• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
Banter Speech & Language

Banter Speech & Language

Sydney speech pathologists helping adults and children speak for themselves.

  • Home
  • Our Speech Pathologists
  • Shop
    • Speech
    • Language
    • Stuttering
    • Reading
    • Decodable Readers
    • Writing
    • Primary School
    • High School
    • Online resources
    • Business Templates
    • NDIS Templates
    • NDIS Training
  • Cart
  • Banter Supervision
  • Contact Us
  • Show Search
Hide Search
You are here: Home / Accent / Which kind of English is the best? (Hint: none of them)

Which kind of English is the best? (Hint: none of them)

David Kinnane · 25 September 2014 · Leave a Comment

Three men and a lady meet in a bar

Some (ahem) 20 years ago, when I was a youngster backpacking through Ireland, I bumped into a young Texan couple at a bar.  They were in the midst of a furious argument with a Glaswegian barman about which of them spoke the most “proper English”.

“I can’t understand you at all,” drawled the Texan gent.  “Your accent is too weird.”

“Back at you,” replied the barman gruffly, in full brogue.  “Your accents are something shocking.”

“Accents!?” screeched the Texan lass, outraged, and perhaps a little tipsy.  “What are you talking about?  We don’t have an accent!”

I roared with (Australian-accented) laughter, incurring the ire of all three.  I couldn’t help myself.  It was all too silly, arguing about Texan, Glaswegian and, eventually, Australian-accented English in Ireland, without an Englishman to be seen (they were all at the beach in Sydney).

Is it raining in Spain, Brown Cow?

Anyone as old or older than me will remember hearing about old fashioned elocution schools. Stuffy places where young ladies (and the odd gent) would go to learn to speak “the Queen’s English” while learning about table settings.  Like Eliza Doolittle in My Fair Lady, they would sit or stand up straight, sometimes balancing books atop their heads, aping upper class matrons and pompous men of letters while intoning such useful phrases as:

“How now brown cow.”

or

“The rain in Spain falls mainly on the Plains.”

It seems ridiculous to us now.  But, back in the day, speaking proper or “Standard English” was seen by working class people as a prerequisite to join the professional and upper classes and to enjoy upward social mobility.

Language and Civil Rights

Flash across the Atlantic and forward in time to 1979.  Judge Charles W. Joiner of the United States District Court for the East District of Michigan brings down his decision in Martin Luther King Junior Elementary School Children et al. v Ann Arbor School District.

The case was brought on behalf of a group of African American students alleging (amongst other things) that the school district violated Federal laws by not taking into account the home dialect of the children in the provision of their education. The judge agreed holding that the district was obliged to identify children who spoke “Black English” and to use that knowledge to teach such students how to read Standard English.  Specifically, he found that:

  • the language of “black English” has been shown to be a distinct, definable version of English, different from standard English of the school and the general world of communications. It has definite language patterns, syntax, grammar and history;
  • “Black English” was not then an acceptable method of communication in the educational world, in the commercial community, in the community of the arts and science, or among professionals; and
  • instruction in standard English of children who use “black English” at home by insensitive teachers who treat the children’s language system as inferior can cause a barrier to learning to read and use Standard English.

No dialect is superior (regardless of what your teachers told you).

Cases like the Ann Arbor decision and quaint descriptions of elocution schools illustrate that the type or dialect of English you use can affect your civil, social and economic rights and, to some, point to your social status in society.

Creep forward to 1983.  After much debate,  the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association (ASHA) publishes a very sensible position statement on social dialects.  It states that:

  • the English language is composed of many linguistic varieties or dialects;
  • no dialect of English is a disorder or a pathological form of speech or language;
  • as Standard English is the dialect used by government, the mass media, business, education, science and the arts, some non-standard English speakers may find it useful to have access to the use of Standard English; and
  • speech pathologists may provide elective services (i.e. at a client’s request) to non-standard English speakers to help them speak Standard English.

International Standard English?

With globalisation, English has become a major international language of business and politics.  Many different dialects of English (or “Englishes”)  are now used in different countries.  In the Asia Pacific region for example, we have Singlish, Tinglish,  Hinglish and other dialects of Indian English and Chinglish, to name but a few, as well as various dialects of Australian English (including Aboriginal, Broad, Standard and Cultivated Australian English) and New Zealand English.

Just like the term “Black English” as used in the US, many terms for English dialects used in the Asia Pacific region come with negative overtones suggesting that, somehow, they are “less pure”  or correct.   And, just like the term “Standard English” is used in the US, the UK and Australia to describe the language of government, commerce and science, we now use “Global” or “International English” to describe an (as yet not fully realised) standardised version of the language used by political, business, academic and other leaders when communicating within multinational corporations and organisations and across borders.

