Linguistic

Variance in
the
Classroom

A Presentation by Emily Mullins

Language Variety vs. Intelligence and
Competence

• Language variety does not correlate with intelligence or

competence.

Stereotypical associations of certain varieties of English

with professional and intellectual competence.

• One linguistic myth nearly universally attached to all

minorities, rural people, the less well-educated, and even
the well-educated of some regional varieties is that some
varieties of language are not as good as others.

Some varieties of a language are more standard than

others. This is selected through purely social processes.
 Regional Differences

• Each region has its own social stratification.

Every area has a share of both standard and
nonstandard speakers.

• There’s a widespread belief that in the US

some regional varieties are more standard than
others and some are far from standard (i.e. the
South and NY)

The evidence of this belief stems from what

real people believe about language.
Do You Speak American?
Mean scores of the
rankings for ‘correct
English’ of the fifty
states by south-
eastern Michigan
respondents (1=worst
English; 10=best
English)

Apparently
Michiganders think
very highly of
ourselves in terms of
language and definitely
 Dialect Areas
• To the right a hand
drawn map of a
Michigan
respondent’s idea of
the dialect areas of
the US

What is normal then?

Who decides?

• Boundaries

• Labels i.e. Hillbillies

• Linguistic
designations: drawl,
twang, slang, speed
 Linguistic Insecurity
Southerners
suffer from
linguistic security

They do not rate

themselves at
the top of the
heap as
Michiganders do
Above: Mean scores of
Associate
the rankings for
‘correct English’
‘correct English’ by
with some official
Alabama students
 Pleasant English
Alabama
students find
theirs the most
pleasant

Less friendly
aspects of
speech as move
North
Above: Mean scores of
Both find NYC the rankings for
the least ‘pleasant English’ by
pleasant Alabama students
 Confirming the Myth
• Respondents all over the US confirm the myth
that some regions speak better English than
others, and the South and NYC are always
implicated as being at the bottom of the pile.

Stereotypes continue to remain embedded in our

culture and in the classroom.

• Linguistic insecurity in the classroom

Belief in superiority or inferiority of different
varieties
 Dennis Preston
• Distinguished Professor of Linguistics
Co-director of the 1990 TESOL Institute

• President of American Dialect Society

• His work focuses on sociolinguistics, dialectology,
and ethnography, and minority language and
variety education

Revitalization of folk linguistics and perceptual

dialectology

• Published in multiple books focusing on regional

differences
• Preston Interview
EM: How do we show students we value their
language, although it may not be as standard
as others?

• DP: Two principle ways--One: Languages

always change (ex. Axe, ask, axion). Standard
language is not logical. Like mathematical
logic, non standard forms still have logic to
them. Two: Show people that nonstandard
languages are structures and if it is
nonstandard, that doesn’t mean it is a breaking
of these rules. All language varieties have rules
and they are each systematic. They know what
 Interview Cont.
• EM: Do you have advice for teachers (how to
approach dialects, ebonics, AAV, etc)?

• DP: You have to know something about them.

So do the research and know your target
audience. Like it’s a really cool idea that if you
teach math, you should know math. You want
to know their history, the major constructions,
etc. Also, you could always hang out with
linguists. :)
 Interview Cont.
• EM: Why do we think the belief that some
languages are better than others preoccupies
Americans? How does one speak American?

• DP: One, prejudice, sexism, racism, any of the

-isms really. I am this and I have this dialect
therefore others are bad, we show that their
language isn’t worth much either. There’s a
serious devaluing of people. The language itself
isn’t ugly. Nonstandard languages are devalued
because of the people. Two, language is an
ideology. Linguistic prejudices exist because
people believe in the stereotypical connotations
• EM: SomeInterview
kids are linguistically stereotyped,
Cont.
how do we show students their dialect is to be
valued?

• DP: You could have projects that discover rules

of nonstandard varieties. Just like a student
could be really fast or beautiful, they also have
their language to offer. You should engage them
in looking at their own language varieties. They
could teach other students about their
language--discussing the role of rules as mini-
instructors. Secondly, students can’t magically
speak standard English from the beginning.
What they do write or say has to be “accepted”;
red ink from teachers is bad and you should
 Thank you Dennis!
Dennis wants to remind
teachers to remind
students that our
language expresses out
identity and reflects who
we are and who we want
to be. Language is not
something to be ashamed
of but something to
embrace and to be proud
of. If you speak a different
dialect, you can know just
as much about the
English language as the
 Code Switching
People who code switch (regularly mixing words
or phrases from more than one language within
sentences) are thought to be unable to speak the
languages very well. (Usually the opposite is
true.)

• Is code switching then okay in the classroom, or

is it bad practice?

• Can you distinguish instances where speakers

shift speech styles between AAV and Standard
English?

• Why might a speaker employ one style rather

 International Students: Dr.
Matsuda
• Often stigmatized for being different

Always should maintain 1st language-directly

associated with learning 2nd language

• Identify those with language needs early on. In-class

diagnostic writing. “I want to know what your writing
looks like.”

• Be sensitive to student identity positioning. Is it

patronizing to ask them to write about their home or
first language? Is their home here now?

Use multiple modes of classroom communication

• Free writing before speak, wait time, multiple

 Debriefing Questions
• Should there be a standard for writing in classes vs.
standards for speech?

Is the way the teacher speaks, the way all the students
should speak?

• Do minority students feel marginalized by the use of a

standard vernacular?

• Should you change the way you speak as a teacher to

reinforce the importance of linguistic variation in
students or simply accept other dialects? But is not
accepting other dialects a form of monologic
discourse?

Should we teach writing to include other vernaculars?

Thank you!