Language has rules. Abide by them.
March 26, 2008 · Filed Under Other Important Tips
We don’t mean to sound elitist here, but the rules of the English language have already been invented; you can’t just make them up as you go along. I could use any of 100 examples here, but one of the most recent examples to cross our desks is this one: “Another importance in my life is my schoolwork.” You can’t use “importance” like that; the writer should’ve said “Another important thing” instead. That one should’ve been eradicated by an English teacher way before this essay got to us. It’s OK if you don’t know all the rules of grammar and usage yourself, but it’s your responsibility to run your essay by someone who does before you send it in.
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5 Responses to “Language has rules. Abide by them.”
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As a linguistics and English professor, I can tell you that the rules of English, or any other language, are not set in stone and are constantly changing. Also, there is a specific and elitist set of individuals that tries to make us believe that we should be judged on our words, rather than what they mean. If we look at this example, it is clear what is meant, despite it being delivered in a variety of language that is of the spoken variety. The type of elitist language you are promoting here is closest to that already spoken by the White upper and upper middle class. This means that you are putting minority students and those from the lower classes at a disadvantage. Admittedly, I am part of the academic system that reinforces some of these ideas. But, I try to counter it from within. I temper my admonitions to my students by telling them that these are the ways in which you will be judged, but try to judge others on their ideas, not the language they are delivered in.
In our multicultural society, it would be nice if websites like this would take a moment to admit some of the problematic aspects of the system, rather than simply reinforcing a type of biased and empty dogma that is partially for the purpose of keeping minorities and the working class in their place.
However, this website is udeful for teaching my linguistics class about the inequities and dangers of this type of prescriptive language enforcement.
James, I’m happy you responded. You make some good, if obvious, points about language being fluid and different people using different language to communicate the same ideas. But most of your comments seize on the irrelevant, and if your teachings are typical of what the average student hears in college with regard to the importance of writing and communication, then you and your colleagues are certainly part of the problem. I’ll briefly reply to your ideas that are most in need of redirection:
1) You contend that “there is a specific and elitist set of individuals that tries to make us believe that we should be judged on our words, rather than what they mean.”
Setting aside the Skull-and-Bones Language Police conspiracy theory, you miss an obvious point. Until science perfects the mind-reading machine, the words one uses are the only way of communicating he/she means. Even if one student’s poor language skills (that’s real-worldspeak for “prescriptive language enforcement,” James) produce a semi-intelligible
idea, that student will still be routinely passed over (for many things, but let’s focus here on money and jobs) in favor of the students that speak the language that we Order of the Evil White Elitist Prescriptive-Language Conspiratorial Society Members speaks.
I am being facetious, of course. Maybe even a bit jocular. I definitely hope you use this site as an example for your students; it will pit theory versus practice and allow your students to decide whose comments are more relevant to their lives and their futures. You are obviously welcome, of course, to submit to your students that they “should” be able to use any language they wish to express their ideas and “should not” be judged for it. I would simply counter by saying, as sure as the sun will rise tomorrow, they “can’t” use any language they wish and they “will” be judged if they can’t communicate as others wish them to. Specifically, others from whom they desire scholarship money and, later on, jobs.
2) Despite our exacting standards of “prescriptive language enforcement,” working-class and minority students make up a huge portion of our scholarship winners, and always have. I know your strength is theory rather than practice, James, but practice and experience tell us that despite your low expectations, minorities and working class are surprisingly capable of learning to communicate in the language of higher lifeforms such as the “White Upper Class Whites.” We’re not as intractable as you think!
3) You say “it would be nice if websites like this would take a moment to admit some of the problematic aspects of the system….”
If you’re interested, you should read the entire site, which you clearly haven’t done. The site’s reason for being is to help students win scholarship money — period. Your students, and students nationwide, are profoundly lucky to have thousands of government-employed English lecturers to hold court on linguistic theory while they listen intently. My job is to teach students (even minorities and poor white kids, James) how to get scholarship money. There are only a handful of us who do this, so we leave the linguistic dogma discussions to you. There are plenty of you, and we are busy with other matters.
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As it turns out, I’ve really gone on and sort of made an example of James here. That’s not my normal M.O. and it wasn’t my original intent, but I wouldn’t post my response here if I didn’t intend for it to be instructive for future visitors. James is a perfect example of an academic who’s supposed to be helping students, but in fact is hurting them with bad advice. He feels entitled to dictate to those of us who — dare I remind everyone — spend thousands of dollars every year from our own pockets in order to help students pay for college. He says we’re doing it wrong, we’re not doing enough, and — wait for it… — we’re trying to keep minorities and poor whites in their place all the while! James would be comical if he wasn’t so typical.
But he is, and that’s why I replied to him publicly. I expect we’ll hear more from James (and I hope we hear from some of his students) and he’ll reveal even more of what I think you should be wary of. In any case, keep the comments and question coming!
Best,
Josh
I am an African-American student that went to school in the inner-city during the earlier years of my childhood and transferred to a school in the suburbs my the fourth grade year. Although I believe the way Mr. Barsch’s comments have been present were a little harsh, he’s speaking the absolute truth. Just as your students will not receive a scholarship from Straightforward.com for failing to follow the rules of the English language, they will probably also be looked over by a number of prestigous institutions for failure of following the rules of the English. Colleges and employers alike do not care where your students came from, they only care about what students they feel have the ability to get the job done (black and white students). You both seem to feel very strongly about your positions on this topic and I believe that you both have probably wrongly accused one another of being someone you are not. I see James as a concerned professor that sees so much potential in the students he teaches everyday, yet so many of them are forced to drop out of school so they’re not there long enough to learn the rules of the English language or what it really takes to succeed in the real world. I also see that reasons such as these sparked the very creation for this website (and as Josh stated before) had you read the entire contents of the website that reason would be apparent. Josh, your suggestions have been very helpful to me personally and James, your concerns make me feel proud that there are still teachers out there fighting for other blacks students such as myself. Maybe you two could find a common understanding and the both of you could work together, because it seems to me that your both working towards the same goal.
Randa: Thanks for your comments! I already think you have a great career ahead of you as a diplomat or a negotiator!
Good luck to you, and come back and comment more anytime!
Best,
Josh
All of that banter was interesting to read….
I am glad Randa replied. She obviously was able to rise above the public school systems’ dumbing down techniques of the past 20+ years.
Congratulations!
Way back in 1990, when my son attended a school that taught wholistic language (meaning, basically, anything goes as long as you attempt to communicate,) I exercised my right as a parent to see that he got a decent education in the language arts, which meant he would be taught to read well, spell correctly, and put together a grammatically correct sentence both verbally and in writing. There were no private schools nearby, so I withdrew him from first grade in the middle of the year, and home-schooled him.
I am constantly appalled at the lack of education that much of today’s youth seem to have. Young adults working cash registers do not know how to make change. College students do not know how to spell or write a simple essay with proper grammar and punctuation. Even “mature adults” (30-something and up) that I encounter do not know the difference between their and there, or it’s and its. Professional publications frequently have numerous errors. Even newsletters and informational flyers that SCHOOLS mail to parents have words spelled wrong. (Honestly, when the message from the principal has grammatical errors, how much faith does that instill in parents?)
I do not consider myself an elitist just because I expect American citizens to use proper English! The harsh reality of this life is that schools, jobs, and yes, even scholarships, are highly competetive and the better prepared and educated you are, the better chance you have over a less well-spoken person.
And, I personally resent the accusation that a person having those expectations makes that person prejudiced. It certainly seems, James, that you are the one doing the judging, not I.