1 Qiong Liu Critique 2 Apling623 Fall 2012 Introduction to Sociolinguistics Critique The first chapter of An Introduction to Sociolinguistics gives an overview of the interwoven and inseparable relationship between language and society. The author cites Chomsky’s notion of competence and performance to discuss the relationship between language and society (Waldhaugh, 2006). According to Chomsky (1965, pp. 3-4 ), competence refers to the possible description of rules and principles of a language itself; competence refers to a language user’s ability to successfully use the language in relation to complicated psychological, social and genetic factors (Waldhaugh, 2010). The first chapter of An Introduction to Sociolinguistics also discusses the distinction between sociolinguistics and sociology of language (Waldaugh, 2010). According to Waldaugh (2010), sociolinguistics is concerned with investigating the relationships between language and society with the goal being a better understanding of the structure of language and of how languages function in communication, while another desired outcome of studying the sociology of language is trying to discover how social structures can be better understood through the study of language. Lastly, the first chapter of An Introduction to Sociolinguistics presents the methodological concerns in terms of research and data interpretation due to the fact that the scope of questions and data in sociolinguistics is wide (Waldhaugh, 2006). According to Waldhaugh (2010), there are several possible relationships between language and society. The first two relationships are very informative and inspiring to me and appeared to be distinct themes. One theme is that social structure may either influence, or determine, linguistic structure (Waldhaugh, 2010). Conversely, a second theme is that linguistic 2 structure and /or behavior may either influence or determine social structures (Waldhaugh, 2010). I synthesized this to mean that individuals’ linguistic structures and their development are interdependent with the social structures and the varying cultures of different individuals from different social backgrounds. I believe bias toward “unaccepted” linguistic use can become present and impact some individuals tremendously who do not have mastery or awareness of the current “desired” or “dominant” linguistic structures in society. This type of linguistic bias appeared to happen to my adult African American friend and colleague who was an educational assistant at the public school where I work. He grew up in an urban area in Virginia Beach with a large population of African Americans. He grew up and developed a unique linguistic style due to the culture and related societal experiences that he had during his early development and academic life. When this man took the MTEL for the Communication and Literacy requirement the first time, he passed everything except the writing component. He continued to fail the writing component of the test multiple times. He was never given feedback from those who failed him in order to give him guidance in terms of the expectations regarding a “passing” essay. As he was about to give up, he was given instruction and tutoring by a special education teacher that he worked with who was raised in Massachusetts and who had a strong command of the “accepted” linguistic structures that those grading the writing test expected. This teacher guided him to learn linguistic structures that would be accepted by those who were grading his essay. Finally, he passed because he was able to conform to the linguistic expectations of those individuals who were grading him, and repeatedly, failing his essay. In my African American friend’s own opinion, his knowledge-base did not change and allow him to finally pass the writing portion of the test; the only thing that changed was his linguistic presentation of his knowledge-base. 3 Personally, I have found myself in this situation during my graduate program. I am often afraid that the way that I present my understandings of concepts in writing may cause me to fail or underachieve because of my application of the linguistic structures that I learned throughout my life, which is not “accepted” or “desired” by some of my professors. If my friend who I mentioned regarding failing the MTEL had continued to fail, at least he could have had other career options, perhaps, and achieved professional success that he felt satisfied with throughout his life; however, he has great compassion and empathy for those secondary education students who do not do very well in an academic setting due to their use of different linguistic structures. He felt, and I agree, that secondary school students who encounter the same situation that he encountered may not graduate from high school if all the teachers simply follow the rigid grading rubrics in relation to their perceptions about what is the “accepted” and “correct” linguistic structure. For example, a previous MCAS Long Composition writing prompt had asked students to write about their “perfect vacation.” Some English language learners may have been able to communicate clearly what their perfect vacation was; however, some of them were probably not able to pass the MCAS Long Composition because of their “deviant” use of the English language in regard to linguistic structures. As a result, those students might get a high school certificate of attendance and attend a small college, instead of getting a high school diploma that could allow them an opportunity to attend a more prestigious college. In fact, they may become completely disenfranchised with school and never pursue advanced education as a result. Their futures could be compromised significantly in regard to professional and career opportunities. 4 This first chapter of An Introduction to Sociolinguistics and the themes I identified provoked me to think about the following questions: 1. How do we train teachers to be aware of the linguistic differences between English language learners and the expected, or accepted, language use? 2. Where is the empathy for the students who can convey academic ideas clearly, but who are not able to present their ideas very successfully on paper? 3.) Is there only one linguistic structure that can be used to display academic understanding? 4.) Do we need to make an academic shift in our grading of diverse students in relation to their use of different linguistic structures, as long as the conceptual understanding is present or displayed? 5 References: Waldhaugh (2010), Introduction, PP. 1-20 Chomsky, N. (1965). Aspects of the Theory of Syntax. Cambridge, MA: MIT Press