iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

Vijay Ramjattan @vijayramjattan.bsky.social · 05/10/2026

In my latest article, I explore how intelligibility still acts as a euphemism for nativeness in English in the context of migrant labour: doi.org/10.18192/olb... It is open access, so there is no excuse not to read it!

This conceptual essay explores how intelligibility acts as a euphemism for nativeness in English within the context of migrant work and employment. When intelligibility is treated as an individual trait, practice, or responsibility of migrant workers, these workers are expected to emulate a specific type of speaker, which often means emulating a “native English speaker” from the Global North. This individualization of intelligibility is facilitated by several workplace processes including the construction of a singular professional voice, the skilling of oral communication, and the need to linguistically cater to customers. The essay concludes with reflections on how notions of intelligibility must be unlearned and relearned to create ethical professional communication.

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Vijay Ramjattan @vijayramjattan.bsky.social · 09/08/2026

I wrote the foreword for this interesting edited book about linguistic profiling in the workplace. If you are in career development, language studies, and related fields, ask your library to order a copy! You can read the foreword for free here (click on "Prelims"): doi.org/10.1108/978-...

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Vijay Ramjattan @vijayramjattan.bsky.social · 22/07/2026

I'm happy to have contributed a chapter to The Routledge Handbook of Race and Equity in Applied Linguistics: shorturl.at/pqLYX My chapter critically explores whether accent recognition and bias training are truly effective forms of anti-racist listening (and how they can be improved upon).

This is a screenshot of the very first page of the chapter.

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Vijay Ramjattan @vijayramjattan.bsky.social · 14/07/2026

name discrimination accent discrimination hair discrimination These are all dimensions of (anti-Black) racism in the workplace and elsewhere. It is always important to remember that racism is always a multi-sensory practice.

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Vijay Ramjattan @vijayramjattan.bsky.social · 27/06/2026

My latest article argues how the construct of intelligibility is susceptible to what Marie Thompson calls "white aurality." It explores how treating intelligibility as a decontextualized trait reproduces oppressive ideas about speech: doi.org/10.1080/1542...

This is a screenshot of the abstract, which can be read by clicking on the link of this post.

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Vijay Ramjattan @vijayramjattan.bsky.social · 10/06/2026

No accent is actually an obstacle to career advancement. The real obstacle is the accentism that frames certain accents as professional liabilities. Read more here: doi.org/10.1108/CDI-...

Post-it note saying the following:

"Your accent is not a barrier to your career. Accentism is the real career barrier."

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Death @insatiableone.bsky.social · 27/05/2026

My son's world in gaza is vanishing into darkness. Every second we wait, his light fades a little more. We have one final chance to save his sight, but we can't do it alone. Please, don't let him go blind. Be the miracle he's praying for. Verified by : molly shah chuffed.org/project/1624...

A photo of Elias, a 2 year old boy wearing thick glasses.

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Vijay Ramjattan @vijayramjattan.bsky.social · 24/05/2026

What does professionalism sound like in higher education? How does the vocal professionalism reinforce racial, gender, and linguistic inequalities? Drawing on small stories told by international academic workers, my latest open-access article answers these questions: doi.org/10.1177/1939...

Screenshot of abstract, which can be read by clicking on the link in the post

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Ashley R Moore @ashleyrmoore.bsky.social · 22/05/2026

Earn TESL Ontario certification at the same time as an MEd in Language and Literacies Education at @oiseuoft.bsky.social! TESL ON certification is both locally and internationally recognized! More info: www.oise.utoronto.ca/ctl/masters-...

A flyer for the new combined MEd+TESL Certificate program!

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Vijay Ramjattan @vijayramjattan.bsky.social · 12/05/2026

I had the honour and pleasure of writing a chapter for the Encyclopaedia of Plurilingual Education! My chapter offers a brief overview of linguistic microaggressions in education. The volume is open access, so please check it out and share with your peers: www.peterlang.com/document/158...

This is a screenshot of the first page of the chapter. It is written in French.

