2. Prescriptive versus Descriptive
Linguistics
• Prescriptive linguistics: aims to determine and
enforce the rules of language.
• Descriptive linguistics: aims to describe the
functions of language.
• What are the implications of this distinction?
3. Geoffrey Nunberg
“Since the eighteenth century, most of our great
moralists have at one time or another turned
their attention to the language….In their
essays and in the great grammars and
dictionaries, we find … the conviction that the
mastery of polite prose is a moral
accomplishment, to which we will be moved
by appeals to our highest instincts.”
4. Geoffrey Nunberg
“Linguists, of course, have been arguing for a long
time that the rules of traditional grammar have
no scientific or logical justification, and that the
only reason grammarians consider certain usages
"correct" is that they happen to have been
adopted by the privileged classes in the past”
* What does this mean for our work in the writing
center?
5. Geoffrey Nunberg
“As the linguists Anthony Kroch and Cathy Small put
it in a recent article, "prescriptivism [that is,
traditional grammar] is simply the ideology by
which the guardians of the standard language
impose their linguistic norms on people who have
perfectly serviceable norms of their own.”
* What does this mean for our work in the writing
center?
6. Geoffrey Nunberg
“Once there is a wide consensus that a certain
usage is preferable, it behooves us to conform
to it…. Furthermore, there is a clear risk of
irresponsibility in counseling others to
disregard rules that they may be judged by.”
* What does this mean for our work in the
writing center?
7. John Fought
“Our language is both a tool for communication
and a part of our personal image, like our
physical appearance, behavior and
belongings.”
* What, then, are the implications of teaching
“standard” English to students whose
languages diverge from “standard” English?
8. Students Rights to Their Own
Language (CCC 1974)
“We affirm the students' right to their own
patterns and varieties of language -- the
dialects of their nurture or whatever dialects
in which they find their own identity and style.
Language scholars long ago denied that the
myth of a standard American dialect has any
validity. “
9. SRTOL, 1974
“The claim that any one dialect is unacceptable
amounts to an attempt of one social group to
exert its dominance over another. Such a claim
leads to false advice for speakers and writers, and
immoral advice for humans. A nation proud of its
diverse heritage and its cultural and racial variety
will preserve its heritage of dialects. We affirm
strongly that teachers must have the experiences
and training that will enable them to respect
diversity and uphold the right of students to their
own language.”
10. SRTOL: Three Main Claims
1. Students’ language varieties are valuable.
1. The idea of a standard American dialect is a
myth.
1. Teachers should be trained to understand this.
*How has the topic of language variety been
addressed in your education?
11. Code Switching
1) Offer opportunities for students to exercise
home languages in class.
2) Use contrastive analysis to help students see
the differences between home languages and
standard English.
3) Teach students standard English so as to
provide access to educational and
professional opportunities.
12. Code Meshing
• The distinction between students’ languages
and “standard” English is fluid.
• Home languages are important to students’
identity.
• Code meshing allows students to integrate
home languages along with standard
languages in a way that respects the fluid
nature of language and the students’
identities.
13. Questions? Comments?
• Please write a bit about your reaction to this
lesson. Consider the following:
1. What information is new? What did you
already know?
2. How, if at all, does this information relate to
our work in the writing center?
3. What are the benefits of attending to
language diversity? The drawbacks?
4. What questions do you have?
