Just remember, when gatekeepers try to correct your English, that there quite often is an attempt at a reinforcement of power relationship in this that has very little to do with the real value of language use itself in this imposition of a correction. What is deemed proper speech or prose is just a dialect reinforced by a power structure, and these elevated dialects are just one among many dialects of English. Often, the gatekeepers are only partially educated themselves, and enjoy correcting others more than striving to greater heights in their own mastery of language. Anyone who is truly an academic, and has long experiences in the sometimes tortured prose of academics, knows this when working educators, etc. Anyone who works in dialects other than the mainstream knows of the richness of syntax, vocabulary, wordplay, poetry, etc. that is present in those dialects. It is not the sole property of the elite who master often fossilized rules whose origins werent even in English. Im a descriptivist linguist, not a prescriptivist. I look at how peoples use language, and I describe it. I appreciate it. I wonder at it. I wish I could learn all of it. Share as all people share within every linguistic group. Broaden my humanity through the broadening of my own understanding of language. I do not wish to lord over anyone in any way, though I will smack an oppressor to his feet if I can. I teach on academic conventions in English as a survival strategy for people, not because I believe it is superior or that the accepted standard dialect is the one all should speak. And I can do this, and I have done this for decades. But seriously, brethren, revel in your language traditions and the richness of dialects, play with them, make them grow to where they are respected. Langston was doing this ninety years ago, and many others came before, and many others followed. Im not for any kind of Nazis, including grammar Nazis. Im not for fascists of any kind. And I do have all those academic credentials and whatnot if those things are important to you. I have a Masters Degree in Linguistics and another in English Literature. I dont think most people have any idea how deeply a linguist delves into language and its history. Trust me. Play with language. Be free.
Posted on: Sun, 07 Sep 2014 20:48:30 +0000
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