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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