Illiterate England

«Will them photos be going in the paper?» a child asked our photographer. We were at St Gregory's Roman Catholic Primary School in Chorley, Lancashire and, if the Government has its way, teachers will in future leap upon such a child and demand grammatically correct English.

        Linda Caswell, the head, believes that they should do no such thing. She says that substituting «them» for «those», is one of her pupils' most common linguistic inaccuracies, along with using «were» instead of «was» and «could of» instead of «could have». But this is how many people speak in this part of Lancashire, and some linguists would describe the children's «errors» as part of a perfectly acceptable and consistent dialect grammar.

        Mrs Caswell, however, says that the school does teach standard English and grammar, as well as spelling and punctuation. The point, she insists, is that they must learn to use standard English when they need it. «The first thing,» she says, «is to get them to speak in sentences. We want them to speak freely and express themselves without fear of having linguistic insults thrown at them. If they are forced to change the moment they come to school it will inhibit their progress. It's very important not to discourage the dialect, but to make sure children know when and where it is appropriate to use it.»

        «Children may have several different ways of speaking,» says another teacher. «You can never eradicate dialect altogether because they spend as much time with other adults as with us.»

        Mrs Caswell has strong views about dialect because she is Scottish and, looking out of her window on a wet day, will remark on «dubs» rather than «puddles». «The Government should think carefully before it intrudes on the cultural heritage of cour children,» she says. «I am proud of my language and they are of theirs."

(The Independent, 7 February 1993)
Kenny Garziarenak aukeratua