Language Myths 8,10,11,13

Myth 8: Children can't speak or write properly any more

People have been complaining about the deterioration of the English language since Jonathan Swift in the 17th century. Older generations love nothing more than saying their generation was better and the new generation was destroying their beloved language. What you have to keep in mind is that the English they are complaining about is standard English – a purely written form of English with rules for writing – not the spoken form which is essentially the speech of the upper and upper-middle classes. We cannot expect all children to sound like that. There is also the fact that illiteracy is declining so more children are literate now than ever before. If that is true how can we say children can’t speak properly anymore? It seems that this is something that has always happened and will forever continue. If we are truthful, we also believe that the next generation is using "improper" language. If we want to break from this tradition it is up to us.

Myth 10: Some languages have no grammar

There is no such thing as a language without grammar, if there is a wrong way to build a sentence there is grammar involved. There is also grammar when there are distinctions in word classes, if they distinguish between a noun and a verb that implies the usage of grammar. And while it might be true that some languages have more grammar, or more difficult grammar there is none that has none.

Myth 11: Italian is beautiful, German is ugly

There is a difference between German and Italian, Italian and French are the so called romantic languages together with Spanish and those are based on Latin. These languages have soft and elegant sounds which makes people feel positive about a language. German and Dutch have harsh sounds, more guttural sounds that have the opposite effect. The way you think about a language is also based on where you live and which languages you speak yourself, if you speak Dutch, German, French and English, the  Dutch and German might sound harsh in comparison with French – especially if French is your native tongue – this does not mean that those languages are more or less beautiful. They are different.

Myth 13: Black children are verbally deprived

African-American culture has an abundance of eloquent orators, but we describe their children as verbally deprived. This does not make sense. The main reason we say this is because we judge them as if they are Anglo-American children. They come from different backgrounds, socially and linguistically. If you raise an African-American child in an Anglo-American family and neighbourhood the child would sound Anglo-American the way someone speaks depends on environment not race. There are similar “issues” with French Canadians and French people. A French person from Paris would not score well on a French Canadian test. Is it fair to call that child stupid or deprived? No we would simply say they learned a different type of French. Anglo-American and African-American are the same: they are both variations of English and if a child is fluent in one but tested in the other you cannot call them stupid, it is the fault of the system. Test Anglo-American children according to the rules of African-American English and you will find they fail the tests as well.