Brad’s comment on learning about English from a non-native
speaker invites the inference that English somehow belongs to a traditional
native-speaking population, however that might be defined. That
population is often thought to be made up of those who’ve grown up in
English-speaking countries like Britain, Ireland, Australia, New Zealand, South
Africa, Canada, and the US. But then India and Pakistan have as long a
history of native English speaking as Australia, New Zealand, and South
Africa. The fact that English is now a global language means that its
traditional homelands can no longer claim ownership. There are world
regional standard varieties of English that have all the legitimacy of
American, British, etc., including Middle Eastern, various East Asian standards,
and Continental European. Speakers of these dialects have frequently
grown up as native speakers, usually bilingual, of English and at least their
home language, often one or two others. What distinguishes them is that
in their English education they have generally studied more formal traditional
grammar than British or American speakers because their cultures haven’t
abandoned grammar instruction as we have over the last half century. I
suspect the two Chinese professors mentioned were bilingual native speakers of
English who had that educational background.
This, of course, bears only on courses about English. As Johanna
noted, linguistics is about language, not just about English, so the first language
of the teacher doesn’t really matter.
Herb
From: Assembly for the
Teaching of English Grammar [mailto:[log in to unmask]] On Behalf Of Cynthia
Baird
Sent: 2008-02-15 00:18
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: Re: pronunciation of "been"
Hey, Bob! I often feel shy about adding to his
listserve. And you're a professor and I'm just a high school English teacher!
My "lovable linguistics professor" was quite an
oddity. He was Chinese by birth and ethnicity, raised and educated in New
Zealand, but he taught me more about the English language than any of my
native-USA or British-born professors ever taught me. Go figure.
I don't know where this thread is going, but I what I'd like
to say is that no one has the last word on the English language and that many
second language learners know more about the English language than
first-language users do!
"Miller, Robert" <[log in to unmask]> wrote: