Language Ideologies of Nepali People in YouTube Interactions

Standard Language Ideology

Standard English Language Ideology is often associated with Standard English that is spoken by Whites and middle class people. This ideology perceives all other varieties of English to be substandard or nonstandard or non-academic. Standard Language Ideology (SLI) emboldens oppressive practices by relegating linguistic varieties. SLI originates from the myth of linguistic homogeneity, which posits that “the boundaries drawn around idealized languages need to be protected from the contamination of other language varieties” (Mangelsdorf, 2010, p. 120).

Though Nepal is an independent country and was never colonized in its history, many common people of Nepal have been linguistically and ideologically colonized as they have adopted thinking which believes that they need to write and speak the way native speakers of English do. The people of Nepal think political leaders or other people who occupy important positions in the country should be able to speak Standard English. In this chapter, I show an example of Nepali people’s perceptions about English language and how these perceptions exhibit colonized thinking.