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Nathan Kalman-Lamb @nkalamb.bsky.social · 30/04/2026

Really excited to share this event on May 11 from 5-7pm in TORONTO on sport, Palestine, and imperialism. I will be in conversation with Palestinian national football player Charlotte Phillips, @privaricate.bsky.social, Jess Nachman, @dansailofsky.bsky.social, and @girishdaswani.bsky.social. 🍉⚽️

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Jane Shi | 皮爬高 echolalia echolalia is out now @pipagaopoetry.bsky.social · 30/04/2026

It’s my birthday and I am once again doing my matching campaign of $340! Somebody already matched $340 for Crips for eSims but you can still donate $3.4, $34, $340, or more! :) Email screenshots to cripsforesimsforgaza[at]gmail[dot]com. chuffed.org/project/crip...

chuffed.org

Crips for eSims for Gaza

Crips for eSims for Gaza is a collaboration between Jane Shi, Leah Lakshmi Piepzna-Samarasinha, and Alice Wong.

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Vijay Ramjattan @vijayramjattan.bsky.social · 22/04/2026

It was a pleasure contributing to the 2nd edition of the Routledge Companion to Cross-Cultural Management! My chapter explores how everyday work on or with language reinforces workplace racism. If your institution has online access, you can read it here: www.taylorfrancis.com/chapters/edi...

This is a screenshot of the very first page of the chapter. Please click on the link of the accompanying post to read the abstract.

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Vijay Ramjattan @vijayramjattan.bsky.social · 17/04/2026

I'm doing an online talk at the University of Reading on April 22 at 4pm BST. This talk will explore how accent is deemed by international teaching assistants to be an inseparable part of their academic work. Teams Meeting ID: 372 352 517 778 09 Passcode: Dw6S3C3E

Abstract:

International Teaching Assistants and the Accented Part of their Academic Work

Taking inspiration from Josiane Boutet’s discussion of “the language part of work,” which pertains to how language becomes an integral part of work processes, this talk examines the accented part of work, that is, how accent becomes intertwined with the performance of work, for international teaching assistants (ITAs). The “foreign accents” of ITAs in English-medium higher education institutions are often subject to a deficit narrative positing that they are sources of professional miscommunication. Consequently, ITAs may perceive their accents as objects to work upon in order to work toward positive evaluations of how they sound to various audiences. However, in conceptualizing their accents as workable, ITAs may have to vocally conform to and/or resist the academic status quo in contextually specific manners. The talk explores these complexities by detailing how a group of 14 ITAs working in Canadian universities explain the sounds of intelligibility and expertise, two major aspects of their academic work performances. The talk concludes by considering the implications of these findings in relation to ITA workplace language learning and the expansion of academic worker rights.

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Vijay Ramjattan @vijayramjattan.bsky.social · 08/04/2026

Critically decoding popular "soft skills" Communication: adopt white-coded language Teamwork: maintain the status quo Work Ethic: be prepared to be overworked Adaptability: accept unreasonable demands Leadership: be the scapegoat

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Vijay Ramjattan @vijayramjattan.bsky.social · 16/03/2026

I'm doing a book talk at my university. If you want to learn about how the academic labour of international TAs is "accented" by such forces as neoliberalism, whiteness, and disciplinary cultures, scan the QR code on the poster or click on this registration link: utoronto.zoom.us/meeting/regi...

Poster of the event with an abstract and a QR code for registration on the bottom right-hand corner

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Inés Vañó García @inesvano.bsky.social · 18/02/2026

Thinking about the next #mla? @modernlanguage.bsky.social Send us your abstract! #mla27 #mla2027 We welcome innovative, critical, and interdisciplinary perspectives on language, society, & pedagogy. LSL – Language and Society is now accepting abstracts for MLA 2026 (guaranteed sessions)

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Vijay Ramjattan @vijayramjattan.bsky.social · 14/02/2026

It is important to remember that many problems are manufactured such as having the "wrong type" of accent.

The accent reduction industry is truly a "solution" in search of a problem.

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Jane Shi | 皮爬高 echolalia echolalia is out now @pipagaopoetry.bsky.social · 07/02/2026

Because we're consistently in the red & can't pay people back in a timely manner we've had to completely stop sending new eSims. That's devastating for the people of Gaza living through a genocide committed on our dime. #ConnectingGaza

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Vijay Ramjattan @vijayramjattan.bsky.social · 15/01/2026

I'm looking forward to participating in this panel discussion on linguistic inclusivity as it pertains to international students in higher education! Scan the QR code to register.

This is a poster of the event. Scan the QR code to register.

