Unsettling Languages, Unruly Bodyminds: A Crip Linguistics Manifesto

Abstract

We introduce Crip Linguistics as a theoretical and abolitionist framework. People use languages in different ways. Some people use language to help find other people like themselves. Many people use language in specific ways because of how their body and mind work. Sometimes a person’s material conditions, and environment forces them to use language in a certain way. When someone languages outside of what people think is normal, others can think they are bad with language, or are not as smart as someone else. No one is actually ‘bad with language.’ We want to help people understand that no language is bad. It is okay to want to change your language use if it will make you feel better. No one should make you feel badly about your language. We need a bigger and more flexible understanding of what language is.