Language is Power

The current liberal orthodoxy in the United Kingdom, the United States, and elsewhere in the English-speaking world, is against imposing Standard English on school students. But does this truly protect the underprivileged, or has it inflicted lasting educational damage on a generation of children? This study argues that Standard English is not merely one variety among many, but is a much more important and valuable variety than other, non-standard dialects. The author, who also wrote "Does Accent Matter?", discusses whether the worldwide teaching of Standard English amounts to "linguistic imperialism", and examines whether British English will inevitably be superseded by American English.

ISBN	0571190472	DEWEY edition	DC21
ISBN13	9780571190478 (What's this?)	Pages	256
Publisher	Faber and Faber	Weight (grammes)	265
Imprint	Faber and Faber	Published in	London
Format	Paperback	Height (mm)	196
Publication date	08 Sep 1997	Width (mm)	122
DEWEY	421.52	Academic level	Professional / Scholarly, General

	Preface
1	Introduction	1
2	The Language Myth	6
3	The Dialect Trap	21
4	Some Enemies of Standard English	44
5	Rewriting History	59
6	Authority in Language: Anagogy and Prescription	118
7	Safeguarding English	149
8	Language in School: The Lost Generation	169
9	The Language Trap Debate	205
10	A National and International Language	223
	Bibliography	261
	References	267
	Index	291

Be the first to write a customer review

Buying options