Abstract- critical analysis essay

Throughout my researched critical analysis essay I hope to reach both students and teachers who feel obligated to express themselves through one dialect and the ones who don’t seem to understand the pressure they go through. As someone who speaks more than one language I understand the pressure of having to master standard English. I hope to be able to inform and aid my audience to open their minds to the imperative reality that bilingual students experience language expectations at school. I want to persuade the educational system that it is important to recognize the disparate forms of communication and how teachers can effectively teach their students to express themselves in these disparate forms.

How might popular opinions on language and literacy-many of which are based heavily on myths, misinformation, and ignorance-be debunked and revised?

Students who speak more than one language are faced with the feeling of pressure in having to master standard English to succeed. Both students and teachers feel obligated to express themselves through one dialect and the ones who don’t seem to understand the pressure they go through continue to belittle the language or dialect they speak. It is imperative for the educational system to open their minds to the reality that bilingual students encounter language expectations at school. It is important to recognize the disparate forms of communication and how teachers can effectively teach their students to express themselves in said disparate forms. Language expectations are heavily applied to those who speak more than one language especially within the education system, it is important to have educators along with their students comprehend that a language has no set barriers, it is meant to be utilized to communicate, express oneself and to be expanded not limited. Bilingual students are taught to not speak within their native tongue if it is not English, and if it is-it must be in a certain dialect.

There are several people that believe that English is the superior language, leading them to constantly belittle students who speak more than one language. Bilingual students consistently feel obligated to try and master standard English so that they are not made fun. Society amplifies this standard, specifically on minorities that they will not succeed if they do not speak standard English. For instance with in Should Writers Use They Own English?, Vershawn Ashanti Young argues that people should be able to express themselves in whichever dialect they are most comfortable with. Young utilizes Stanley Fish, an American literary theorist, legal scholar, author and public intellectual to challenge his argument. He utilizes Fish’s New York Times article “What Should Colleges Teach?” as Fish argues that everyone regardless of their race is entitled to the rules of Standard English. However, Fish tends to contradict himself by demonstrating how he mainly focuses on the mistakes of minorities rather than upper-class whom are mainly white. According to Fish, “‘don’t no student have a right to they own language if that language make them ‘vulnerable to prejudice’; that ‘it may be true that the standard language is a device for protecting the status quo, but that very truth is a reason for teaching it to students’” (Young 85). Essentially, students cannot express themselves if it is not proper English and Fish implies that people want to be targets of racism if they speak with a different dialect. Fish argues that the rules of English apply to everyone, but does not understand the difficulty of conveying a message with the same meaning if you have to change almost everything about it. “Standard language ideology insist that minority people will never become an Ivy League English department chair or president of Harvard University if they don’t perfect they mastery of standard English. At the same time the ideology instruct that white men will gain such positions, even with a questionable handle of standard grammar and rhetoric” (Young 90). This supports the idea that the rules of standard english mainly applies to minorities. It can be very difficult for minorities to reach high levels of profession, even if they have all of the qualifications.

High levels of profession are highly promoted within educational systems, however it may be more difficult for minorities to reach it compared to others. Harris Academy Upper Norwood School located in Croydon, London has banned students from using slang within a school setting. The school had believed that the utilization of slang would have hindered the students academic success and for future job opportunities as well. “If children are caught using the banned language they won’t be punished but they will be corrected and asked to think about what they have said” (https://www.bbc.co.uk/newsround/24534663). Although, the school states they do not punish the kids, telling them to think about what they said is fundamentally asking the students to figure out what they have done wrong, and why it shouldn’t be repeated. This is typically what one would tell a child when they have made a mistake. In addition, there were students who had also provided their opinion on the situation, “Slang words shouldn’t be banned, only ones that are offensive. Slang words are easier to use and they are part of an ever changing language” (BBC Newsround). Essentially, English is a language that is constantly being changed by those utilizing it. It is imperative to help others understand why people speak within their native language and how difficult it may be to convey a certain message within other dialects when it is best explained through one. We must help society understand the importance of learning more than one dialect and how to communicate with one another. As English is a constantly changing language, it is best to learn to communicate effectively with one another, rather than just forcing one dialect onto everyone.

