Good and Bad English

Author : Mary Anne Winslow
Loads of common people, like me, as well as contemporary linguists
have made many judgments about the English language, which appear both
common and controversial. The various complaints over the quality of
the English language are far spread in English speaking countries.
These complaints are generally targeted at the quality of British or
American English rather than the local variety of Standard English
that is spoken in many English-speaking countries.So is English "Good" or Bad"? Much debate has taken place on this
topic and frankly, it is rather difficult to conclude for certain
whether something is considered "good" or "bad". No one can say
conclusively that they know exactly what is right and what is wrong,
thus any judgments made on the English language can only be an
opinion and not the absolute truth. As Mackinnon mentions in chapter 9
that linguists believe "that all judgments about good or bad in
language are ill-founded". Hence who do we regard as being the
reasonable authority on what is "good" and what is "bad" English. It
is indeed a quandary and I tend to think that even though many
ordinary people seem adept at making personal comments about the
English language, I on the other hand will take a very neutral stand
and not commit myself for fear of any censure by a linguist who is
himself wary of making too sweeping a comment.Since as Mackinnon himself states, that it is apparently difficult to
make any reasonable judgments concerning the quality of English,
there are however many things that we can consider to be helpful hints
or rules that can aid us in making educated observations on whether
something in English is "good" or "bad". I will attempt to explain
these various methods as I move along and will remain as always a
neutral observer and not make any conclusions of my own of the
validity of the following judgments.Apart from spelling, punctuation and grammar, we can also make
judgments based on accent and dialect, which some people believe to
be random usage mistakes while others declare it to be a completely
separate and consistent non-standard English dialect. This component
involves the pronunciations and word or sentence forms other than
those of Standard English. Sometimes these variants can be seen as
simple mistakes in pronunciation. At times, a dialect and accent may
also over time develop its own set of rules such as in "AAVE" and in
Southern English. Such rules can occur because in language, changes
are taking place all the time and in the instances mentioned above
certain regions just develop their own accepted structure for the
language they use.Having looked at dialects and accents, we must also expect mistakes
and changes in the meaning of words. Sometimes we come across words
that appear to have double meanings. In a sentence, when a writer
actually wants to convey certain particular emotions, he or she could
inadvertently lead to a misunderstanding with the readers who might
conceive some other meaning from a particular word. For example, the
word "disinterested" that Mackinnon mentions appears to have two
meanings and in a sense, readers might come away with somewhat
different perceptions of what the author really means. In short words
that have more than one meaning can be rather vague or lead to a
misunderstanding between two parties.Language can also be considered "good" or "bad" based on whether it is
"ugly" or "beautiful." We have sometimes come across pieces of writing
which appear heavy-handed and inappropriate. For example, some pupils
attempt to use bombastic words in their essays which although appears
congruent with the sentence is nonetheless inappropriate and thereby
"ugly." A pupil once wrote that the "crystal waters of the pond shone
brilliantly in the morning sun," before suddenly jolting back with a
very mundane "I was out for a jog." Thus language can appear "ugly"
when not used properly and hence Fowler provides us with some rules
that can guide us to write beautifully. For example, using a familiar
word rather than a fanciful one in a sentence because ultimately we
want every reader to understand what is being said and not send them
looking for a dictionary to figure out the meaning of a particularly
abstract word.Judgments can also be made according to the word usage and
pronunciation of a certain individual and this can often lead one to
conclude a speaker's social class, occupation or education level due
to the manner in which an individual speaks. In this category of
"social judgment," it allows for people to make unfair judgments
towards a particular group of people and this can invariably lead to
some level of stereotyping and class consciousness that we do not want
pervading our environment. This aspect is"bad" but we see it being
employed everywhere and it will take a concerted effort to actually
not think in that manner at all.Apart from social judgments, "Moral Judgments" can also be used to
decipher whether the quality of language is "good" or "bad." How we
use words can either impress or anger the people around us. These
judgments, which can sometimes be archaic, refer to the
appropriateness of using certain kinds of language and words.
Sometimes to come across as casual and hearty we might use a word that
we deem entirely fine but might be morally considered wrong by others.
So by saying something simple like "too bad" when faced with the
tsunami disaster, one can actually be considered to be morally
despicable and unsympathetic when one actually really means nothing
untoward at all.
There is another facet to consider and that is "Appropriateness" but I
will not delve too much on this as I think I have somewhat already
mentioned this aspect in my earlier discussions above. This type of
judgment is based largely on the situation that one finds himself or
herself in and it deals with when and where to use certain types of
language, for instance using the language of academia in a formal,
professional setting, while using informal language in a non-formal
setting like when ordering food at the hawker center. Often this can
be quite testing especially when at times as teachers we need to speak
in Singlish to our pupils' parents, and well it can be unnerving
sometimes to actually hear ourselves speak so inappropriately.There is still another area called "controversial usage" that we can
discuss about too. This element refers to the screening of certain
language by the speaker, due to the judgments that others will make
upon the speaker. This category of judgment not only concerns the use
of offensive and derogatory slang words, but also grammatical uses of
the English language that are debated upon among between linguists and
other professionals. This includes items, which although may be
considered incorrect according to strict guidelines of British
Standard English, the common use among even the educated have made
them more acceptable. For example, ending a sentence with a
preposition or using the word "irregardless" when no such word
actually exists in the dictionary!Many linguists, who do not like to make judgments concerning good and
bad usage of language, often make exceptions regarding political
correctness. That is language that is condemned as being sexist,
racist, or in some way discriminatory against groups of socially or
economically disadvantaged people. Being an Indian and hence a
minority in Singapore, I have myself across the grotesque face of
discrimination as well. I guess it has become part-and-parcel of life
that to get angry is no more an option as it has become quite normal
for some people to call us by some derogatory terms. Well, the
"politically correct" word is generally established to attempt to
create a more positive image of a specific group. In America, it has
become widely accepted to use terms such as Latino or African-American
to associate people of a South American and African heritage
respectively. But these ethnic terms can also create many problems. It
lumps ethnic groups together without regard to their individual
preferences and it leads to them being stereotyped and regarded in
certain similar ways. Moreover, members of the specific group may not
use the politically correct term in reference to other members of the
same group, as they themselves might feel distant from others in that
particular group. So it is very wrong indeed to simply use such terms
to marginalize these ethnic groups in America.In conclusion, it is evident that there are many ways to assess the
quality of the English language and make comments about whether it is
"good" or "bad." However, it is also apparent to a great extent that
it is easier to argue for it being "bad" rather than to defend it
adequately as "good". Nonetheless, at the end of the day, how
appropriate a sentence is or whether a dialogue is "good" or "bad" is
not really an issue as it will always be difficult to decide because
of the fact that people can always differ in their sentiments
concerning the quality of something. Thus, I believe that as long as
what is being said can be understood, that is ultimately the goal of
language so let us put our doubts aside and strive to read and listen
to understand rather than have an antenna out to always criticize and
question language whenever the opportunity arises.Mary Anne has been writing for custom essay writing service for 5 years.You can ask her about college esays or dissertation writing service.
Keyword : good, bad, english