Among Kroskrity's contributions to linguistic anthropological research and theory, he is best known for helping to develop and establish the research field of
language ideology. Kroskrity organized and co-organized sessions at meetings of the
American Anthropological Association (1991, 1994) and at the
School of American Research in Santa Fe (1994), and served as the editor and co-editor of three of the resulting volumes.
Arizona Tewa language ideologies Kroskrity's interest in the
ideological dimension of
language use and their relationship to
linguistic structure,
cultural identity, and
ethnohistory can be traced to the beginning of his career. When he started his dissertation research in the
Arizona Tewa communities on the
First Mesa Hopi Reservation (Northeastern Arizona) in 1973, Kroskrity was primarily interested in
Tewa grammar and
language contact, but the Tewa themselves kept reminding him of the importance of the link between language, culture, and religious ceremonies. "My language is my life" is a popular saying in Tewa, which suggests a strong link between language and
identity. Language and identity became a central theme in Kroskrity's later work, interpreting Tewa cultural phenomena in the light of the emerging theory of language ideology. This is a common pattern in many
Pueblo cultures, usually known as "linguistic conservatism". Kroskrity re-analyzed this pattern as an indigenous ideology of
Linguistic purism. But rather than being a result of the rejection of foreign elements by the Tewa community, Kroskrity traces this ideology to the prominence of
kiva speech, a type of ceremonial speech confined in its use to religious authorities. Associated with the highly valued religious domain,
kiva speech embodies four cultural preferences: regulation by convention, indigenous purism, strict compartmentalization, and linguistic
indexing of identity. These preferences are reflected in Arizona Tewa linguistic ideologies concerning non-
kiva language as well, and turn
kiva speech thus into a folk model for language in general. and therefore most easily controlled by the speakers.
Western Mono language ideologies In addition to research with the Arizona Tewa, Kroskrity has also worked with the
Western Mono communities of central California since 1980.
Language ideological clarification Kroskrity's work demonstrates the importance of language ideologies for understanding language maintenance and
shift. While in the case of the Arizona Tewa, a dominant language ideology of purism and an association of the Tewa language with ethnic identity has contributed to language maintenance, the traditional language ideologies of the Western Mono have contributed to rapid language shift. In light of these findings, Kroskrity has more recently called for "language ideological clarification". ::Language ideological clarification is the process of identifying issues of language ideological contestation within a heritage language community, including both beliefs and feelings that are indigenous to that community and those introduced by outsiders (such as linguists and government officials), that can negatively impact community efforts to successfully engage in language maintenance and renewal. This process of identifying and raising consciousness about linguistic and discursive issues enables appropriate discourses to occur between community members, or between members and either linguists or government officials who have differing opinions. Ideally these discourses would promote actual resolution—a clarification achieved—or foster a tolerable level of disagreement that would not inhibit language renewal activities.
Collaborative fieldwork Throughout his career Kroskrity has contributed through research to the agendas of the communities he studies. He conducted "collaborative research" with Tewa and Western Mono informants long before the term became fashionable in anthropology. In 2002 he collaborated with Rosalie Bethel (Western Mono) to publish an
interactive CD-ROM, contributing to Western Mono language revitalization activities. ==Selected publications==