Language Equality

Fact: Equality is a subject that is as relevant now as it was during the Civil War, during the Women’s Liberation Movement, etc.

Fact: Discrimination comes in surprising forms.

So what about… language bias?

I've had two stories from the 9 year-old I nanny, showing two different people in her life teaching her language bias- partly in a derogatory way, and partly as an honest mistake (I assume). Firstly, someone preaches to her that American English is wrong, utterly wrong, and that British English is the only correct English. Secondly, her English teacher at school told the class that American English was developed by an American president who couldn't speak English properly, and saw that his "subjects" couldn't either, so he invented the American English dialect.

It just astounds me that people try to get away with these arguments and, beyond that, that it's not seen as a type of discrimination. First of all, there is no wrong language in terms of descriptive grammar in linguistics; language is what it is, regardless of whatever kind of rules are set in place by any kind of authority figure. Then there is prescriptive grammar, which is the grammar taught in school, regulated either by the government or an academic body. However, there can be multiple prescriptive grammars for any one language.

Take French, for example: It is spoken in France, Switzerland, Canada, several countries in Africa, South America, etc. And in all of those places, it is spoken a bit differently. The most notable difference is the accent change, but there is also a difference of vocabulary and even grammar. The same with Spanish: It is spoken in Spain, but also in Central and South America, where the dialects vary greatly. So, then, is it surprising that English has many varieties? There's British, American, Canadian, Australian, South African...

One could say that the "correct" form of these three languages is the form still existing in the original place the language was spoken, and therefore, the French of France, the Spanish of Spain, the English of England. But for the English who say their English is the correct form, they must also denounce their brothers in the British Commonwealth, because even in the short distance between England, Ireland, Scotland and Wales, the English spoken can be vastly different. And what about in England itself? There are varying accents and usage of vocabulary within that sole country. So then, how can England's English be the only "correct" form, when it, in fact, is variable as well?

There exist different forms of a language because of historical and geographical changes. When the English came to the Americas, they gained new vocabulary based on the natural products found in the area, and the language itself came in contact with the native languages of the region. This means not only a broader vocabulary, but a slow change in accent. When that new pocket of English speakers were dropped into the Americas, their form of English began evolving slowly with time, in parallel form with the dialect of English in Britain. In history, even England's form of English has changed, and it did so differently than the English in the Americas, because it had different influences. The countries have different neighbors with different native languages, they have different geographical circumstances, they had/have varying trade patterns which also influence(d) language.

Therefore, natural factors cause a language to change over time, and the ending effect does not make one dialect more right or less wrong than another- it simply makes it different. To take again the example of French, one could say that French is not actually an official language, but that is a dialect that differs greatly from its original and "correct" form: Latin. Latin used to be the primary language in the region that is now France, after the Gaules became the Gallic-Romans. But as the Roman Empire came to an end, different Nordic tribes moved into the area and their languages started changing the Latin that the "French" people spoke, which was originally influenced in terms of accent by the previous Gallic people. Therefore, French is technically a bastardization of Latin, because other languages and historical events slowly changed the language to what it is today. But does that mean that French is not considered a language? It most certainly is a language. So then, why do some say that American English is "wrong"? Because it is not simply a bastardization of British English, which itself is variable- it simply is its own form of the language. It's similar enough to British English that they remain the same language, but different enough to be considered its own proper dialect.

Our generation is so adamant about changing current ideas about equality in different forms- race, gender, sexuality. So why not the stereotypes on language equality? Because in the end, they're all the same. It's about recognizing that something is different, and then respecting it- not rejecting it. Just as it's wrong to discriminate based on ethnicity or gender, so it's wrong to discriminate based on language. Because if you're willing to call someone stupid simply because they speak a different dialect than you, who else are you capable of discriminating against and in what way? I'm an American, and I'm no less intelligent because I say “underwear” instead of “pants” and “pants” instead of “trousers.” So, let's pull down these coverings of contempt toward others in every form, and accept everyone's "awesome" heritage.