Inquiry 3

In chapter five of The Skin That We Speak the author Michael Stubbs discusses the stereotyped correctness of different dialects in England, their impact on education, and went through some of the myths behind the placement of one language over another. One of the main points of focus in this section was the idea that their is a language of power, and there is no way that it is deservedly better than the other languages. The language of power is simply a dialect belong to the people who have become most successful. I believe Stubbs said something along the lines of: It is correct English because the well educated use it and the well educated use it because it is correct English. The best lesson to take away from this chapter is what we learn from the girl who couldn't specify what she thought was incorrect. To me this a lesson to really look past my stereotypes and "common sense". I don't believe it is necessary for just those who don't speak the language of power to change their dialects, but we must all learn to overlook accents and differences in geography.