The Structure of English
Assignment 1
Text of Assignment
- Standard language, standard variety of language
Why do you think certain varieties of a language are accepted as
standard?
- Formal and informal style
What factors do you think determine the style of one's speech or
writing? (Consider media, topic, hearer and other possible factors, as
many as you can. Thinking about your own experience of switching
styles will help you come up with answers.)
- Informal but grammatical
Provide several examples of usage of English that is "perfectly
grammatical, though perhaps informal in style" (H&P p. 5)
Aims of Assignment
1. To examine the linguistic notion of a "standard language", also
called a standard variety.
2. To contrast written vs. spoken varieties of language, which have
somewhat different properties.
3. To get you to think about where standard languages come from. The
popular notion of standard languages as existing independently of
the speakers of the language is not accurate.
4. To introduce the idea of linguistic norms as determined by
convention.
5. To explore the contrast between prescriptive norms vs. conventional
norms that can be described objectively, without regard to preferences
of linguistic authorities.
6. To show that style of language interacts with grammaticality. Some
constructions said to be ungrammatical are perfectly grammatical if
we take into account the factors that determine language users' choice
of style: namely, contextual factors such as speaker, addressee, the
social relation between them, and formality of social context.
Commentary
© 2007 Suzanne Kemmer
Last modified 25 March 2007
