The Logic Of Nonstandard English By William Labov

Having the insight as a former student and a present educator, Linda Christensen wrote about her views on the way English is taught to students in her essay“Teaching Standard English: Whose Standard?” Christensen

The reader disagrees with Rodriguez’s idea that other languages besides the primary language of a society cannot be used in the classroom. Rodriguez says that “it is not possible

However, it can be argued with (Bruner 1964) that social interaction doesn’t explain all the complexities of language acquisition. Almost every day the language we hear is often incorrect, poorly defined, incomplete and full of hesitations, mispronunciations and other errors, and yet despite this we still learn to talk following the correct grammatical rules. Again this indicates the idea of Chomsky’s (1968) LAD model that children are born ‘hard-wired’ with the innate knowledge of linguistic rules and so these rules help the baby make estimations and presumptions about the language it is hearing. From these estimations and presumption the child can work out grammatical sets of rules and when more language is exposed to them, the more their language develops. Even within Chomsky’s (1968) LAD theory, undoubtedly he believed the role and promotion of the ‘nature’ aspect is the core foundation on which language can develop. But his theory also requires the role of nurture

The purpose of the following is to map the argument of William Labov in chapter five of his book Ebonics, titled “The Logic of Nonstandard English.” In this chapter Labov combats the deficit theory of education. I will first define key terms that are critical to understanding his argument. I will then explicitly lay out what I believe to be the four claims Labov makes about nonstandard English speech and the evidence he uses to support those claims. I will then discuss Labovs criticism of the research used to justify the deficit theory. Finally I will demonstrate how this all connects to what I believe to be the central purpose of this article: Labov seeks to discredit the deficit theory put forth as a racist, ignorant and false theory and

In order to provide an example of the evolution of language at least from an individual’s point-of-view, he looks at the development of language from children. At the early age, children are able to learn the “central core of rules”

Editor Doug Larson once remarked, “If the English language made any sense, lackadaisical would have something to do with a shortage of flowers.” Even at an early stage, all English learners realize how complex and versatile the English language can be. Due to its extensive lineage and consistent reformation, the English language holds a highly diversified panorama of linguistic landscape. Dating back as early as 410 A.D., the fall of the Roman empire, neighboring countries and tribes vigorously fought for the rule of England (Literature). In the act, they transformed human interaction and left imprints of influence not only in monarchy or social paradigms, but in linguistic advancements as well. The English language has been a hybridized substance molded in the hands of war, exploration, and cultural innovation.

Talking about “dialects”, a term often mentioned along is “standard language”. When being brought into comparison with “dialect”, “standard language” usually serves as a legitimate variant with the highest level of excellence (Bex & Watts, 1999). Though positive in nature, standardization - the procedure of standardizing a language – often raises heated controversy because of its consequences on not only linguistics field but also the society. In the second part of the essay, I will focus on the disadvantages of language standardization.

Standard English as a subject is significant for children to learn. For more youthful kids, realizing this dialect when they can will help them with creating relational abilities, fundamental math and essential perusing. For more seasoned children, having appropriate aptitudes in English empowers them to compose

When it comes to the debate about the advantages and disadvantages of learning languages in a classroom, SLA researchers also put emphasis on the distinction between the terms ‘learning’ and ‘acquiring’. Stephen Krashen (1982), a prominent linguist in the field of SLA, considers these two terms to be connected to two different ways an individual can reach proficiency in a foreign language. He sees learning as a process which includes rules and conscious attention to form, and acquisition as a process similar to the way children learn their first language, which means that they do not consciously pay attention to language form (p. 17).

For example, by studying the history and development of a certain language in The English Language (ENGL 346), the course prepares me for discussion and investigation of my first language. Since English is such a popular second language, a thorough understanding of my first language is essential to success in linguistics and in my future career path. The development of language is the classroom was a common topic in Bilingual Education (EDUC 345), and the course discussed the application of linguistic theories in the field of education.

Acquiring language is one of the most important processes in human life. Unlike animals, human beings are able to acquire a native language and they do so in a procedure that takes time. During this procedure, human beings start to learn alphabet, forming words, forming sentences and after all they learn how to communicate with other people. In his book “A Dictionary of Phonetics and Linguistics (2008), David Crystal mentions that this acquisition procedure is not only required for one’s mother tongue, but it is also used when children come to learn a foreign language or a second language. This definition that Crystal gives in his book has a relationship with the theory of “Language Acquisition Device” made by Noam Chomsky.

Educators need to understand what language is and how it can be developed, as it can impact the way they teach in a learning environment. An educator plays an important role of a child’s life, the child listens and copies what an educator or parent does, as they are a model of language for them (Fellowes & Oakley, p.48). Language is a method of communication between individuals, that can be verbal or written involving words, sentences and speech. Language is developing and growing every day all around the world, as you hear older generations complain about how younger people speak, which is a sign of language always changing (Leiden University, 2015). “We can’t stop language changing, language has a life of its own” Vera Regan (Professor

Language is acquired through steps, and is a gradual, lengthy process, and one that involves a lot of apparent 'errors '. Those who strive to own cultural and linguistic competence and to live

Approaches and methods are the main methodology in the practice of English teaching. An approach refers to theories of the language, whereas a method includes the techniques and procedures in how it is used (Harmer, n.d.). Language teaching and its approaches have a very long history emerging from the early twentieth century. Throughout this time applied linguistics, teachers and others, thrived to develop teaching methods in order to meet the characteristics of change and improve efficiency. The main incentive for change corresponds to the increase demand in speakers who wish to acquire a second language together with globalization, encouraging an ongoing need of reassessing language-teaching practices (Richards and Rodgers, 1989). Due to the ongoing changes of language teaching, it is clear that this has resulted in a variety of approaches and methods that exist, ranging from the twentieth century to current time today. This leads to the clarification in which the method of discussion will be: the audiolingual method, a major trend in the twentieth century for language teaching. Firstly, an in depth description of what the approach consists of will be discussed. Then, the different theories corresponding to this method such as the behaviorism and language theories will be illustrated. Teacher roles in comparison to student roles will then henceforth, alongside a critical evaluation of the method.

He regards English as a language of Imperialism, a language of Class-interests, a language of Monopolizing Power and a language of Subversion. Finally, he gives some suggestions, he thinks that teachers need to recognize the potential benefits and dangers of English in teaching and learners should critically select and screen the messages they receive through English.