{"id":59789,"date":"2021-10-09T03:16:25","date_gmt":"2021-10-09T07:16:25","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/world.edu\/?p=59789"},"modified":"2021-10-09T03:16:25","modified_gmt":"2021-10-09T07:16:25","slug":"five-things-people-get-wrong-about-standard-english","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/world.edu\/five-things-people-get-wrong-about-standard-english\/","title":{"rendered":"Five things people get wrong about standard English"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"When I recently\u00a0explained<\/a>\u00a0why teaching grammar in primary school still matters, Radio 4\u2019s Today programme invited me\u00a0to debate<\/a>\u00a0the importance of standard English. My opponent was Nevile Gwynne, a British private tutor, author and, as presenter Nick Robinson put it, a \u201cstickler for the right sort of grammar\u201d.<\/p>\n

Robinson asked that I explain my position, which is as follows: standard English\u00a0should not be presented<\/a>\u00a0in the national curriculum as the only correct form, but as what it is, which is the socially most prestigious form. Saying it is the only correct way to speak puts those children who don\u2019t speak that way from birth at a\u00a0disadvantage<\/a>.<\/p>\n

How so? Well, if your teacher tells you that \u201cI was going to the shops\u201d is the only correct way to say it, and if that\u2019s how you\u2019ve always said it, you\u2019re going to have an easier time than another child who, at home, has always said, \u201cI were going to the shops\u201d, and has to change the way they speak when they get to school.<\/p>\n

\u201cDoes it really matter,\u201d Robinson asked Gwynne, \u201cif I say, \u2018I were going to the shops\u2019?\u201d<\/p>\n

It absolutely does, came Gwynne\u2019s reply. \u201cIf you say, \u2018I were\u2019, you\u2019re just not thinking straight\u201d.<\/p>\n

This position is as absurd as it is misguided. It implies that the\u00a085% to 88%<\/a>\u00a0of the UK population that speak non-standard forms of English, not to mention the many millions of people elsewhere in the world who speak non-standard varieties of English, cannot think clearly.<\/p>\n

And that\u2019s before you dig into the history of the language. Is that really a claim anyone wants to level against, well, every English speaker before\u00a01400<\/a>, which is when what we now think of as standard English in Britain first emerged?<\/p>\n

The\u00a0op-eds<\/a>\u00a0that have since\u00a0followed<\/a>\u00a0go further in demonstrating the widespread misunderstandings of what standard English is. Here then, a debunking of the five major myths.
\n

\"\"

Beowulf, the medieval epic, is written in a non-standard form of English. The Picture Art Collection \/ Alamy Stock Photo<\/p><\/div><\/p>\n

1. Grammar and standard English grammar are the same thing<\/strong><\/h4>\n

Despite what some would\u00a0argue<\/a>, it is not contradictory to advocate for\u00a0grammar to be taught<\/a>\u00a0and for standard English to be presented simply as one variety.<\/p>\n

It is just as valid to tell a child that \u201cwere\u201d in the non-standard clause \u201cI were\u201d is a verb, as it is to point to \u201cwas\u201d in the standard clause \u201cI was\u201d. Both observations will help the child learn what a verb is, as opposed to a noun.<\/p>\n

Discussing non-standard forms non-judgmentally may also help many children and parents feel less\u00a0intimidated<\/a>\u00a0in and around school. Teachers might explore instances of non-standard conjugation. They might explain, for example, that\u00a0some speakers in Lancashire<\/a>\u00a0use \u201cwere\u201d instead of \u201cwas\u201d, while others actually say \u201cwas\u201d instead of \u201cwere\u201d. The key here is for the teacher not to label Lancashire (or any other variety) as wrong but simply as a different dialect.<\/p>\n

2. There is only one standard English<\/strong><\/h4>\n

English is a global language. And precisely because of this worldwide spread, there are\u00a0several, different standard forms<\/a>, including standard Scottish, Australian and American English.<\/p>\n

A New Yorker, for example, who moves to London may well say \u201cgotten\u201d instead of the English Standard English \u201cgot\u201d. The notion that there is a single, monolithic standard English \u2013 be that across the world, in the UK or in England \u2013 is a fiction.<\/p>\n

