The ability to use Standard English is a job skill.
Obnoxious people often post hateful comments in social media to make fun of other people’s language. As a result, the people targeted begin to hate the whole idea of Standard English.
Don’t let yourself or your children be bullied into rejecting standard English usage because of language bullies.
Like all languages, English is a collection of local dialects. Every dialect is a legitimate form of the language, but dialects differ in grammar and vocabulary. No one dialect is superior to another, including the standard dialect.
The standard dialect, however, is a valuable job skill.
One dialect may not be easy to understand for speakers of another dialect. For that reason, in every modern language, one dialect is recognized as the “standard dialect” that everyone learns for purposes of education, government, research, and business.
Millions of people all over the world study a standard dialect of English in addition to the standard dialect of their own language.
Learning a standard form of one’s native language is much easier than learning a completely different language. We can prefer our home dialect but still master the standard dialect for its uses.
In the United States, the standard dialect is called Standard American English (SAE).
Standard English belongs to anyone and everyone who recognizes it for what it is: a form of communication that crosses social and economic boundaries.
Your child’s educational goals should include mastery of Standard English.
Word Rage: a collection of brief articles about Standard English and how to talk back to language bullies.
Knowing more than one dialect is useful
