One thing that has bothered me for some time now is this notion of what "Correct English" is...
Some of the people that I volunteer with make fun of the way most of our students speak here...or they will blatantly correct them while they are saying something. And man does it frustrate me. While, I understand that there is a majority socially accepted way to how one should express their selves in a "business setting", I fail to see how that became the "correct" or "proper" way to speak.
And just because my students choose not to communicate in that way why is it okay to correct them or make fun of them?
And I know this is not the only place where this occurs because I have been corrected on and made fun of because of how I may pronounce certain words which is in large part due to growing up in a family where American "English" was not always used.
In my class I let my students speak and express their selves in ways that make them feel comfortable. But I let them know that "yes" when they go for job interviews or something like that they will have to speak in the way that has been deemed "socially acceptable" but how they speak and express their selves is not incorrect or wrong it is just different and other people are too ignorant to realize that...
But I would like to hear from you, the reader....what do you think about "improper" and "proper" English? By saying that one way is correct and the other is not are we not silencing those whose voices are already at a whisper?
Grace&Freedom♥
3 comments:
It's interesting that you wrote this. I was thinking about this tonight when I was sitting eating dinner with my roommate and friend. I have often struggled with actually putting into words the very thing that I want to say, and so, often, I replace what I am trying to say with a word that makes no sense in context of my sentence. People have just really started pointing it out and making fun of it, and although I have only gotten made fun of it a little, I realized how much fear goes into speaking correctly for me and probably for others. If that fear is so powerful in me (who really only gets an ounce of torment from others), how much greater is it for those who English is not their first language or who have grown up using "slang" that is now deemed as proof of being uneducated. I think perhaps this is why so many stories of people suffering/oppressed/misused, etc. is silenced. Number one, they don't know how to put in "proper" English words the thing they are trying to communicate. Thus, those who speak "proper" English will not listen. Number two, they probably deem themselves a little less worthy because they are somehow not a part of the "proper" elite in society.
I do think that language is extremely important, and I believe it is important to always be growing in the way that we communicate with language. But the language you speak in or how you speak gives no credence to who you are or what you have to give others. It is sad to me that somehow people or scorned, laughed at, or silenced because they do not speak as "properly" as someone else. But then again, what is proper almost always proves to be oppressive.
I also find it interesting that even those who speak with "proper" English still struggle to tell people the truth of their own situation. It is more proof that there is a language that speaks louder than words, and that "proper" doesn't make you any better or happier. You just get the title of being "proper".
Truth can be found in all languages-spoken and unspoken, and I would go as far as saying it is absurd to say that because a person does not communicate to the same degree that you do, that they are somehow less important, worthy of laughter, or in great need of help. Its about time we realized who really needs help in these situations.
This is a hard one for me to understand. I've grown up in a predominantly white, proper-FOX-News-English-speaking area, and on top of that I value people who are able to articulate themselves well. Which brings the cousin question of do I feel value towards those who are able to UNDERSTAND well?
I tend to believe that having different languages codes is a heavy form of isolation. And it perpetuates itself often times, because people don't take the time to understand someone else or have beliefs about them because of their different way of communicating.
This is especially harmful when one way of speaking is valued more than another, because it becomes yet another reason to ignore someone, like you said in how their voices are already a whisper.
I don't know what else to say on this one. You've said it exactly, Kameale.
Thanks for this Kameale, you definitely have articulated well what are often jumbled thoughts in my mind.
I am often frustrated by the elitism of suggesting anything is the "proper" way of saying something, because it very, very clearly puts a certain group of people or culture above others, and the other group must conform to that in order to succeed- they cannot succeed while being themselves. There are few things sadder than killing a person slowly by forcing them to let go of their identity. It is a slow, painful death, and one that happens far too often.
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