Don’t ditch standard English. Teach it better

  • 📰 TheEconomist
  • ⏱ Reading Time:
  • 70 sec. here
  • 3 min. at publisher
  • 📊 Quality Score:
  • News: 31%
  • Publisher: 92%

United States Headlines News

United States Latest News,United States Headlines

Pedagogues have devised thoughtful approaches for teaching standard English without making students feel stupid for speaking another variety

, Willem Hollmann of Lancaster University argued that standard English is not uniquely “correct”. This view is common among linguists. Today’s standard English just happens to descend from the dialect prevailing near the seats of power and learning at the critical time when printing took off. It uses “you were”, and not “you was”, only because that dialect did so—not because “you were” is more logical.

Linguists know perfectly well, though, that standard English does have a social superiority, if not a grammatical one. It is the language of serious writing and formal speech. It binds together Dorset, Kent, Yorkshire and London, as well as Alabama, Massachusetts and California. It can be spoken with any accent, allowing a speaker from Belfast to talk to one from Johannesburg or Auckland with little misunderstanding.

But when linguists make this case, they are often misconstrued as saying students should not be marked down if, for instance, they write “you was” instead of “you were” when deploying standard English. No longer considering “you was” to be incorrect in formal prose would imply the end of any standard at all.

Even from the left-wing perspective that many academics share, that would be counterproductive. Sociolinguists are at pains to point out that all dialects are valuable to their speakers—Yorkshire English and so on persist for that very reason. But standard English is valuable to its speakers too. It is dear to those lucky enough to have it as their native tongue .

And there are ways to inculcate it without resorting to snobbery. To begin with, it helps to avoid irrelevant pet peeves. In a column in thereplying to Mr Hollmann and supposedly sticking up for standard English, Clare Foges was distracted by things like accent (saying

 

Thank you for your comment. Your comment will be published after being reviewed.
Please try again later.

Nuke 👉 iran 👉 tehran

But that would be un-American 😔

linguists would laugh at this. 'standard english' is a myth. though those who take it upon themselves to protect English from its speakers are always quite sure of their right to do so.

Bành Quang Nghị :) :D

Bit late. Mandarin is the thing now.

V2Chain gkc6662 FortunateBe heloyueyue gkcvvvv2 GBaoge phoenix_china PhoenixchainV2 dongge77576249 VitalikButerin GV2_phoenix gkcvswj wangfuwang1 yujuan88666 GKCax LJH6688 PEC PoS PhoenixChain GKC PEC PIE BTC NFT

I was introduced into his platform by a friend I met online Dennismayson9 . I thought it was a scam company as well.... But I was moved to try once again with Dennismayson9 I just wanna share this with my people, it was a WIN and i am GREATFUL.🙏🙏🙏🙏 GRATITUDES.

Lư Mỹ Tâm :) :D

I always see how people keep talking about lisamiaBTC on Twitter so I decided to give it a try and it worked out perfectly for me also, she knows in and out of cryptocurrency....contact her for more details about Bitcoin investment, nobody handles business like she do.

wow

We have summarized this news so that you can read it quickly. If you are interested in the news, you can read the full text here. Read more:

 /  🏆 6. in US

United States Latest News, United States Headlines

Similar News:You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.

I was taught my Afro-curly hair is ‘bad hair.’ I’m now teaching girls that it’s beautifulGrowing up in a Dominican household, my sisters and I would relax our hair. My mission today is to show young girls to love their hair just the way it is. I think her hair is beautiful. Your hair is beautiful
Source: TODAYshow - 🏆 389. / 55 Read more »

Ozy Media CEO calls co-founder's impersonation of YouTube executive 'heartbreaking''Look—it's heartbreaking, it's wrong, it's not good, it's not OK,' CEO Carlos Watson said of the company's co-founder impersonating a YouTube executive. DigitalTrendsN1 Hi! Do you need help with your business? We provide a vast range of services ranging from digital marketing to SEO services. Visit us!
Source: Newsweek - 🏆 468. / 52 Read more »

This Is Where They Invented Chic — See the Best Street Style From Paris Fashion WeekSee the best street style photos from Paris Fashion Week's spring 2022 season.
Source: POPSUGARFashion - 🏆 28. / 68 Read more »

Women in Kabul return to work, school and the streets, in defiance of the TalibanWomen in Kabul are defying the Taliban and returning to work or keeping up with their studies. 'I have no other option,' one woman says. 😏 Gutsy. Be strong! Be safe!
Source: CNN - 🏆 4. / 95 Read more »

What It Could Mean If You Have Stomach Cramps After EatingSometimes it’s normal—other times it’s not.
Source: SELFmagazine - 🏆 478. / 51 Read more »

Is It Versace by Fendi or Fendi by Versace?Is it Versace by Fendi or Fendi by Versace? It’s a cry for help like most my post 😂 Either way we want 7he Truth Based off looks, looks like Versace by Fendi to me. Lol
Source: ELLE Magazine (US) - 🏆 472. / 51 Read more »