Throughout her TED Talk “How language shapes the way we think”, Lera Boroditsky argues that with 7,000+ languages within the world, they are all different within their own way- to have another language is to have another soul. “Now the beauty of linguistic diversity is that it reveals to us just how ingenious and how flexible the human mind is… human minds have invented not one cognitive universe but 7,000-there are 7,000 languages spoken around the world. And we can create many more-languages, are of course, living things, things that we can hone, and change to suit our needs” (Boroditsky). Essentially, Boroditsky amplifies the idea that things are constantly changing within the language universe, no one message can be translated exactly the way it is across languages, we simply have found a way to communicate and comprehend one another. She acknowledges the fact that all language studies are done by undergraduate American-English speakers and has realized that the majority of the languages being spoken today will not exist in a hundred years. Society encourages students to lose contact with their native language and focus on standard English, but instead we should be learning as many languages as possible. Finally, through Amanda Godley and Allison Escher’s article “Bidialectal African American Adolescents’ Beliefs about Spoken Language Expectations in English Classrooms. Journal of Adolescent & Adult Literacy”, the authors aim to contribute to the education of disparate dialects by taking the students perspectives on learning proper literacy. Aims to contribute to the education of disparate dialects by taking the students perspectives on learning proper literacy. “Some researchers have suggested that bidialectal speakers have an advantage over speakers of only one dialect because they understand, from a young age, how language varies according to social context” (Godley and Escher). In essence, this contradicts Stanley Fish’s idea that knowing more than one language hinders students from reaching high levels of professions in the future. Instead, bilingual students have an advantage compared to monolingual students, as they are able to communicate and relate to people who speak disparate languages. They understand that certain messages can only be conveyed in a specific language.

Bilingual students understand how much language changes depending on the environment that you’re in whereas people who speak only one are close minded to the fact that there is more than one way to communicate and express yourself. Students who speak more than one language are constantly pressured to master standard English in order to be someone in life. It is important to have educators and students in addition to the entire educational system comprehend the importance of learning more than one language. Making students focus on mainly Standard English rather than learn new languages plays a huge role in the prediction that the 7,000+ languages being spoken today will turn into hundreds in about 100 years merely because there are people who believe English is superior to most languages.

Works Cited

Boroditsky, Lera, director. How Languages Shape the Way We Think. YouTube, YouTube,2 May 2018, www.youtube.com/watch?v=RKK7wGAYP6k.

Godley, Amanda, & Escher, Allison. (2012). Bidialectal African American Adolescents’ Beliefs about Spoken Language Expectations in English Classrooms. Journal of Adolescent & Adult Literacy, 55(8), 704-713.

“Pupils Banned from Using Slang Words at School – CBBC Newsround.” BBC, BBC, 15Oct. 2013, www.bbc.co.uk/newsround/24534663.

Young, Vershawn A. “Should Writers Use They Own English?” Writing Centers and the New Racism: a Call for Sustainable Dialogue and Change, by Laura Greenfield and Karen Rowan, Utah State University Press, 2011, pp. 61–71.

Cover Letter

Throughout Phase 3 of this course I have had the opportunity to improve on my writings as well as further analyze texts and relate it to the language myths and misconceptions. Phase 3 was essentially utilized in order to address the question, how might popular opinions on language and literacy—many of which are based heavily on myths, misinformation, and ignorance—be debunked and revised? As a result, within my critical analysis essay I hope to reach both students and teachers who feel obligated to express themselves through one dialect and the ones who don’t seem to understand the pressure they go through. As someone who speaks more than one language, I understand the difficulty other bilingual students encounter when feeling the pressure of having to master standard English. I aim to inform and aid my audience to open their minds to the imperative reality that bilingual students experience language expectations at school. I hope to be able to persuade them that it is important to recognize the disparate forms of communication and how teachers can effectively teach their students to express themselves in these disparate forms. There are many people who don’t understand that language expectations are heavily applied to those who speak more than one language especially within the education system. I believe that it is imperative to have educators along with their students comprehend that a language has no set barriers, it is meant to be utilized to communicate, express oneself and to be expanded not limited and that it does not hinder ones success. Phase 3 of this course has further helped me understand the importance of knowing more than one language as it is very beneficial within any choice of career as well as understanding disparate language myths and how they are mainly based off of the idea of superiority.