Language Diversity in the Classroom - ymerleksi - home

The Persistence of Linguistic Deficit 135opposition to the right-wing correspondents would have confirmedthe public impression that they represent the radical left. They are, itseems, in something of a trap. The more they protest at beingcharacterised as politically motivated, the more they will appear tobe so. (Graddol & Swann, 1988: 104)I suggested above that the real motivation behind Honey’s pamphletcould well have been nostalgic regret for a linguistic environment inwhich the influence of the Bible and the Book of Common Prayer hasbeen eroded by vulgar modern villains the author mentions thepernicious idioms of Coronation Street, of the commercialized media, ofpop-celebrity culture. Crowley (1989: 271) also suggests that the ‘reactionarynostalgic thought’ of Honey and his ‘fellow travellers’ reveals adesire to return to ‘Victorian values’; this strikes me as reasonablyaccurate, although possibly a little unfair to the Victorians. 6 It is notsurprising, then, to find that Honey concludes his pamphlet by arguingthat ‘social justice’ demands that disadvantaged children be providedwith a ‘ready facility in standard English, even at the expense of theirdevelopment in their original non-standard variety [and] ... I amtempted to add, of their self-esteem’ (Honey, 1983a: 31). After all, sucha recommendation can rest perfectly well upon the assumption thatpernicious elements in modern life have led to, or encouraged, orreinforced deficiencies in linguistic capability.It is yet another of the internal curiosities to be found throughoutHoney’s little monograph that as Crystal observes his argument forpromoting standard English, even if it means some wounding of the selfesteem,is made only a few paragraphs after Honey berates the bad olddays when nonstandard forms were ‘virtually outlawed’, when insensitivityand ‘straightforward suppression’ were the order of the day. It alsodoes Honey’s case no good when he glibly asserts, à propos of self-esteem,that ‘I am not excessively impressed by the argument that the teaching ofstandard English need cause all the consequences of shame, confusion,linguistic insecurity, alienation, etc.’ (Honey, 1983a: 31). Honey presentsno evidence for this assertion which, in the absence of any support, has arather de haut en bas flavor.After producing an intervening book on accent (1989) in which, onceagain, a great deal of the source material was mined from the popularprint and broadcast media (ironic, considering the laments made in hispamphlet) Honey returned to the theme of language traps. This newproduction (1997) was subtitled The Story of Standard English and itsEnemies and no prizes will be awarded at this point for identifying those