Combatting Linguistic Stereotyping and Prejudice by Evoking Stereotypes

Abstract

The article offers an account of two projects conducted at Örebro University and Umeå University, Sweden, which are aimed at raising awareness of issues related to linguistic stereotyping using matched-guise-inspired methods (Raising Awareness through Virtual Experiencing [RAVE] funded by the Swedish Research Council and a Cross-Cultural Perspective on Raising of Awareness through Virtual Experiencing (C-RAVE) funded by the Marcus and Amalia Wallenberg foundation). We provide an overview of the methods used in university courses, with the aim to raise awareness of how stereotyping can affect our perception. We also give a more detailed account of the findings from two case activities conducted in Sweden and the Seychelles. Here the response patterns indicate that the perceived gender of a voice as well as the accent (native vs non-native) do affect respondents’ judgements of performance. We were also able to show that discussions and reflections inspired by these response patterns led to raised self-awareness of matters related to language and stereotyping. The article then moves on to a critical query of our methods and also contextualizes our work in a broader discussion on methods and initiatives for how educational institutions actively can contribute to combatting (language) prejudice and discrimination in various ways.

Keywords

• matched guise
• bias
• self-awareness raising
• linguistic stereotyping
• reversed linguistic stereotyping
• accent
• gender
• implicit
• unconscious