive psychologists look at relationship between language & thinking Clinical psychologists use language to help clients understand their thoughts

4. What are the psychological purposes of language? Gather, sort, and store information Communicate with others Writing makes knowledge cumulative and available Think abstractly and creatively Form social units (families, communities, cultures)

5. Attribution theory We attribute people’s behavior to enduring motives or qualities or to the needs of the situation What needs are relevant to language? –Need to understand world around us –Need to control factors that influence our interactions with others

6. Attributions made based on accent Positive attributions made about people with prestige accent, negative attributions about people with low-status accent Attributions also made when foreign language is heard –Cf. the contribution of attribution to the US English-only/bilingual education debates

7. Ethnicity and Language Ethnicity – if a person self-identifies as a member of a particular ethnic group, they are willing to be perceived and treated as such Identification comes through socialization with family & friends Language is the vehicle for socialization Language is a crucial element of ethnicity for most groups

8. Reactions to threats to identity When a people’s language is threatened, they will form unions of resistance, which may be legalistic or violent Language is important because it is used to convey the values of the group and is associated with the emotional texture of the group Language establishes in-group vs. out-group boundaries Status of the language is equated to status of the group, which is communicated to members

9. More on ethnicity and language An ethnic group is defined by social networks Language is not necessary, but it sharpens distinctions among social networks Strife is engendered when one ethnic group has more power/access to resources – this also sharpens distinctions

10. Ethnicity and social situation Ethnic identification changes across social situations Ethnic identification only becomes important when there is cross-ethnic contact

11. Overall Ethnicity is something that is learned, through socialization, usually through the medium of a specific language