.::English 3201 @ LSU::.: what would you do?

Wednesday, August 26, 2009

what would you do?

Joanne Dowdy explores the tension of the two languages spoken in Trinidad, British English and Trinidadian, in the first chapter of The Skin We Speak. British English is spoken as a well-cultivated language, the "right" language, whereas Trinidadian is conveyed as the natives' innermost feelings. With this conflict of right and wrong many in Trinidad are faced with the problem of knowing when and where to speak both languages to suit their lifestyles and desires.

Societies put too much pressure on different cultures to conform to speak the "right" way, but why? What is the "right" way and why is it so important to speak? Many claim if everyone spoke correct English then it would make communication easier and make the speaker sound more intelligent. British English is a well-rounded language that many countries can communicate at a scholarly level. But what is the measurement of intelligence? Is it the appearance of a person, their language or their knowledge and wisdom? Here stems an issue concerning intelligence. How can a person's intelligence be measured and valued based on their dialect? There have been many people in this world that have been noted as geniuses and some did not sound "intelligent". Dialect is a cultural aspect of a person's life. It is their identity of region, not a measure of intelligence.

Is the hidden agenda of society to change a cultures' language to change their regional identity or is it really to make them sound more intelligent?

1 comment:

Veronica LeGrangeAugust 31, 2009 at 5:24 PM
It is a sad fact that a person does automatically and unintentionally measure another person's intelligence and/or origin with his or her dialect. As soon as we hear a person speak for the first time, assumptions are made about their intelligence level and the national identity that they may possess. Until the two individuals spend time to know each other, these barriers that language puts up will remain standing. The mass media and the new does nothing to help the matter. If people of high ranking statuses speak with Standard English, it will be what the entire population will strive to achieve. We all want to better ourselves and be successful, and it seems impossible to do so if we do not take advantage of speaking the "right" way. This is simply because we are striving to be among the fit to survive. Adapt or fall behind.
Even though society thinks it has good intentions on wanting the people to be and sound intelligent, the real loss will be the death of the dialects that fewer and fewer people are speaking. Instead of being taught the "correct" way to speak, we should learn about, appreciate, and come to respect the different dialects.
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important technical notes

...it's a good idea to write your posts in a word processing program (MS Word has a "blog post" template that is ideal) before posting. That will allow you to save your work and avoid the extraordinarily frustrating experience of hitting the wrong key just before publishing a post and losing at all (not that I'veever made such a rookie mistake, of course).

...if you're having trouble posting an inquiry or response, you can print out your paper and bring it to class in order to receive credit. I'll still ask you to post it to the blog once we fix the problem, but that way you'll still receive full credit.

inquiry papers

response guidelines

Your response papers should be in the "comment" section of the inquiry paper to which you are responding.

1) Read a classmate's inquiry paper that has not yet been responded to.

2) Summarize the argument or thesis of the assigned reading.

3) Address your classmate's question(s) using what you've learned from this and other readings. You may not feel confident in your answers; that's okay. Speculate, brainstorm, explore, pose other questions, relate it to your life experience, expand on the stakes of the questions, etc.

.::English 3201 @ LSU::.