Standard English is best characterised as the most prestigious dialect in those countries where it is spoken as a first language. It is highly codified in grammar books and dictionaries and used especially in formal writing.<\/p>\n

Unlike regional dialects, it is not tied to a particular part of the country but rather to a segment \u2013 the\u00a0upper segment<\/a>\u00a0\u2013 of the social scale. Much like other dialects, though, it continues to\u00a0change<\/a>.
\n

\"\"

Schoolchildren in New York, Adelaide and Vancouver are taught slightly different standardised forms of the English language. Richard Levine \/ Alamy Stock Photo<\/p><\/div><\/p>\n

3. Standard English and Received Pronunciation are the same thing<\/strong><\/h4>\n

Standard English is not about speaking in\u00a0a posh accent<\/a>. Linguists\u00a0concur<\/a>\u00a0that anyone who speaks in the accent known as received pronunciation (RP) will also use the words and grammar that make up standard English. However, not all speakers of standard English have the same\u00a0accent<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Of the UK population, only\u00a03%<\/a>\u00a0speak in RP, whereas standard English is the home dialect of\u00a012 to 15%<\/a>. The expressions \u201cI was\u201d and \u201cI were\u201d do not represent variation in terms of accent but between standard and non-standard English.<\/p>\n

4. Standard English is the only variety with clear rules<\/strong><\/h4>\n

Some critics defend standard English by stating, essentially, that its rules are crucial for people to\u00a0understand each other<\/a>. However, non-standard varieties of the English language also have grammatical rules.<\/p>\n

I have\u00a0written<\/a>\u00a0about Lancashire speakers who say \u201cI gave it him\u201d rather than \u201cI gave him it\u201d or \u201cI gave it to him\u201d. For them, that\u2019s a rule. Following it does not lead to a lack of clarity.<\/p>\n

In fact, non-standard varieties can provide greater clarity. Take the word \u201cyou\u201d. English used to differentiate between \u201cthou\u201d, to address one person, and \u201cyou\u201d, for talking to two or more. Modern versions of numerous other languages, including French, Polish and Punjabi, still make this distinction. Standard English, by contrast, only has \u201cyou\u201d, which is ambiguous. Many non-standard varieties are clearer: they have\u00a0plural forms<\/a>\u00a0such as \u201cyous\u201d, \u201cy\u2019all\u201d or \u201cyins\u201d.<\/p>\n

5. You need Standard English in order to think straight<\/strong><\/h4>\n

Elitist and classist, this fifth myth around standard English perfectly encapsulates why treating all dialects non-judgmentally is vital. It is important that it be taught as part of the national curriculum, particularly for use in formal writing. But\u00a0many educational linguists<\/a>\u00a0agree that presenting it as the only correct way \u2013 and by extension, telling a child they speak in an incorrect or wrong way \u2013 is humiliating. It can discourage them from\u00a0engaging<\/a>\u00a0fully in education. And that can only ever\u00a0harm<\/a>\u00a0both the individuals concerned and society at large.<\/p>\n

Author Bio:<\/strong> Willem Hollmann is Professor of Linguistics at Lancaster University<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

When I recently\u00a0explained\u00a0why teaching grammar in primary school still matters, Radio 4\u2019s Today programme invited me\u00a0to debate\u00a0the importance of standard English. My opponent was Nevile Gwynne, a British private tutor, author and, as presenter Nick Robinson put it, a \u201cstickler for the right sort of grammar\u201d. Robinson asked that I explain my position, which is […]\n… learn more→<\/a><\/p>","protected":false},"author":33,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[15645],"tags":[422027],"coauthors":[11733],"class_list":["post-59789","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-education","tag-standard-english"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nFive things people get wrong about standard English - World leading higher education information and services<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/world.edu\/five-things-people-get-wrong-about-standard-english\/\" class=\"yoast-seo-meta-tag\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" class=\"yoast-seo-meta-tag\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" class=\"yoast-seo-meta-tag\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Five things people get wrong about standard English - World leading higher education information and services\" class=\"yoast-seo-meta-tag\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"When I recently\u00a0explained\u00a0why teaching grammar in primary school still matters, Radio 4\u2019s Today programme invited me\u00a0to debate\u00a0the importance of standard English. 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