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María Méndez Santos @mariaparrula.bsky.social · 09/01/2026

I Congrés Internacional sobre Discriminació Lingüística 제1회 언어 차별 국제 학술대회 Ier Congrès international sur la discrimination linguistique 1st International Conference on Linguistic Discrimination 🌐 proyectoestigma.es/congreso/ RT🙏

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Jane Shi | 皮爬高 echolalia echolalia is out now @pipagaopoetry.bsky.social · 09/01/2026

as @divyampersaud.com mentioned earlier, Hamza is starting out with literally nothing beyond the scholarship he received chuffed.org/project/1644...

chuffed.org

Support Hamza with Medical Bills

Jane Shi on behalf on Hamza:

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Vijay Ramjattan @vijayramjattan.bsky.social · 28/12/2025

I am grateful that I published 2 important works this year: 1) a co-edited volume on the complex relationships between language and prejudice: shorturl.at/4l7if 2) a book on how international teaching assistants conceptualize and perform accents for their academic labour: shorturl.at/7aOYN

This is a photo of the two works:

1) The Oxford Handbook of Language & Prejudice (left side)

2) Workable Accents: How International Teaching Assistants Vocally Fashion and Contest Academic Labor (right side)

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Vijay Ramjattan @vijayramjattan.bsky.social · 03/12/2025

A standard language is an invention of a standard language ideology. It does not pre-exist on its own.

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Inés Vañó García @inesvano.bsky.social · 30/11/2025

📣 Call for Papers – The EUROCALL Review 👉 “Openness in Language Education: Global practices and research, pedagogical innovation and critical resistance” 📅 Submission deadline: 4 May 2026 📘 Planned publication: Autumn 2026 Please share widely! ❓Reach out if you have any questions!

The EUROCALL Review Call for papers - Thematic issue: Openness in Language Education: Global and research pedagogical innovation and critical resistance (Page 1)

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Vijay Ramjattan @vijayramjattan.bsky.social · 12/11/2025

Experiencing racism does not make you immune from perpetuating racism. Similarly, experiencing accentism does not make you immune from projecting ideas of "good" and "bad" accents.

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Vijay Ramjattan @vijayramjattan.bsky.social · 05/10/2025

Fighting against accentism requires moving away from statements like "Everyone has an accent" to declarations such as "Not all accents are created equal."

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Vijay Ramjattan @vijayramjattan.bsky.social · 23/09/2025

I have my copies of The Oxford Handbook of Language and Prejudice! I would like to thank @janesetter.bsky.social and @sdovchin.bsky.social as well as our contributors for rearticulating the relationship between language and prejudice. Ask your library to order a copy: shorturl.at/q87Bz

This is a photo showing a copy of the handbook standing on top of two others laid horizontally.

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Vijay Ramjattan @vijayramjattan.bsky.social · 21/09/2025

From a white supremacist perspective: Being professional = quietly accepting racism at work Being unprofessional = calling out this racism

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Vijay Ramjattan @vijayramjattan.bsky.social · 10/09/2025

I will be giving a hybrid talk at the University of Hawaii at Manoa Linguistics Department about my recent book, Workable Accents. What does academic labour sound like? Using the case of international teaching assistants, my talk attempts to answer this question!

Department of Linguistics presents as part of the Tuesday Seminar series

Dr. Vijay Ramjattan
Assistant Professor, Ontario Institute for Studies in Education, University of Toronto

Sounding Out Academic Labour: The Case of International Teaching Assistants

Tuesday, September 16, 2025 @ 12:00 pm
Moore Hall 155A and Zoom

For more info
Visit ling.hawaii.edu or call (808) 956-8602
Zoom Meeting ID: 987 9443 6025
Password: Tuesday

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Vijay Ramjattan @vijayramjattan.bsky.social · 03/09/2025

Pronunciation is not a technical action. Pronunciation is a political act.

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Vijay Ramjattan @vijayramjattan.bsky.social · 31/08/2025

"Native" and "nonnative English speaker" are products of racism, colonialism, and nationalism. They are not objective linguistic descriptors.

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Dr Khawla Badwan @khawlabadwan.bsky.social · 28/08/2025

Do you work in #education? This post is for you. It centres #Gaza at the heart of everything we do and say in education. Living with Wounds in Education www.repair-ed.uk/reparative-p... Read it. Share it. Act on it #GazaMatters

repair-ed.uk

Reparative Praxis with Gaza

This guest post by Dr. Khawla Badwan asks: What does it mean to repair with Gaza?

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Vijay Ramjattan @vijayramjattan.bsky.social · 27/08/2025

You do not assess the pedagogical competence of an immigrant teacher through their accent. You assess the pedagogical competence of an immigrant teacher through their actual pedagogy.

