ENG 313 Research Presentation
Transcript of ENG 313 Research Presentation
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Linguistic
Variance intheClassroom
A Presentation by Emily Mullins
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Language variety does not correlate with intelligence orcompetence.
Stereotypical associations of certain varieties of Englishwith professional and intellectual competence.
One linguistic myth nearly universally attached to allminorities, rural people, the less well-educated, and even
the well-educated of some regional varieties is that somevarieties 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.
Language Variety vs. Intelligence andCompetence
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Regional Differences
Each region has its own social stratification.
Every area has a share of both standard and
nonstandard speakers.
Theres a widespread belief that in the USsome 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.
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o You Speak American?Mean scores of therankings for correct
English of the fiftystates by south-
eastern Michigan
respondents (1=worst
English; 10=best
English)
Apparently
Michiganders think
very highly of
ourselves in terms of
language and definitely
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Dialect Areas
To the right a hand
drawn map of a
Michigan
respondents idea of
the dialect areas of
the US
What is normal then?
Who decides?
Boundaries Labels i.e. Hillbillies
Linguisticdesignations: drawl,
twang, slang, speed
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Linguistic Insecurity
Above: Mean scores of
the rankings for
correct English by
Alabama students
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
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Pleasant English
Above: Mean scores of
the rankings for
pleasant English by
Alabama students
Alabamastudents find
theirs the most
pleasant
Less friendly
aspects of
speech as move
North
Both find NYC
the least
pleasant
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Confirming the Myth
Respondents all over the US confirm the myththat 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
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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 andvariety education
Revitalization of folk linguistics and perceptual
dialectology
Published in multiple books focusing on regionaldifferences
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Preston Interview EM: How do we show students we value their
language, although it may not be as standardas others?
DP: Two principle ways--One: Languages
always change (ex. Axe, ask, axion). Standardlanguage 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 doesnt mean it is a breaking
of these rules. All language varieties have rules
and they are each systematic. They know what
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Interview Cont.
EM: Do you have advice for teachers (how toapproach dialects, ebonics, AAV, etc)?
DP: You have to know something about them.So do the research and know your targetaudience. Like its 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. :)
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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 isnt worth much either. Theres a
serious devaluing of people. The language itselfisnt ugly. Nonstandard languages are devalued
because of the people. Two, language is an
ideology. Linguistic prejudices exist because
people believe in the stereotypical connotations
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Thank you Dennis!Dennis wants to remindteachers to remind
students that ourlanguage 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 proudof. If you speak a different
dialect, you can know just
as much about the
En lish lan ua e as the
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Code SwitchingPeople who code switch (regularly mixing words
or phrases from more than one language withinsentences) are thought to be unable to speak the
languages very well. (Usually the opposite is
true.)
Is code switching then okay in the classroom, oris it bad practice?
Can you distinguish instances where speakersshift speech styles between AAV and Standard
English?
Why might a speaker employ one style rather
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International Students: Dr.Matsuda
Often stigmatized for being differentAlways should maintain 1st language-directly
associated with learning 2nd language
Identify those with language needs early on. In-classdiagnostic writing. I want to know what your writinglooks like.
Be sensitive to student identity positioning. Is itpatronizing 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
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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 astandard vernacular?
Should you change the way you speak as a teacher to
reinforce the importance of linguistic variation instudents or simply accept other dialects? But is not
accepting other dialects a form of monologic
discourse?
Should we teach writing to include other vernaculars?
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Thank you!