Standard and Non-Standard Variants of the English Language

English is a complex language, spoken in many regional dialects, with diverse accents, and with several levels of formality. The use of the language varies from person to person, and is based on a number of factors such as where the person lives, their social class, and general exposure to various forms of media; it can be argued, therefore, that media and publications are a defining factor in how school pupils perform when it comes to their English language skills.

Currently, schools generally teach “Standard English” which many take to be the most prestigious variety of English - the “acrolect” of the language – considered to be the most easily understandable form of English; it doesn’t belong to any one region. According to Philp (2001) the fact this is taught in schools is thought to cause confusion for young learners; they link the language they use at home to their personal identity, and being taught a different variety in school – which teachers may refer to as “proper” English – is disconcerting. 

Standard English is spoken by very few children in their homes as sociolect and idiolect are encouraged and prosper outside of school. It is acceptable, for instance, to say “I ain’t never done nothing like that” when at home, but in a teaching environment “I have never done anything like that” would be the encouraged vernacular. The Guardian newspaper published similar information which highlighted regional dialects in the UK:

Standard English	I'm going into town today
Geordie	I'm ganen doon the toon the day
Yorkshire	Ah'm nicely off out t'taan
South London	Am gahn dahn tahn todiey
Glasgow	Am gun uptoon todee
Afro-Bristolian	Ahs goin ter bristle todayl
Serbo-Bradfordian (Wainwright 2004)	I go ter towen terdaay

While schools may try their utmost to encourage the use of Standard English, media will always try to engage their target audience on a level at which they are already familiar; for example the Apple iPod launch in 2008 used the slogan “The Funnest iPod Ever” (Jary 2008), a continuation of their linguistic creativity given their former slogan “Think Different” back in 1997, consisted of grammatically non-standard forms of English, though were easily understood by their audience; this non-standard variation is then believed by the target audience to be acceptable, and when confronted about their personal forms of written communication, they are able to cite the media as a reason for believing it to be correct.

Similar to the idea of media dictating dialect, in research lead by Professor Jane Stuart-Smith from the University of Glasgow, it was found that television can go as far as changing the way people speak. Her report found that the “TH-fronting” and “L-vocalisation” typically associated with the dialect of cockneys was inflicting itself upon the Glaswegian adolescent vernacular through the popular television drama “EastEnders” (Stuart-Smith et al 2013). Television actively affecting an accent in this way is confirmation of the media’s influence in modern day culture; it is effectively dialect levelling from a remote source.

It can be argued through use of this evidence that if a person were to watch the BBC news more frequently, he or she would then be more likely to speak in Received Pronunciation (RP); despite being thought of as a cold and uncaring accent, without regionalism, and often associated with those from a higher class, it is an advantage to the learner in the act of spelling due to clearer enunciation. Many other accents are possibly detrimental to a student when it comes to spelling; an example being the Manchester accent’s missing post-vocalic ‘r’ in words such as “car” and “hear”, in contrast to rhotic accents such as Cornish and their clearer pronunciation of the words (British Library 2010).

A report published by the English Spelling Society (2010) suggests that many young people are not aware of the mistakes they make when spelling, particularly online. It was recognised that variant spelling has successfully gained momentum on the internet, in chat-rooms and on social networking sites, where the general attitude is that corrections are not required and spelling is not an issue as long as the overall message is understood. Over 78% of those questioned stated they did not have a problem with spelling, in stark contrast to the actual results of the test they undertook in a controlled environment at Manchester University.

Incorrect spelling on a mass level on the internet often gives misinformation when it comes to other features of the language; phonetically speaking “I could of done that” sounds much the same as “I could’ve done that”. If these habits are fed by the media, such as on internet forums and on television, then the non-standard variety of English is being empowered, making the teaching of language skills harder.

Likewise, successful advertising campaigns aimed at teenagers often use a type of slang to engage their audience - due to it originating from the way people communicate online and via mobile telephones, it is often referred to as “textese” - the addressees are able to relate to the use of non-standard English and the product is then accepted by the populace. One instance is the “RU Clear?” NHS campaign for sexual health – the report findings were extremely positive: “The RU Clear? Programme has a target population of 15-24 years … As such 90% of the screens were in the target population.” (Downing et al 2009). When compared to a similar campaign, “We can’t go backwards” ran by the FPA, which used the Standard English dialect, the campaign itself was not nearly as well talked about among its target demographic.

