ATEG Archives

July 2006

ATEG@LISTSERV.MIAMIOH.EDU

Options: Use Monospaced Font
Show Text Part by Default
Show All Mail Headers

Message: [<< First] [< Prev] [Next >] [Last >>]
Topic: [<< First] [< Prev] [Next >] [Last >>]
Author: [<< First] [< Prev] [Next >] [Last >>]

Print Reply
Subject:
From:
Craig Hancock <[log in to unmask]>
Reply To:
Assembly for the Teaching of English Grammar <[log in to unmask]>
Date:
Thu, 6 Jul 2006 22:49:38 -0400
Content-Type:
text/plain
Parts/Attachments:
text/plain (40 lines)
Here's a working draft of a position on standard English

Position on Standard English

1)  Each student has a right to the tools necessary to a confident and
competent public voice, including an understanding of Standard English.
   a)  We define Standard English as the language of mainstream American
public life.  It is not inherently better or more “correct” than
minority or regional dialects, but valuable in being the shared
language of public life.  Community languages that differ from it
should be thought of as valuable community languages and important
resources, as nonstandard, but not incorrect or wrong.
    b)  Standard English is better described by the corpus grammars than
by the prescriptive handbooks, which are often at odds with current
practice and generations behind.  It is a living, viable, changing
language, not a rigid and set one, and it gets much of its vitality
from the contributions of a diverse people. Students should have a
deep enough understanding of language to weigh prescriptive advice.
Students should be encouraged to look closely at the work of writers
they admire. They should understand that Standard English includes
many levels of formality and that language conventions differ widely
in different public domains.
    c)  Written languages require somewhat arbitrary conventions for the
representation of language in a written form, and students should have
the tools necessary for mastery of these.  This includes standardized
spelling, including spelling that shades into syntax. It also includes
a deep enough understanding of syntax to fully understand the syntax
based conventions for punctuation.  We do not believe most people can
master punctuation on the basis of intuition or “feel”, especially if
those are meant to lead toward conventional  choices defined in more
analytic ways. This also includes attribution conventions, which are
important tools in ensuring honesty and integrity in the language of
academic and public life.

To join or leave this LISTSERV list, please visit the list's web interface at:
     http://listserv.muohio.edu/archives/ateg.html
and select "Join or leave the list"

Visit ATEG's web site at http://ateg.org/

ATOM RSS1 RSS2