Unit 13: Global Ethics in Language Education

4. Language Rights and Linguistic Justice

Linguistic rights refer to the ability of individuals and communities to use their native language in education, governance, and public life. Teaching English should not:
·       Undermine minority languages.
·       Imply linguistic superiority.
·       Ignore local linguistic ecologies.
⚖️ Ethical challenge: How can we teach English without reinforcing language hierarchies?
🗣️ Reading: Skutnabb-Kangas (2017) argues that denying education in one’s native language is a form of cultural genocide.