Educational programmes based on the Language Gap theory evaluate linguistic practices on a two-point scale in which children’s linguistic background is contrasted to the norm at school. The presentation provides a different lens; a critical ethnographic sociolinguistic analysis of Roma disadvantaged children examining the enregistered social values of a school’s community.
Children are often valued by their linguistic abilities compared to the language and norms set up at the school. A popular concept applied in educational programmes is the Language Gap theory (Hart–Risley 1995), creating a two-point scale in which the norm expected at the school is opposed by the language of children’s families. This presentation argues that a critical ethnographic sociolinguistic approach provides a more relevant analysis of children’s language. This critical perspective based on Bakhtin’s theory of heteroglossia (Bakhtin 1981) considers speech as a socio-historically determined action in which the linguistic resources carry social meaning (Blommaert–Rampton 2011). Characteristics of people create categories that are valued differently. Distinct forms of their speech become as indexical of these differences and are socially enregistered (Agha 2005). This presentation introduces a research in a school in Hungary where students are considered as Roma from disadvantaged families facing academic challenges. The aim of this research is to explore the social meanings created by the community of the school by analysing students’ conversations and to provide an in-depth critical ethnographic sociolinguistic study of the children’s linguistic practices. The presentation focuses on how the pupils position themselves in classroom interactions according to the enregistered social values of the school's community. The findings of the study can propose new directions for educators who aim to tackle the academic challenges their students face. Agha, Asif 2005. Voice, Footing, Enregisterment. In: Journal of Linguistic Anthropology, Vol. 15, Issue 1. 38–59. Bakhtin, Mikhail Mikhailovich 1981. The Dialogic Imagination. Four Essays. USA: University of Texas Press. Blommaert, Jan–Rampton, Ben 2011. Language and Superdiversity. In: Blommaert, J. – Rampton, B. – Spotti, M (szerk.): Language and Superdiviersities. Vol 13. No. 2: 1-22. Hart, Betty és Risley, Todd R. 1995. Meaningful Differences in the Everyday Experience of Young American Children. USA: Brookes Publishing.
