Abstract:Intercultural Communication: An Advanced Resource Book. A. Holliday, M. Hyde, and J. Kullman
Language Policy: Theory and Method. T. Ricento
Ebonics: The Urban Education Debate (2nd Edition). J. Ramirez, T. Wiley, G. de Klerk, E. Lee, and W. Wright
“…In the United States, race and language are intricately connected, with scholars describing the practice of linguicism (i.e., discrimination based on primary spoken (non-English) language) and expressing that “language is a social practice that shapes subjectivity and establishes power relations among members of different racial and class groups” [ 5 ]. English language proficiency, which may be correlated with race/ethnicity [ 6 , 7 ], is however less frequently considered in the study of health disparities among children.…”
Race and ethnicity are associated with disparities in pain management in children. While low English language proficiency is correlated with minority race/ethnicity in the United States, it is less frequently explored in the study of health disparities. We therefore investigated whether English language proficiency influenced pain management in the post-anesthesia care unit (PACU) in a cohort of children who underwent laparoscopic appendectomy at our pediatric hospital in San Francisco. Our primary exposure was English language proficiency, and our primary outcome was administration of any opioid medication in the PACU. Secondary outcomes included the amount of opioid administered in the PACU and whether any pain score was recorded during the patient’s recovery period. Statistical analysis included adjusting for demographic covariates including race in estimating the effect of language proficiency on these outcomes. In our cohort of 257 pediatric patients, 57 (22.2%) had low English proficiency (LEP). While LEP and English proficient (EP) patients received the same amount of opioid medication intraoperatively, in multivariable analysis, LEP patients had more than double the odds of receiving any opioid in the PACU (OR 2.45, 95% CI 1.22–4.92). LEP patients received more oral morphine equivalents (OME) than EP patients (1.64 OME/kg, CI 0.67–3.84), and they also had almost double the odds of having no pain score recorded during their PACU recovery period (OR 1.93, CI 0.79–4.73), although the precision of these estimates was limited by small sample size. Subgroup analysis showed that children over the age of 5 years, who were presumably more verbal and would therefore undergo verbal pain assessments, had over triple the odds of having no recorded pain score (OR 3.23, CI 1.48–7.06). In summary, English language proficiency may affect the management of children’s pain in the perioperative setting. The etiology of this language-related disparity is likely multifactorial and should be investigated further.
“…In the United States, race and language are intricately connected, with scholars describing the practice of linguicism (i.e., discrimination based on primary spoken (non-English) language) and expressing that “language is a social practice that shapes subjectivity and establishes power relations among members of different racial and class groups” [ 5 ]. English language proficiency, which may be correlated with race/ethnicity [ 6 , 7 ], is however less frequently considered in the study of health disparities among children.…”
Race and ethnicity are associated with disparities in pain management in children. While low English language proficiency is correlated with minority race/ethnicity in the United States, it is less frequently explored in the study of health disparities. We therefore investigated whether English language proficiency influenced pain management in the post-anesthesia care unit (PACU) in a cohort of children who underwent laparoscopic appendectomy at our pediatric hospital in San Francisco. Our primary exposure was English language proficiency, and our primary outcome was administration of any opioid medication in the PACU. Secondary outcomes included the amount of opioid administered in the PACU and whether any pain score was recorded during the patient’s recovery period. Statistical analysis included adjusting for demographic covariates including race in estimating the effect of language proficiency on these outcomes. In our cohort of 257 pediatric patients, 57 (22.2%) had low English proficiency (LEP). While LEP and English proficient (EP) patients received the same amount of opioid medication intraoperatively, in multivariable analysis, LEP patients had more than double the odds of receiving any opioid in the PACU (OR 2.45, 95% CI 1.22–4.92). LEP patients received more oral morphine equivalents (OME) than EP patients (1.64 OME/kg, CI 0.67–3.84), and they also had almost double the odds of having no pain score recorded during their PACU recovery period (OR 1.93, CI 0.79–4.73), although the precision of these estimates was limited by small sample size. Subgroup analysis showed that children over the age of 5 years, who were presumably more verbal and would therefore undergo verbal pain assessments, had over triple the odds of having no recorded pain score (OR 3.23, CI 1.48–7.06). In summary, English language proficiency may affect the management of children’s pain in the perioperative setting. The etiology of this language-related disparity is likely multifactorial and should be investigated further.
“…However, as previously demonstrated, when the heterogenous linguistic practices of these Black and Brown girls were compared to or measured against Whiteness , they were raciolinguistically positioned as invisible or a deficit within the figured worlds of their science learning spaces. For example, Teresa's experiences, when occupying the figured world of science, demonstrated that when she moved to the U.S. and her linguistic practices were perceived by the “listening subject” and measured against Whiteness , she experienced language‐based racial profiling, or linguicism (Parmegiani, 2006), as she described:The problem here [in the U.S.] is that like we do have accents because we don't practice. Like you're not like, "oh my god , Vanessa , hi" *expressed without placing an emphasis on her accent* It's just Spanish all the time, you know?…”
Black and Brown girls are underrepresented in science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) fields. Although studies have examined the reasons for this by exploring Black and Brown girls' experiences based on culture, gender, and race, there is a need for specifically understanding how language contributes to racialized experiences in science education. This study fills this critical gap by presenting narratives of three academically talented multilingual girls from Black and Brown communities. Utilizing semi‐structured interviews, self‐identifying questionnaires, and identity‐as‐narrative analysis, this study demonstrates how the racialized experiences of these multilingual Black and Brown girls influenced their relations to science, ideas about the attributes of a science person, and developing science identities. The findings suggest that although the girls had a strong affiliation with science and academic achievement in science, the girls' experiences were racialized through raciolinguistic ideologies and dominant cultural practices of science, which left them invisibilized and unsure about pursuing a future career in STEM. The implications of this study underline the importance of looking at the problem of underrepresentation as an issue of identification, belonging, and representation rather than an of academic skill or interest.
“…Mastery of this language is a precondition for claiming symbolic and material resources. One could even argue that, while overt racism is becoming less acceptable in democratic societies, linguicism, or discrimination based on language (Phillipson 1991), continues to reign undisturbed as an alleged "politically correct" mechanism for re(producing) social stratification (Parmegiani 2006a).…”
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