A time and place for everything. April 17, 2007
The pendulum of educational theory swings back and forth, and inevitably older generations of teachers mourn the loss of the “old days.”
According to Alice Ndaba, a retired English teacher, the ‘rot’ began in the early 1980s when schools started giving up on teaching grammar. The problem, she stresses, is further compounded by textbook publishers who no longer see it as a part of their role to have genuine grammar books.
“In our days, we had a compulsory composition and grammar book by J.A Bright Practical English. If you passed through primary school with that book, your English would never be the same. Where did it go?” she asks.
Where DID it go? It went out with the idea of prescriptive grammar, as has been mentioned before, but the article raises some other interesting points about the English language that I think are applicable in discussions of education. Once again, I am getting my material from allAfrica.com, in part because they keep having relevant articles when American news sites and blogs do not (perhaps this is a telling fact and should be part of my discussion?!). The full article, “Uganda: English Language - Wazzup With the New Trend?” by Carol Natukunda is available here. The article is a discussion of the degeneration of the grammar and syntax choices made by students and the reaction of the teachers. This “New Trend” is by no means unique for Uganda, and is found in English speaking locations all over the world. And, of course, we all know the culprit…
Much blame for the decline of written and oral English is attributed to radios and TV, phone messages, the Internet, tabloid newspapers and novels.
“These children are fans of DJs, some of whom use words carelessly. Others get slang from text messages they exchange with their friends on mobile phones, or on the Internet,” says Eryatu.
The discussion of “proper” English has come up frequently in my ENG 362 class, History of the English Language. The students’ intensity regarding this topic has resulted in many discussions-turned-argument, with the majority of students insisting that the method of communication is irrelevant, as long as the meaning is clear and the speaker (or writer) is understood. The anger is mostly directed at the one member of the class who insists that there is a right way to talk and there are many wrong ways, and that, regardless of dialects, all English speakers should know “Standard English” because it is more right than other Englishes. This opinion is an aggressive one in a class where the students have been discussing the natural changes of English and the merits and natural “correctness” of all dialects.
At the core of the argument is the idea of communication and language. Worrying about linguistic matters is not a modern idea, and has been going on (for the English language, anyway) since at least the 1500s, and these worries have always affected the kind of language that is taught in schools. But it’s still true that-
Each age group and school has a language of their own,” states Daudi Mulongo, the headteacher of Kiira College Butiki The irony is that although there is no major threat to the English language, he admits that carelessness could have an impact on the students’ grades.
“Fortunately, we are not being marked by Cambridge; otherwise it can affect grades drastically.” Sameer Ogole, a Kyambogo-based software developer, uses online slang frequently. He agrees with Mulongo: “Slang has been around for so long, it has not hurt the use of the traditional form of English.
Why isn’t this kind of English a “threat?” It’s not a threat when the students recognize it for what it is, and according to the article, they do.
This usage is limited to instant messages and cell phone text conversations.” Students also reveal that part of the reason why they have developed their own vocabulary is because the correct spelling of traditional English is very “long and boring.”
They argue, however, that they are able to draw a line between the informal and the formal English, during their exams. “It is easy, fast and cool,” says 17-year-old Fiona, a student at Makerere College School. “I use it when I am with my friends, but not with my teacher or exams,” says another.
I agree. English is like any from of communication, and the speaker or writer has to know which version to use for which audience. However, the frequency with which the language of the high tech youth changes, and the plurality of examples of text speak leaking into schoolwork raise an issue that I might not have thought of had I not read this article from the perspective of Ungandans, who speak English as a second language.
…some employers complain of graduates who submit applications that are full of grammatical errors.” Uganda has a diverse range of mother tongues. English, as the official language, has been a unifying factor for decades. Subjects are taught and examinations set and written in English.
Offices use English in their day-to-day business. An official language in 75 countries, English is the medium of international business and entertainment. Nearly a quarter of the world’s population is said to be fluent or competent in English, while about 80% of the world’s electronically stored information is said to be in English.
With English as powerful , widespread, and influential is it has come to be, is there any importance to keep English standard and universal? If the chief goal is clear communication, and I maintain that it is, what elements of English should be constant? I think that the best way to address this issue is not to enforce any rules in such a way that the dialects and shortcuts in language that occur naturally are not suppressed. I am reluctant to eliminate instruction of grammar altogether, although I think that by teaching a certain variety of English in schools (even if it is the kind of language preferred by the employers and businesses referenced above), we are saying that some English dialects are “better” than others. This isn’t true, but there is a time and place for everything, and I would like to figure out what that is.
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