jjhlk
11-05-03, 05:16 PM
Everything your english teacher told you was wrong, at least, partially... (let's say it was occasionaly explained for the wrong reasons, so I don't take any flak for saying that.)
Disclaimer: I am not a linguistic. Specifics could be slightly wrong, though I think not. Take a book that introduces linguistics out of the library to learn more yourself...
I decided to write this because my college english teacher lectured the class on the definition of "harsh," after she had marked some assignments, and since I've been reading some books about syntax and linguistics lately, I knew she was "wrong." (More on that later)
It annoys me when people correct others on grammar and usage. I've done it myself, before I knew better. But there is a very good reason why it's wrong to do.
There are three categories applicable here. The "language," the "dialect," and the "idiolect." While most people in Canada may speak english, there are many different dialects. So already it's quite plausible for you to think it's improper to correct the pronunciation of someone from out of town. I'm not sure how dialects are considered dialects, but I know that it's sometimes based on how similar the dialect is to the others to be called part of the same language, or sometimes it's somewhat political (in the case of spoken mandarin and cantonese).
An idiolect is what *you* speak. Grammar, meanings, they're all personal. You can't be wrong. Since people all think about things differently, it isn't hard to imagine how your idiolect could be slightly different from the others of people who speak the same dialect as you. I found myself today using the word "worry" in place of "bother." They are quite close, but aren't synonyms. But am I wrong? There could be dialects of english where the word is used like that.
That was a usage question, but then there is grammar. Take the example of a stereotypical redneck town. People don't use "whom," they "gots" things, there are split infinitives and prepositions at the end of sentences -- oh my! So it is probably the case that many rural areas could be considered to be speaking different dialects.
Inner city blacks in New York speak a dialect that is supposedly much different from ours (I don't know much about it). They still speak english.
Dictionaries list usage. They aren't listing the correct way to speak. The same goes for grammars. However, they obviously aren't useless. So...
...that doesn't mean you can speak however you want! The most important thing for most people to know is that society will judge you! How do you think most people feel about the redneck dialect? Hey, redneck is already considered a bad word to be called. By speaking like them - you'll probably need to take on the pronunciation too - people will stereotype you as a redneck perhaps.
Another important thing to know, for people in the professional world especially, is that everyone needs to understand one another! In formal contexts then, you need to be careful how you word things. There are even formal citation guidlines for saying where you go sources from! You can see that understanding in very important in journals. So some people tend to hypercorrect themselves.
In the case of my teacher saying "harsh" is wrong, she had a bit of a point. An old guy reading your article on why the subway is harsh will be confused if you don't mean abrasive. Our class is more about research, so the teacher was right to say that. She knew very well what everyone meant though (she'd probably point out that "though" should be "however," and at the beginning of the sentence). But she should have made it seem less like "harsh" only had a certain meaning.
So practically what does this mean? When you need to be understood, or if you don't want to be judged, use the standard english like everyone else is probably using.
But when someone on a forum points out you should have used "whom," tell them to 'eff off. :)
Disclaimer: I am not a linguistic. Specifics could be slightly wrong, though I think not. Take a book that introduces linguistics out of the library to learn more yourself...
I decided to write this because my college english teacher lectured the class on the definition of "harsh," after she had marked some assignments, and since I've been reading some books about syntax and linguistics lately, I knew she was "wrong." (More on that later)
It annoys me when people correct others on grammar and usage. I've done it myself, before I knew better. But there is a very good reason why it's wrong to do.
There are three categories applicable here. The "language," the "dialect," and the "idiolect." While most people in Canada may speak english, there are many different dialects. So already it's quite plausible for you to think it's improper to correct the pronunciation of someone from out of town. I'm not sure how dialects are considered dialects, but I know that it's sometimes based on how similar the dialect is to the others to be called part of the same language, or sometimes it's somewhat political (in the case of spoken mandarin and cantonese).
An idiolect is what *you* speak. Grammar, meanings, they're all personal. You can't be wrong. Since people all think about things differently, it isn't hard to imagine how your idiolect could be slightly different from the others of people who speak the same dialect as you. I found myself today using the word "worry" in place of "bother." They are quite close, but aren't synonyms. But am I wrong? There could be dialects of english where the word is used like that.
That was a usage question, but then there is grammar. Take the example of a stereotypical redneck town. People don't use "whom," they "gots" things, there are split infinitives and prepositions at the end of sentences -- oh my! So it is probably the case that many rural areas could be considered to be speaking different dialects.
Inner city blacks in New York speak a dialect that is supposedly much different from ours (I don't know much about it). They still speak english.
Dictionaries list usage. They aren't listing the correct way to speak. The same goes for grammars. However, they obviously aren't useless. So...
...that doesn't mean you can speak however you want! The most important thing for most people to know is that society will judge you! How do you think most people feel about the redneck dialect? Hey, redneck is already considered a bad word to be called. By speaking like them - you'll probably need to take on the pronunciation too - people will stereotype you as a redneck perhaps.
Another important thing to know, for people in the professional world especially, is that everyone needs to understand one another! In formal contexts then, you need to be careful how you word things. There are even formal citation guidlines for saying where you go sources from! You can see that understanding in very important in journals. So some people tend to hypercorrect themselves.
In the case of my teacher saying "harsh" is wrong, she had a bit of a point. An old guy reading your article on why the subway is harsh will be confused if you don't mean abrasive. Our class is more about research, so the teacher was right to say that. She knew very well what everyone meant though (she'd probably point out that "though" should be "however," and at the beginning of the sentence). But she should have made it seem less like "harsh" only had a certain meaning.
So practically what does this mean? When you need to be understood, or if you don't want to be judged, use the standard english like everyone else is probably using.
But when someone on a forum points out you should have used "whom," tell them to 'eff off. :)