This is a very rich and interesting discussion. I'm just a little 
uncomfortable with reducing the notion of "well-formedness" to adherence 
to the standard. We remember the words of Lincoln, Roosevelt, Kennedy, 
and King, not because of the absence of error, but because of the 
presence of so much more. I would argue that Obama is going to school 
with those masters. His Iowa victory speech had a number of examples of 
parallel phrasing carried to unusual lengths. It's no accident that so 
many, myself included, were inspired by it. Last night, I heard "We are 
the change we have been waiting for," which is as memorable for its 
phrasing as it is for its substance. Even conservative pundits speak of 
being moved by his speeches.
   I'm impressed--even occasionally dismayed--by how well all these 
candidates stay "on message." McCain and Huckabee seem the most 
unscripted. But to my ear, Obama has the best speeches.

Craig


Edmond Wright wrote:
> Herb,
>
> I was fascinated by your account of the early beginnings of Standard
> English.  It well illustrates its connection with the centres of power and
> influence that existed through  the centuries.  It seems that 'les bourgeois
> gentilhommes' of the American middle-class of the nineteenth century did not
> react against it as far as the education they approved of was concerned.  In
> Britain, of course, the class divisions, exacerbated by the separation of
> the so-called 'public' schools (that is, the private schools) for the
> children of the wealthy from the state's 'elementary' system (significantly
> named), served to maintain Standard English as the language of the ruling
> class as well as that of academia.  That remains a fact that has sedimented
> itself through history.  The reaction of the young faculty member you
> mention can still be matched today.
>
> On British television it is de rigueur for any commentator, manager or
> player in the world of football not to speak in Standard English, but in
> what remains of their local dialect.  One has only to listen to one of the
> most popular radio programmes, 'Today' (6.00 a.m. to 9.00 a.m., BBC 4),
> which surveys the day's news and you will find that the voices that comment
> on matters political and cultural adopt Standard English and those
> interviewed on sport (except cricket and tennis) sedulously avoid it.
> Naturally, no one comments on this blatant division -- it would be bad form.
>
> Change is possible.  This last week in Britain there has been much talk of
> the 'public' schools being divested of the tax privileges that they have
> been accorded for over a hundred years, that is, they -- incongruous as it
> may seem -- are considered to be charity institutions and are thus free of
> the taxes that other profit-making institutions have to pay.  Typically, the
> response of public school headteachers has been to say that they are very
> ready to take in some BRIGHT working-class pupils!
>
> However, the situation is far from simple.  Local dialects have evolved to
> deal with the subtleties of working-class life, and, from a linguistic point
> of view, are no worse than those of any other speech group, exhibiting a
> strongly figurative character, as well as serving to strengthen the
> sociality of those who are born to them.  Nevertheless, they are not
> adequate to enter into the global world of educated culture precisely
> because they lack a global reach.  Like it or not, Standard English is now
> fixedly an international standard.  No one would expect a writer of a
> physics article to write with the vocabulary and syntax of a lifelong
> inhabitant of the Gorbals (Glasgow's working-class district) -- though one
> certainly could expect a poet to.
>
> There is therefore a peculiar challenge for a teacher:  there is a huge
> prejudice to overcome in teaching Standard English.  There should be no
> attempt to disparage or replace the adherence to the student's own mode of
> speech.  This must be held to at the same time as making the student
> virtually bilingual.  After all, this is what the 'grammar' schools
> originally did, namely, make the students proficient in the international
> language of Latin.
>
> Edmond
>
>
> Dr. Edmond Wright
> 3 Boathouse Court
> Trafalgar Road
> Cambridge
> CB4 1DU
> England
>
> Email: [log in to unmask]
> Website: http://people.pwf.cam.ac.uk/elw33/
> Phone [00 44] (0)1223 350256
>
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