1B - Standard and Non Standard Essay plan

Before you read this...this is in NOTE FORM and was done FROM MEMORY in the lunch time tutorial. Therefore, some of the quotes are not going to be totally accurate so DO NOT learn quote from this essay. Go back to the original case studies.

Also, you may look at this, laugh, and think 'I could do so much better than that.' Well...if you do, great! I want you to.

But anyway, this is how Me, Faye, Kieran, Caitlin and Tom answered the question FROM MEMORY.

Using the Rastamouse comments as a starting point, discuss the idea that some people have prejudices towards others based on the type of language they use

Rastamouse –

Firstly – it seems that people judge a person’s ability to forge a successful career there will be no people to ‘get a job in DA bank’. Colloquial definite article ‘da’, noun ‘bank’ show that they think because of Jamaican accent, they will essentially get nowhere in life. Also, implies all people with Jamaican accents are drug addicts ‘of course all mention of cheese is a reference to Ganja’. Juxtaposition of nouns cheese/ganja shows prejudice about morality based on language. Could mention theory here. Mackinnon (language socially/morally unacceptable). ‘I’d prefer that my daughter learn the Queen’s English’. Possessive proper noun ‘Queen’s’ implies a prejudice that the language of the wealthy is preferable to the language of the poor.

Maxine Peake article – said about role ‘she’s educated, she’s been to university’. The pp verb ‘educated’ and noun ‘university’ imply prejudice that somebody who speaks with a ‘Bolton brogue’ could convincingly play an educated part. ‘What about the accent?’ use of definite article shows that he feels she should have seen it as an issue herself.

Virginia Ironside problem page – ‘These accents are like eurochecks’. Plural noun eurochecks is positive and quite prescriptivist but still shows prejudice. Implies that accents can be picked up and dropped like tools. ‘Just because he speaks like a lager lout…’ Noun phrase ‘lager lout’ very prejudiced. Implies that someone with a working class accent is more likely to be violent.  ‘Riddled with class’. ß she sees RP as a disadvantage at time. Interesting point. 

Trudgill – ‘people should be encouraged to take pride in their regional accents’. – abstract noun ‘pride’ shows that he wants society to be less judgemental about accents. John Honey, by comparison say that we are ‘doing children a disservice’ if we do not teach them about the importance of standard English. Low frequency noun ‘disservice’ shows that, although he displays SOME prescriptivist attitudes towards regionality, he overall thinks that we should now to prejudices, otherwise children will be held back later in life.

Bill Bryson – Standard American writer. Visits Devon. Shows real prejudice against local Devonian speakers. Says they have an ‘oi be drinkin zoider’. ß analyse. Shows Mackinnon’s socially unacceptable use of language. Implies people with working class accents are more likely to be alcoholics (this may have been better going after the Rastamouse PGs as the point are quite easy to link).

Case Studies not used, but could have been...

Talking Posh is Aspirational, not snobbish

Liverpool Barmaid Transcript

Caxton's Eggs

Harry Potter (Hagrid's introduction where ROwling uses non-standard to make him seem friendly as opposed to the other posh guy)

Have a go yourself!