USC researchers examine how coronavirus increases bias against other languages and accents

Author:
Fleming Smith

Source:
April 30, 2020 in The Post and Courier [Charleston, SC]

The coronavirus pandemic carries more dangers than the risk of infection, some researchers have found — prejudices are intensifying against those viewed as “other” and therefore potential carriers of the virus. One of the first indicators of that otherness can be a different language or accent. University of South Carolina researchers with the school’s Language Conflict Project have started collecting data on the ways people are discriminating against, and even attacking, people with different languages or dialects during the ongoing health crisis. … Stan Dubinsky, a USC linguistics professor … founded the school’s Language Conflict Project in 2018 with literature professor Michael Gavin. The project, which has involved around 20 undergraduate researchers, is working on an online encyclopedia that will chronicle linguistic conflicts across the world. … The team’s research into language discrimination during the COVID-19 pandemic is in its early stages, Dubinsky said. He believes they now have enough anecdotal data to begin a deeper dive. The researchers hope to launch the Language Conflict Project’s encyclopedia by January. The resource will cover language and dialect conflicts from around the world.

Read More