ENGL 110-64

By: Edmund Campbell

English sucks. Or rather the way English is taught sucks. It is most often taught as a set of rigid rules, when in practice, English is an ever changing language. It is because of this, that one must rethink how English is understood. To begin to redefine what the English Language is, it might be best to look at where it has come from. The beginning of English is a group called the Anglo-Saxons. These people were some of the first to conquer Britain as it is known today (Rice.edu). Later they were conquered multiple times by the Romans, and eventually the French. During all this time the base of Norweagon and Germanic language stayed leading to the Pre-English period, around 400 CE (Rice.edu, Pre-English). This eventually led into Modern English, around the Elizabethan Era. And was widely standardized around this time as well. In contrast, Modern Mandarin was first conceived around the 3rd – 8th century BCE (EthnoMed, paragraph 6). From this it can be understood that English, as a language, is not only relatively young, but it is also still growing. This can lead to parts of the language changing rapidly, while other parts change much slower. A good example of this is how the English used in American Law has stayed relatively consistent since the founding of the country, whereas English used on the internet has not stopped changing. According to Yulia Petrova “There are several places where new memes emerge,” (Meme language, its impact on digital culture and collective thinking , p.3). So it might be best to leave the English language undefined. This not only provides it room to grow, but also provides a way for English, and its many versions, to coalesce into a more useful language.

    Part of the new definition must account for all the ways English has changed in context. Many words have been redefined and treated differently depending on who is speaking the word. One example of this is the word Chuffed, Pleased, delighted, or Annoyed, displeased (Collins Dictionary). Because it means two opposing things, how is one to use it without the context of emotion. This makes the word very difficult to use in the written English language, yet still a very well used word. According to Google Dictionary it has an upwards trend starting in the 1940s and peaking around 2019. This brings to light the case of American English. American English is a language that has never settled into one language. This has led to, what is popularly known as, vernacular. Vernacular is a version of a language that is spoken by a certain group of people. Examples of this include AAVE, or African American Vernacular English, and Queer Vernacular. The existence of these vernaculars poses a problem for a person wanting to reach, and express the same sentiment to a large audience. This is why, when one watches political debates the language seems to be so formal. The speakers are using what is referred to as Standard English. This name is misleading. Standard English is more accurately known as Base, or Basic, English. It is the most distilled version of American English, and is understood by those who speak any version of American English. This is also the English taught in most American schools. However, 2 students from Shipley Middle School expressed that they felt underprepared for High School English. 

    The above stated problems lead to a few automatic solutions. One, is to actively discourage the use of any English language other than Standard English. This leads to many of its own problems, not least of which is how to implement this. Another problem brought forth by this solution, is its exclusion of minority groups. It is possible to argue that this is the current solution the American Public School system is using. The second solution is to embrace the fact that each version of English exists, to celebrate the differences. This of course brings up problems as well. Chiefly among them is the problem of mass communication. As stated in the last paragraph, one solution that politicians use is a standardized version of English. This might in fact be the simplest solution to this problem. Create a way for people to express their own vernacular, while still teaching Standard English. While this is a lovely idea, in practice it is hard to stick with. This is because of one major flaw, English teachers cannot account for how each person writes. This is of course why this paper has been written. The question of ‘How can English Teachers account for, and support the use of, different vernaculars of American English?’ The simple answer is they cannot. It is also not okay to expect them to do so. Stanley Fish, an English professor, argues that it is because High School Teachers are expected to grade every student differently, that modern students are under prepared for using Academic English in their lives. He asks that “a narrowly focused writing course be required for everyone” (What should Colleges Teach, p.1). In response to an article written by Fish, Vershawn Ashanti Young argues that it is the education of individual style that makes a writer great. Young also argues that Fish is “tryin to take the nation back to a time when we were less tolerant of linguistic and racial differences.” (Should writers Use their Own English, p.2). 

