Censorship (original) (raw)

Censorship is generally understood as formal restrictions, in some way endorsed or supported by the state, on expressive acts that are perceived as threats to public order. Modern discourses against censorship tend to be informed by an Enlightenment and liberal tradition of viewing free speech as both a human right and integral to just governance. However, every society regulates communicative or expressive acts in a variety of ways, including many that are neither institutional nor subject to discussion. A linguistic anthropological approach to censorship engages with different communities ideas about the nature and function of transgressive acts, studies the multidimensional nature of communication to understand the effects of these acts in different contexts, and analyzes contradictions and biases in awareness to advocate for the linguistically marginalized.