Thursday, April 9, 2009

Grammar Alive! and Bidialect-A Foreword by Michael Hargarten

All languages vary, and all languages develop and change over time! But none do, like American English has and does! Why? Because no other country on the planet Earth has the wide array of races, cultures, religions like we do! And along with this wide variation of people, comes a very wide variation of English! This is one of the characteristics which makes our country a great one, that our freedoms and our responsibilities have beckoned to folks from all over the world to come here, to bring their cultures with them, and to become a part of the American Dream.

But for all of these non-English speaking folks, as well as for our own indiginous English speaking people, it is imperative that we all become BIDIALECTICAL. As Haussamen puts it, we modern Americans need the ability to speak in at least two language variations: informal English and formal (or Standard) English. Simply put kids, there's the English you speak around your friends, family or on the sports field, then there's the English you should be speaking to your boss, clients or professors! Please do NOT get this idea wrong! No one is (or should be at least) saying that one variation, or one dialect for that matter, is better or more correct than another. We English teachers especially have to instill this notion into our English learners, immigrant or American. Students will learn grammar and English much more efficiently and with a lot more enthusiasm, if they are not berated or led to feel "less", because they speak a dialect of English that deviates from the Standard! Students should be encouraged to feel a sense of pride in their individuality and uniqueness when it comes to their languages, dialects and cultures. It is OK and quite normal for ALL English speakers to engage in "Code Switching". In fact, it happens instinctively! When we address an elder or stranger, our language will vary as opposed to how we address our buddies 5 minutes later!

The important idea here is that the only way we CAN code switch is by learning the different language variations to begin with! And yes folks, this DOES entail learning grammar and how to use it when speaking and writing in Standard English! Let's face it, if you wanted to succeed in Mexico, you better learn how to speak, write and use Spanish! Same goes for Russia, Ethiopia or, of course, Rome! You wouldn't want to go to a job interview in Portugal without knowing how to speak Portugeuse, so why would it be any different here? Especially here in the U.S., with all the vastly different people, dialects, cultures, religions and races, we all need to know Standard English and grammar as a connecting point, a unifying factor that allows us all to meet on the same page and be able to understand one another! Without understanding, we fall back to the Tower of Babel!

Being Bidialectical is an essential part of being understood and being able to understand others! Teaching grammar in the classroom is an essential part of this essential understanding, and learning Standard English is, simply put, a "standard" way for many diverse people to be able to communicate and express themselves amongst one another! It does not entail having to give anything up, or believing that your way is not the right way! The beauty is, we can and should all learn how to utilize Standard English grammar for when we NEED to communicate in this manner! But then we can also at any time code switch back to our more folksy, informal variation of English too! It is the best of both worlds, and is a form of knowledge that can and will truly open many doors for us in the future!

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