    To continue on, it is prudent to return back to the original part of this paper, redefining English. What has been established is that English is a language of change, that there are many versions of the language, and that it might be impossible to account for every single version of this language. So why write this paper? Simple, it is often fun to try possible solutions. The fact of the matter is that if the new solution does not work, the old solution still exists, and can be returned to at any time. 

    It is because of these new facts that a better answer may be created. One Middle School student interviewed for this paper suggested the following. Have 9th grade English be solely focused on Academic English, hard grammar rules and well written paper. Then have 10th Grade English be about creative writing, and how English, especially vernacular, relates to that topic. This solution is an interesting take on the whole situation. One, it asserts that Academic English is very much necessary, an assertion that a professor at Villanova agrees with, but also creativity is required to be a well rounded individual. However, one could also argue that Academic English is the problem. Another suggestion, from a student at the College of Charleston, is to teach Conversational English, for which they had no definition. The one way they described the difference was that Academic English has one interpersonal tense, whereas Conversational English has multiple interpersonal tenses. Their argument was that this should be what is taught in schools.This could end up being just as restrictive as the current system of English Education. In contrast, the Middle School Student’s suggestion gives room for people to explore multiple outputs of English, just over an extended time frame.

    To round out this discussion it is important to suggest that you, the reader, can make change in regards to this issue. You could reach out to local officials and ask for their opinion on this. You could write into a local news station and ask them to do a piece on the issue. You could even start a petition. However, the most important thing is that this issue is being noticed and talked about. 

   

 

“Chuffed Definition and Meaning | Collins English Dictionary.” Collins Dictionaries, 4 Apr. 2022, www.collinsdictionary.com/us/dictionary/english/chuffed.

 

Egerod, Søren Christian. “Chinese Languages.” Encyclopedia Britannica, www.britannica.com/topic/Chinese-languages. Accessed 4 Apr. 2022

Published 1998, Updated 2006

 

EthnoMed. “Chinese Language.” EthnoMed, 30 Apr. 2020, ethnomed.org/resource/chinese-language.

 

“Google Books Ngram Viewer – Google Product.” Google, books.google.com/ngrams/graph?year_start=1800&year_end=2019&corpus=26&smoothing=7&case_insensitive=on&content=chuffed&direct_url=t4%3B%2Cchuffed%3B%2Cc0%3B%2Cs0%3B%3Bchuffed%3B%2Cc0%3B%3BChuffed%3B%2Cc0#t4%3B%2Cchuffed%3B%2Cc0%3B%2Cs0%3B%3Bchuffed%3B%2Cc0%3B%3BChuffed%3B%2Cc0. Accessed 4 Apr. 2022.

 

Kemmer, Suzanne. “Chronology: History of English.” Chronology of Events in the History of English, Sept. 2019, www.ruf.rice.edu/%7Ekemmer/Words/chron.html.

 

Pakstisj. “Technology and Language Change: How Memes and Emojis Are The Language of The 21st Century and That’s OK.” PennWIC, 18 Oct. 2016, pennwic.wordpress.com/2016/10/19/technology-and-language-change-how-memes-and-emojis-are-the-language-of-the-21st-century-and-thats-ok.

 

Petrova, Yulia. “Meme Language, Its Impact on Digital Culture and Collective Thinking.” E3S Web of Conferences, edited by D. Rudoy et al., vol. 273, 2021, p. 11026. Crossref, https://doi.org/10.1051/e3sconf/202127311026.

 

Potter, Simeon. “English Language | Origin, History, Development, Characteristics, and Facts.” Encyclopedia Britannica, www.britannica.com/topic/English-language. Accessed 4 Apr. 2022

Published 1999, Updated 2020

 

translations.co.uk. “A History of Mandarin Chinese.” Translations.Co.Uk, 30 Mar. 2017, www.translations.co.uk/history-mandarin-chinese-language.

 

Kelly Welch, Personal Interview, Apr 3, 2022

 

Graham Welch, Personal interview, Apr 3, 2022

 

Parker Welch, Personal interview, Apr 3, 2022

 

I also used Fish and Young.