Standard vs. Nonstandard Dialects in the Classroom
In recent years, American school systems have had much problems dealing with students who speak in a dialect of non-standard English. In the article, “The Study of Nonstandard English,” author, William Labov, raises a topic of special interest, in which he examines the relationship of teachers and speakers of non-standard English within the classroom setting. According to Labov’s main argument, “nonstandard English is a system of rules, different from the standard but not necessarily inferior as a means of communication.” The author does a great job stating the problems faced by the urban ghettos in educational systems, and effectively give a guideline that teaches must have a knowledge of grammatical rules used in non-standard English speakers to minimize conflicts in the classroom. The underlying fact is, nonstandard English is by no means inferior to Standard English.
The article is divided into two sections: the ways teachers approach students who speak in a nonstandard dialect, in which there’s a nonstandard dialects has it’s independent grammatical structures referred to as having its own “self-contained” systems, which include elements of semantics and syntax of both standard and nonstandard English; and looking at the grammatical rules of pronouns usage in both English and how they are linked. The first section is valued because it contains the main claims for Labov’s arguments. Here, he highlights the issue at hand, which is the fact that in American educational systems, speakers of a different dialect is placed in a group and is seen as speakers of a nonstandard English, which is seen as a flawed replica of standardized English. However, in this article, Labov states that nonstandard English is not a secluded item in itself, but a fundamental part of a more superior sociolinguistic structure of English as a language.
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The second section of the article addresses the grammatical rules of suburban ghetto dialects and its relativity to Standard English. The author uses specific examples of syntax and semantics in nonstandard English as related to those of Standard English to present the nature of language and the principles that have emerged form sociolinguistics research over the past decade. Nonetheless, Standard English is being taught in school, and serves it’s an integral role of the school system to teach Standard English in the curriculum when it comes to reading and writing. Finally, Labov’s only hope in this article is to make teachers more informed about nonstandard dialects and it’s structures as related to Standard English. This will keep them in touch with their students’ dialect and in a ripple effect, will allow both the student and teacher to make full use of the teaching materials.
The author, Labov, does a great job stating the problems faced by the urban ghetto students in educational systems in America, and effectively give a guideline of grammatical rules used in non-standard English speakers to support his arguments, which states that nonstandard English is by no means inferior to Standard English. Rather than offering something different, Labov’s articles looks directly at nonstandard English not as a separate language but as a fundamental part of English language itself. Everybody speaks in a dialect. Given the definition which states that, “dialects are mutually intelligible forms of a language that differ in systematic ways” (430), it is conceived from the definition that dialect of nonstandard English should not be degraded since it’s mutually intelligible meaning that both parties in a discourse is able to understand each other.
Aferican American Vernacular English (AAVE) is mutually intelligible but because of syntactic and semantics of the grammatical rules governing this dialect, it may spark problems between of comprehension. Black dialect is rich in slangs, which are words or phrases that are invented and are not standard American English. Problems may arise when the teacher is unable to comprehend what the student speaks or even writes. According to Labov, Teachers should be able to understand the vernacular of nonstandard students in order to minimize problems that may seem prejudice against these students. For instance, ‘I’ and ‘e’ phonetics are the same sound and “He tired” is the vernacular contracted from “he’s tired.” Labov states that simply having knowledge of the phonetics and syntax of vernacular would save both the students and teacher frustration and time. This doesn’t make nonstandard English inferior or degraded to Standard American English because every body speaks in his/her or own idiolect (the individual’s dialect is mirrored in the way he/she speaks and the grammar that individual uses).
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To appreciate a student’s idiolect, the teacher must understand the system rules, which govern nonstandard English. Labov, in his article, examines these rules and compare them to Standard English. A teacher would be more successful having a student write the correct form of English if he presents the standard rules of English to the student. For instance, if a teacher presents the rule which states that you have to add “an” to the beginning of a vowel word and “a” in front of a consonant word, a nonstandard negro English students is most likely to write the proper form of “an apple” instead of the way he/she might say it: “a apple.” Another example is the misuse of the verb to be by black nonstandard English speakers. Labov looks that the ways in which these students use semantics in their speech. For instance, it is common for a black vernacular student to say “he always be foolin’ around,” (545) or “I be here” instead of he is always fooling around or I am here. Here, even though the student’s meaning is the same as the Standard English, teachers are to accept the students speech and teach them the standard English grammatical rules. In this way students will be able to switch from dialect to dialect according to the setting that individual is put in.
