Linguistic
Variance in the
Classroom
A Presentation by Emily Mullins
Language Variety vs. Intelligence and
Competence
Language variety does not correlate with intelligence or
competence.
Stereotypical associations of certain varieties of English with
professional and intellectual competence.
One linguistic myth nearly universally attached to all minorities,
rural people, the less well-educated, and even the well-educated of
some regional varieties is that some varieties of language are not
as good as others.
Some varieties of a language are more standard than others. This
is selected through purely social processes.
Regional Differences
Each region has its own social stratification.
Every area has a share of both standard and
nonstandard speakers.
There’s a widespread belief that in the US some
regional varieties are more standard than others and
some are far from standard (i.e. the South and NY)
The evidence of this belief stems from what real
people believe about language.
Do You Speak American?
Mean scores of the
rankings for ‘correct
English’ of the fifty states
by south-eastern Michigan
respondents (1=worst
English; 10=best English)
Apparently Michiganders
think very highly of
ourselves in terms of
language and definitely do
not think we speak a
dialect.
Dialect Areas
To the right a hand drawn
map of a Michigan
respondent’s idea of the
dialect areas of the US
What is normal then?
Who decides?
Boundaries
Labels i.e. Hillbillies
Linguistic designations:
drawl, twang, slang,
speed (slow/fast)
Linguistic Insecurity
Southerners suffer
from linguistic
security
They do not rate
themselves at the
top of the heap as
Michiganders do
Associate ‘correct
English’ with some
official or national
status
Above: Mean scores of the
rankings for ‘correct
English’ by Alabama
students
Pleasant English
Alabama students
find theirs the most
pleasant
Less friendly
aspects of speech
as move North
Both find NYC the
least pleasant
Above: Mean scores of the
rankings for ‘pleasant
English’ by Alabama
students
Confirming the Myth
Respondents all over the US confirm the myth that
some regions speak better English than others, and the
South and NYC are always implicated as being at the
bottom of the pile.
Stereotypes continue to remain embedded in our culture
and in the classroom.
Linguistic insecurity in the classroom
Belief in superiority or inferiority of different varieties
Dennis
Preston
Distinguished Professor of Linguistics
Co-director of the 1990 TESOL Institute
President of American Dialect Society
His work focuses on sociolinguistics, dialectology, and
ethnography, and minority language and variety
education
Revitalization of folk linguistics and perceptual
dialectology
Published in multiple books focusing on regional
differences
Preston Interview
EM: How do we show students we value their
language, although it may not be as standard as
others?
DP: Two principle ways--One: Languages always
change (ex. Axe, ask, axion). Standard language is
not logical. Like mathematical logic, non standard
forms still have logic to them. Two: Show people that
nonstandard languages are structures and if it is
nonstandard, that doesn’t mean it is a breaking of
these rules. All language varieties have rules and they
are each systematic. They know what they want to
say so they must be following the rules.
Interview Cont.
EM: Do you have advice for teachers (how to
approach dialects, ebonics, AAV, etc)?
DP: You have to know something about them. So do
the research and know your target audience. Like it’s
a really cool idea that if you teach math, you should
know math. You want to know their history, the major
constructions, etc. Also, you could always hang out
with linguists. :)
Interview Cont.
EM: Why do we think the belief that some languages
are better than others preoccupies Americans? How
does one speak American?
DP: One, prejudice, sexism, racism, any of the -isms
really. I am this and I have this dialect therefore others
are bad, we show that their language isn’t worth much
either. There’s a serious devaluing of people. The
language itself isn’t ugly. Nonstandard languages are
devalued because of the people. Two, language is an
ideology. Linguistic prejudices exist because people
believe in the stereotypical connotations that are
Interview Cont.
EM: Some kids are linguistically stereotyped, how do
we show students their dialect is to be valued?
DP: You could have projects that discover rules of
nonstandard varieties. Just like a student could be
really fast or beautiful, they also have their language to
offer. You should engage them in looking at their own
language varieties. They could teach other students
about their language--discussing the role of rules as
mini-instructors. Secondly, students can’t magically
speak standard English from the beginning. What they
do write or say has to be “accepted”; red ink from
teachers is bad and you should discuss the difference
Thank
you
Dennis!
Dennis wants to remind
teachers to remind students
that our language expresses
out identity and reflects who
we are and who we want to
be. Language is not
something to be ashamed of
but something to embrace
and to be proud of. If you
speak a different dialect, you
can know just as much about
the English language as the
Michigander sitting next to
Code Switching
People who code switch (regularly mixing words or
phrases from more than one language within
sentences) are thought to be unable to speak the
languages very well. (Usually the opposite is true.)
Is code switching then okay in the classroom, or is it
bad practice?
Can you distinguish instances where speakers shift
speech styles between AAV and Standard English?
Why might a speaker employ one style rather than
another?
International Students: Dr.
Matsuda
Often stigmatized for being different
Always should maintain 1st language-directly associated
with learning 2nd language
Identify those with language needs early on. In-class
diagnostic writing. “I want to know what your writing looks
like.”
Be sensitive to student identity positioning. Is it patronizing to
ask them to write about their home or first language? Is their
home here now?
Use multiple modes of classroom communication
Free writing before speak, wait time, multiple examples,
Debriefing Questions
Should there be a standard for writing in classes vs. standards
for speech?
Is the way the teacher speaks, the way all the students should
speak?
Do minority students feel marginalized by the use of a
standard vernacular?
Should you change the way you speak as a teacher to
reinforce the importance of linguistic variation in students or
simply accept other dialects? But is not accepting other
dialects a form of monologic discourse?
Should we teach writing to include other vernaculars?
Thank you!