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Vijay Ramjattan @vijayramjattan.bsky.social · 21/08/2025

I finally have physical copies of my book! If you are interested in how accent acts as a type of work in higher education, then you should read Workable Accents. 30% off if you buy from Bloomsbury: www.bloomsbury.com/ca/workable-... @bloomsburyacad.bsky.social / @bloomsburyling.bsky.social

This is a photo of one copy of my book on top of three other copies, with their spines facing toward the camera. The top book shows the cover of the book.

Title: Workable Accents: How International Teaching Assistants Vocally Fashion and Contest Academic Labor
Author: Vijay A. Ramjattan
Cover Art: multi-patterned speech bubble with 4 arms of varying skin tones reaching toward it

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Vijay Ramjattan @vijayramjattan.bsky.social · 21/08/2025

You should not have to standardize your speech in order to be heard.

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Nathan Kalman-Lamb @nkalamb.bsky.social · 20/08/2025

Please contribute to help Hammam's family. They are in absolutely desperate circumstances. Anything helps.

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Nathan Kalman-Lamb @nkalamb.bsky.social · 18/08/2025

“Given the ongoing genocide in Gaza…we call on Sport Canada and Tennis Canada to forbid Canadian athletes to compete against Israeli athletes at the Davis Cup and all other international events.” - 413 🇨🇦 academics, athletes + sports journalists, inc 3 former UN special rapporteurs + an Olympic 🥈ist

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE (FREDERICTON, August 18th, 2025) A group of 413 Canadian and Canadian-based scholars, athletes, sports journalists, and sports officials have signed a public letter calling on Tennis Canada to cancel the Davis Cup tournament with Israel this September in Halifax. Signatories include three United Nations Special Rapporteurs, four-time Olympian distance runner Mohammed Ahmed, two members of the Palestinian women’s soccer team who compete for York University, a former Canadian Olympic beach volleyball coach, sports journalists Shireen Ahmed and Ian Kennedy, public intellectuals and activists Naomi Klein and Avi Lewis and some of Canada’s most distinguished and internationally-recognized scholars. The letter is signed by prominent individuals from 46 different academic institutions in Canada, as well as by Canadians at prominent global institutions. One hundred and six of the signatories are based in Atlantic Canada, where the event is slated to occur. The call to cancel the Davis Cup event comes amidst rising condemnation of Israeli conduct in Gaza and the West Bank, which leading legal scholars, activists and human rights groups have described as a genocide. Given the ongoing genocide in Gaza, the letter says that allowing the competition to go ahead is “unconscionable” and calls on the Canadian government to prevent Canadian athletes from competing against Israeli athletes in all international sporting competitions. Despite Tennis Canada’s claims that the event isn’t political and is just about playing tennis, the letter states in part that Canada should follow the lead of other nations who “refuse to legitimize Israel’s crimes” by withdrawing from international sporting competition. “This includes Jordanian tennis player Abdellah Shelbayh, who recently withdrew from a tennis competition in Greece after being slated to play an Israeli athlete,” the letter says. The letter points to the use of sporting sanctions in South Africa as a meaningful …

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Vijay Ramjattan @vijayramjattan.bsky.social · 17/08/2025

Once again, language teaching is inherently political because languages are political inventions in the first place.

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Vijay Ramjattan @vijayramjattan.bsky.social · 17/08/2025

White supremacy is the problem, not those who point out this fact.

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Vijay Ramjattan @vijayramjattan.bsky.social · 10/08/2025

It takes a certain kind of ignorance and arrogance to believe that if marginalized people change the way they sound, they will automatically get people to listen to them in a more ethical manner.

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The End of Sport @endofsportpod.bsky.social · 07/08/2025

Ep. 163: Gaza and Global Sport We return from our too-long hiatus to discuss athletic boycott in the context of genocide with former Ireland basketball captain Rebecca O'Keeffe, as well as our views on some of the atrocities over the last seven months. open.spotify.com/episode/3Odh...

Irish national basketball team before a match versus Israel

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Vijay Ramjattan @vijayramjattan.bsky.social · 06/08/2025

"Professionalism" is typically used to police marginalized workers, not uplift them.

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Jae DiBello Takeuchi @jaetakeuchi.bsky.social · 02/08/2025

Just asked my library to purchase this book! You should do the same! #appliedlinguistics #accent

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