Transgressing Linguistic Supremacy: Reimagining Public Speaking Through Culturally Sustaining Pedagogy

This essay reimagines public speaking education through a culturally sustaining and transgressive lens that challenges dominant norms of language, professionalism, and communication competence. It critiques the ways in which public speaking courses often reinforce linguistic supremacy by privileging standardized English and marginalizing multilingual and culturally grounded speech practices. Drawing on concepts such as translanguaging, Culturally Sustaining Pedagogy (CSP), and transgressive pedagogies, the author calls for a shift in pedagogy that centers students’ lived experiences, community-rooted knowledge, and linguistic norms. Rather than asking students to conform to hegemonic standards, this approach empowers them to speak on their own terms, resist assimilationist pressures, and use language as a tool for identity, resistance, and liberation. By transforming the public speaking classroom into a space for critical reflection and empowerment, educators can cultivate more inclusive and equitable models of communication instruction.