Towards More Inclusive Practices in Applied Linguistics: A Study of Journal Editors’ Views on Using ‘Who’ with Nonhuman Animals with Implications for Language Education

• Main Authors: Dillon, Denise, Jacobs, George M, Chau, Meng Huat
• Format: text
• Published: Animo Repository 2024
• Subjects: ecolinguistics; journal editors; speciesism; who; applied linguistics; language education; Animal Studies; Bilingual, Multilingual, and Multicultural Education; Curriculum and Social Inquiry; English Language and Literature; Environmental Studies; Food Studies; Language and Literacy Education; Social and Philosophical Foundations of Education; Sociology
• Online Access: https://animorepository.dlsu.edu.ph/jeal/vol3/iss1/9; https://animorepository.dlsu.edu.ph/context/jeal/article/1098/viewcontent/8dillon.pdf
• Institution: De La Salle University

Like racism or sexism, speciesism highlights how people fail to give due respect to nonhuman animals. After more than 20 years since the publication of Dunayer’s (2001) seminal work, Animal Equality: Language and Liberation, speciesism appears to remain a controversial issue. In this article, we explore the issue of speciesist language by considering the views of journal editors on one point raised in the seventh edition of the Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association (2020): that the relative pronoun ‘who’ should only be used with humans and not with other animals. The results of this study suggest that while some motion seems to be taking place towards greater use of ‘who’ with nonhuman animals, the APA’s current policy does have a large degree of support. Implications for language education are considered with the aim to enact more inclusive practices in applied linguistics and language education for a just and sustainable world.