Language ideologies in phraseologisms from Chilean Spanish: two moments, one conceptualization of language

Abstract

Within the framework of the anthropological study of language ideologies, we analyze some phraseological examples from Chilean Spanish belonging to two different historical moments, the 19th century and the current period. These phraseological examples are cometer un chilenismo and caérsele a alguien la “ch”. We conclude, first, that standard language ideology underlies both cases. This demonstrates that such conceptualization of language has persisted from the founding period of Chilean linguistic thinking. Second, we propose that the specific conceptualizations underlying these phraseological examples reveal the importance assigned to both speakers’ social status and to the view of language as a normative system (on legal, moral, and epistemological levels) in Chilean linguistic ideology