Journal article
Finding our ROLE: How and why to reframe essentialist approaches to language
Cognition, Vol.271, 106444
06/2026
DOI: 10.1016/j.cognition.2026.106444
PMID: 41539217
Abstract
Essentialist categorizations of language users, such as native speaker, are widely used but lack empirical validity and reinforce social inequities. This article focuses on the nativeness construct, critically examining how its centrality in social-scientific research distorts scholarly inquiry, introduces bias in educational and clinical assessments, and perpetuates exclusion in academia. We argue that such labels impose artificial homogeneity, devalue linguistic diversity, and contribute to systemic biases in society. By reifying social divisions, essentialist categorizations can exclude marginalized groups, perpetuate linguistic discrimination, and hinder scientific progress. We advocate for a shift away from essentialist proxies and toward more contextually grounded and empirically driven characterizations of language use. A reflexive and interdisciplinary approach is necessary to dismantle these harmful frameworks and promote more accurate, inclusive, and equitable research. Our argument is relevant not just to the cognitive sciences, but to any scholarship which involves describing or understanding language. Ultimately, rejecting essentialist assumptions will lead to more nuanced understandings of language, identity, and social belonging, fostering both scientific and societal transformation by promoting justice and accuracy across social-scientific disciplines.
Details
- Title: Subtitle
- Finding our ROLE: How and why to reframe essentialist approaches to language
- Creators
- Savithry Namboodiripad - University of MichiganEthan Kutlu - University of IowaAnna Babel - The Ohio State UniversityMolly Babel - University of British ColumbiaMelissa Baese-Berk - University of ChicagoParas B Bassuk - University of IowaAdeli Block - University of MichiganReinaldo Cabrera Pérez - University of California, IrvineMatthew T Carlson - Pennsylvania State UniversitySita Carraturo - University of IowaAndrew Cheng - University of Hawaiʻi at MānoaLauretta S P Cheng - University of TorontoPhilip Combiths - University of IowaRuthe Foushee - New SchoolAnne Therese Frederiksen - Brooklyn CollegeDevin Grammon - University of OregonRachel Hayes-Harb - University of UtahEve Higby - California State University, East BayKelly Kendro - Northern Arizona UniversityChien-Jer Charles Lin - Indiana University BloomingtonElena Koulidobrova - Central Connecticut State UniversityZhicheng Lin - Yonsei UniversityAlicia Luque - Universidad NebrijaKevin B McGowan - University of KentuckyJohn B Muegge - University of IowaChristine Shea - University of IowaAlayo Tripp - University of FloridaSarah J Woods - University of UtahKelly Elizabeth Wright - University of Wisconsin–Madison
- Resource Type
- Journal article
- Publication Details
- Cognition, Vol.271, 106444
- DOI
- 10.1016/j.cognition.2026.106444
- PMID
- 41539217
- NLM abbreviation
- Cognition
- ISSN
- 1873-7838
- eISSN
- 1873-7838
- Publisher
- Elsevier
- Language
- English
- Electronic publication date
- 01/14/2026
- Date published
- 06/2026
- Academic Unit
- Communication Sciences and Disorders; Psychological and Brain Sciences; Center for Social Science Innovation; Spanish and Portuguese; Otolaryngology
- Record Identifier
- 9985121594802771
Metrics
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