A Sense of Place: Variation, Linguistic Hegemony and the Teaching of Literacy in English
Author: Clark, Urszula
Date: 2013-09-00
Type: Journal Articles
Subjects: English (Second Language),Second Language Learning,Literacy Education,Spelling,Punctuation,Language Variation,Teaching Methods,Grammar,Standard Spoken Usage,English Instruction,Literature,Foreign Countries,Indo European Languages,Native Language,High School Students,Language Minorities,Black Dialects,Bilingual Education,English,Middle School Students

The ways in which literacy in English is taught in school generally subscribe to and perpetuate the notion of a homogenous, unvaried  set of writing conventions associated with the language they represent,  especially in relation to spelling and punctuation as well as grammar. Such  teaching also perpetuates the myth that there is one &quot;correct&quot; way of  language use which is &quot;fixed&quot; and invariant, and that any deviation is at best  &quot;incorrect&quot; or &quot;illiterate&quot; and at worst, a threat to social stability. It is also  very clear that the linguistic norms associated with standard English are  predicated upon and replicate white, cultural hegemony. Yet, at the same  time, there are plenty of literary and creative works written by authors from  all kinds of different cultural, ethnic and linguistic backgrounds, including  canonical ones, where spelling and punctuation are varied and championed  as a sign of creativity. In the world beyond school, pupils are also surrounded by variational use of written language, especially in public displays such as shop signs, writing on mugs and t-shirts, posters, graffiti and so on, which link language to place. Equally, the voices we hear in entertainment and public broadcasting, far from being homogenous, celebrate diversity in Englishes. The homes and backgrounds of pupils in our schools, including their linguistic backgrounds, may also be very different either in terms of a different variation of English or languages spoken other than English. Since the emphasis is usually upon &quot;correct&quot; and &quot;fixed&quot; ways of teaching writing in English, it has often been difficult for teachers and pupils to reconcile the kind of English taught in school as the &quot;correct&quot; way and thus, by definition,all others as &quot;incorrect.&quot; However, narrow definitions of linguistic &quot;correctness&quot; are becoming increasingly difficult to uphold given that the public spaces with which we are surrounded are peppered by examples of variational use in writing. Recent sociolinguistic research into variation points to an increasing fluidity of linguistic use, especially when it comes to public displays of writing, particularly in media such as newspapers, websites, shop signs, TV channel logos and so on. Linguistic variability can thus be seen as a resource in creating unique voices and marking allegiance to, for example, a particular place and culture. Such research is indicative of the fact that variational use of English, far from being &quot;incorrect&quot; or &quot;illiterate&quot;, is increasingly being drawn upon creatively to mark a place identity. It also points to a shift in our conceptual thinking about language(s) and varieties from being perceived as static, &quot;fixed&quot;, totalised and immobile to being thought of as dynamic, fragmented and mobile, with the focus upon mobile resources rather than immobile languages. At the same time, the teaching of literacy centres upon the teaching of linguistic norms of spelling and grammar as &quot;fixed.&quot; There is a tension then, between creative expression of linguistic use often linked to place and those linked to standard English. This article explores those tensions and discusses the implications and possibilities for the teaching of English and literacy.