Week Two: Speaking, Writing, and Inquiry. English Education, K-12

The Language Debate Continues

Readings discussed:
- ATLANTIC MONTHLY
Academic Ignorance and Black Intelligence
by William Labov

- Language, Register, and Genre by J.R Martin

While I have taken an 'Introduction to Linguistics' course, many educators have not. This is a concern amongst many supporters of varied dialects. In this particular reading, J.R. Martin starts off by explaining the differences between Systemic Linguistics and other schools of linguistics. Simply, Systemic Linguistics has an emphasis on choice, for example "What you say in relation to what you could have said", as well as a belief in having to understand context in order to understand the meaning of what is said.
This reading is very dense and technical, but it basically discusses how we subconsciously choose our words, tone, voice, mood, and theme in very complex manner, one that can be studied and dissected by genre, register, and dialect. This linguistic theory supports the idea of those who believe many dialects are unjustly stigmatized.
William Labov states that"This position holds that inner-city children do not necessarily have inferior mothers, language, or experience, but that the language, family style, and ways of living of inner-city children are significantly different from the standard culture of the classroom, and that this difference is not always properly understood by teachers and psychologists." So, if all language is created equal, then how should we teach? Should there be no rubric for "proper" language in school?
Not quite, there has to be organization and expectation for our students. Without guides and regulation we step further away from a globalized classroom and into a chaotic environment in which our children are not prepared to function in a society that values educational language.
Each learner has the right to learn standard languages, however, as Labov says, "They argue that everyone has the right to learn the standard languages and culture in reading and writing (and speaking, if they are so inclined); but this is the end result, not the beginning of the educational process. They do not believe that the standard language is the only medium in which teaching and learning can take place, or that the first step in education is to convert all first-graders to replicas of white middle-class suburban children." while this statement seems dramatic, it is quite true. Why, when students first enter school, is there not a forum for them to express themselves in a language that they are comfortable with? What are we achieving, as educators, by making students at such a young age feel as though they have failed us because of the way they speak? There should be a way to help students understand the validity of their "home" language", while also teaching them the importance and situational need for standard languages.


The Philadelphia Dialect

While this site might be slightly outdated, it is interesting to look at the linguistic ideas behind how Philadelphians speak.


"Naturally, Philadelphian has its own peculiar vocabulary. Some words are purely local, others are being used in other regions as well. Ten of the most commonly cited usages are as follows;
anymore, at the present time, currently.
baby coach= baby carriage.
bag school= skip school.
hoagie= submarine sandwich.
hotcake= pancake.
scrapple= a local breakfast dish.
square= city block.
pavement= sidewalk.
yo= hey there; hello.
youse= you all, you plural."

I found some of these examples to be particularly hilarious, especially scrapple (apparently no one can explain what it actually is) and, of course, listed is the ever popular "hoagie vs. sub" debate. It is interesting that these words were chosen while some of them are clearly used in many urban environments and others I have never heard before (note: Jawn is not listed, which is a shame)