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In the article by Mary B. Dean and Elaine D. Fowler, “An Argument for Appreciation of Dialect differences in the classroom,” there’s an argument for an appreciation of dialect differences in the classroom. Like Labov, these authors agree that there are no inferior dialects to Standard English. This claim is supported by “Bidialectal Theory,” which states that “a person has a right to speak the dialect of his home but that a person has a right to speak the dialect of his home but that the person will learn standard English since it is “necessary” in certain situations” (303).
This theory states that standard and Black dialects are related and one is not better or superior to the other when it comes to purposes of communication through speech. However, like Labov, Dean and Fowler agrees that Standard English is necessary for the mainstream role of the American educational system since reading and writing is done in Standard English in schools.
Indeed, there’s no inferior dialect to Standard English, but under the Bidialectal Theory, a person must transition to Standard English depending on the environment or situation that individual is in. For instance, according to Dean and Fowler contend that nonstandard dialectal speakers should choose the appropriate dialect for each situation. In their claim, these authors didn’t fail to realize that:
First, although it is true from a linguistic viewpoint that all dialects are equal, it is also true from a social viewpoint that some dialects are considered more valuable than others in certain contexts. The linguistic relativity, then, does not take into account the social reality. Middle class individuals still rate Standard American English ad more desirable than Negro speech
There is a criterion, however, for selecting one language or dialect for use in a given situation; that criterion is ‘appropriateness’…. Appropriateness varies with the place and the participants in the conversation…. Because there are situations in which nonstandard is appropriate, it would be unwise to eradicate it in teaching Standard English. (303)
In the above statements, there is an account for the main purpose of bidialectualism; Even though bidialectualilists poses that both Standard English and Black dialect are valid ways of communicating, Standard English is ‘appropriate’ in certain situations such as writing papers, speaking to people in a job setting or class setting. In settings such as social places, speaking to friends and family members, talking on social networking websites, it is suggested that Black dialects are ‘appropriate.’
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In a classroom where students are unable to use Standard English in the appropriate setting, teachers should have knowledge of the phonetics, syntax, lexical and semantics of black vernacular English. This methodology, according to Labov will help minimize conflicts between the teacher and nonstandard dialectal student. Also, according to Dean and Fowler, this approach and taking into account the theory of bidialectalism will “provide the student a way to avoid the social stigmas attached to the culture that produces black dialect by speaking Standard English in the ‘appropriate’ situations, while still retaining the Black dialect for use in other situations” (304).
Given these resolutions, an individual should never try to chance the way he/she speaks, since, a dialect is neither inferior nor degraded.
Finally, resting on the point that nonstandard English is by no means illogical, degraded, or inferior to Standard English, according to Labov, Dean and Fowler, both teachers and students can work together to illuminate and minimize frustration and conflicts within a classroom setting. For Labov, teachers should have knowledge of the structures of the grammatical rules of nonstandard English, and teach these students standard grammatical rules of English. When this is accomplished, the students are made better bidialects and are able to use their dialects in the appropriate setting.
Works Cited
Dean, Mary B, and Elaine D. Fowler. “An Argument for Appreciation of Dialect Differences in the Classroom.” The Journal of Negro Education. 43.3 (1974).
302-309. Web. 14 July 2012.
Fromkin, Victoria, Robert Rodman and Nina Hyams. An Introduction to Language. Boston: Wadsworth Cengage Learning, 2011. Print.
Labov, William. “The Study of Nonstandard English.” In LANGUAGE: INTRODUCTORY
READINGS (5th edition).
Clark, Virginia P., Eschholz, Paul A., & Rosa, Alfred F. [Eds],
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