Standard English dialect is often confused as a “higher” form of verbal and written communication meant only for those who are above working class. Working class sociolect often varies from the standard in subtle, but important ways. An example would be the word “you” – a second person pronoun in Standard English - which, in some working-class social circles is pluralised to “yous” or “youse”. The standard is, of course, “you”, the word being both singular and plural depending on whom is being addressed.

Where regional and social dialects vary on a wide scale nationally and even globally, each having their own idea of what is considered “correct grammar”, the internet is a definite grey-area where it comes to basic language skills. The World Wide Web is a wealth of information; advertisements, newspapers, social networking and many other aspects of media in our daily lives occur through the internet; its prosperity and acceptation means people can interact with others who were geographically remote, picking up on the dialect and incorporating it into their own idiolect. A research paper published by the Economic and Social Research Council stated that “as they approach adolescence, children modify their speech to accommodate certain changes” (Cheshire et al 1999); with the widespread use of computers and the internet throughout the world, non-standard language and grammar is certainly likely to prosper.

The English Spelling Society suggests that embracing the non-standard forms of English could be the answer to “the personal and social problems caused by the irregularity of English” (Linstead 2013). Phonemic orthography is of course, the next logical step in the evolution of the English language; schools embracing the new media-driven dialects and attitudes to spelling and grammar would have a positive influence on the literacy skills of individuals.

With schools teaching Standard English and mass media promoting the use of non-standard language use, it is bound to affect the potential grades of the student in a negative way as it is a “variant” form of the language being used; explicitly different to that which the school is set to teach. If students are unable to demonstrate a grasp of Standard English taught in school due to media and social exposure, this results in poor academic performance which in turn affects future employability, turning the teaching of Standard English in British classrooms into a societal issue. The solution, then, is perhaps to accept the “non-standard” usage as the “standard” form.

BIBLIOGRAPHY

British Library, 2010. Voices of the UK - Rhotic accents. Available at:  http://britishlibrary.typepad.co.uk/archival_sounds/2010/07/voices-of-the-uk---rhotic-accents.html (Accessed 23^rd November 2013)

Cheshire, J., Gillett, A., Kerswill, P., and Williams, A., 2009.  The Role of Adolescents in Dialect Levelling. Available at: http://www.lancaster.ac.uk/fss/linguistics/staff/kers will/pkpubs/LEVELFIN99.pdf (Accessed 23rd November 2013)

Downing, J., Madden, H., Phillips-Howard, P., Daffin, J., Cook, P., 2009. Evaluation of the Greater Manchester RU Clear? Chlamydia and Gonorrhoea Screening Programme. Available at: http://www.cph.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2012/08/evaluation-of-the-greater-manchester-ru-clear-chlamydia-and-gonorrhoea-screening-programme.pdf (Accessed 23rd November 2013).

Jary, S., 2008. Apple Blasted for US iPod Grammar Horror. Available at: http://www.pcadvisor.co.uk/opinion/apple/3270572/apple-blasted-for-us-ipod-grammar-horror/ (Accessed 23^rd November 2013)

Linstead, S., (                              ), 2013. (No Subject). Message to T L Smith ((                                     ) Sent Sunday 24 November 2013: 14:08. (Accessed 24 November 2013).

Philp, A., 2001. Dialect, Standard English, and the Child at Home and in School. Available at: http://www.scottishcorpus.ac.uk/document/?documentid=346 (Accessed: 24^th November 2013).

RU Clear, 2013. RUClear?. Available at: http://www.ruclear.co.uk/ (Accessed: 24^th November 2013)

Stuart-Smith, J., Pryce, G., Timmins, C., and Gunter, B. 2013. Television can also be a factor in language change: evidence from an urban dialect. Available at: http://eprints.gla.ac.uk/78794/ (Accessed 23^rd November 2013)

The English Spelling Society, 2010. The changing face of spelling on the internet. Available at: http://www.spellingsociety.org/media/spelling-on-the-internet.pdf (Accessed 24th November 2013)

Wainwright, M., 2004. Dialect explosion signals decline of BBC English. Available at: http://www.theguardian.com/uk/2004/apr/01/highereducation.britishidentity?INTCMP=SRCH (Accessed 23^rd November 2013)