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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
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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.
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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.
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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?
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References:
Waldhaugh (2010), Introduction, PP. 1-20
Chomsky, N. (1965). Aspects of the Theory of Syntax. Cambridge, MA: MIT Press