Helping people who want help

In line with ASHA’s position statement on dialects, Banter Speech & Language’s view is that:

  • speaking a dialect or “heavily accented” version of English is not a speech or language disorder requiring treatment; and
  • if, for professional, business or social reasons, you want to speak a more standard form of English to help you communicate with others – whether it be Standard Australian English or a more “internationally acceptable” dialect of English than you currently use – we will help you.  But we’ll also respect your “home” dialect.

Key source: ASHA Position Statement on Social Dialects.

Related articles:

  • Embrace your accent and speak clearly – lessons from a Global Investment Bank
  • It’s not your accent that’s holding you back
  • “What did you say?” 10 evidence-based ideas to help others understand your speech
  • Who we help: meet Rakesh and Alice
  • Common pronunciation challenges for people who do not speak English as a first language: fact sheets
  • When it’s hard to slow down: 4 evidence-based ways to slow down your speech rate and increase your intelligibility

Images: http://tinyurl.com/lbv87qz and http://tinyurl.com/lc4kdz2

Hi there, I’m David Kinnane.

Principal Speech Pathologist, Banter Speech & Language

Our talented team of certified practising speech pathologists provide unhurried, personalised and evidence-based speech pathology care to children and adults in the Inner West of Sydney and beyond, both in our clinic and via telehealth.

  • Twitter
  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Pinterest
  • YouTube
  • LinkedIn
  • Email

Print Friendly, PDF & EmailPrint Friendly

Share this:

  • Email
  • Print
  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • Pinterest
  • LinkedIn

Related

Accent accent modification, communication training, presentation skills, professional communication

Reader Interactions

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Time limit is exhausted. Please reload CAPTCHA.

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

Primary Sidebar

Get in touch

115 Queen Street
North Strathfield NSW Australia
(02) 87573838
hello@banterspeech.com.au
Monday-Friday: 8.30am to 5.30pm
Saturday: 7.30am to 2.30pm
Closed Sundays and public holidays

Shop at our store

  • Discuss Exam and essay verbs Exam and essay verbs you need to know in high school: "Discuss" $5.99 including GST
  • Where is this person going? "Where" questions, pronouns (he/she) & common places $4.99 including GST
  • Motor-speech stories for articulation movements Pack 4: Palatal-Palatal, Palatal-Dental, Bilabial-Palatal $3.99 including GST
  • Book Hacker: How to read a book to understand it quickly $4.99 including GST
  • Blanks 2: What can these things all do/what can you do with these things? $4.99 including GST
  • Irregular plural nouns Plurals: Irregular Plural Nouns (including people, men, women, children, teeth, fish) $4.99 including GST
  • Listen then Speak 1: an oral language workout for students in Years 2-5 $5.99 including GST
  • Once Upon a Where Once upon a....where? A no-preparation resource to focus on the meaning of "where" questions in context $5.99 including GST

Store categories

January Featured Resource

  • Setting Goals for this Year: an Oral Language Workout $10.00 including GST

Recent articles

  • My child’s speech is hard to understand. Which therapy approach is appropriate?
  • Free preview: How to Supervise Speech Pathologists Properly in Private Practice
  • Selective Mutism: key things to know
  • Help your child to make inferences when reading

Featured Articles

What do you think about when you think about speech pathology?

Ask Us Anything: 17 things our readers and followers really want to know about speech pathology (but were too shy to ask)!

Language therapy works. But can we make it better?

Stuttering: what do we mean by ‘recovery’?

Lifting the lid on speech therapy: How we assess and treat children with unclear speech – and why

Too many children can’t read. We know what to do. But how should we do it?

I want to help my late talker to speak, but I’m stuck at home. What can I do?

Free Resources

Big book of child speech pathology answers

Getting ready to read at big school

Is your kindy kid really reading

The Scatter-Slayer Adventures

Free decodable: Book 1 of The Scatter-Slayer Adventures. The first in our decodable digital ‘select-your-sequel’ series for reluctant readers, aged 7-12.

Get our free resource

Subscribe to receive our blog articles

Check out our therapy and provider resources Go to our shop

Banter Speech & Language

Copyright © 2021 · BANTER SPEECH & LANGUAGE PTY LIMITED ·

  • Articles
  • Shop
  • Cart
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms of Use
This website uses cookies to improve your experience. We'll assume you're ok with this, but you can opt-out if you wish. Cookie settingsACCEPT
Privacy & Cookies Policy

Privacy Overview

This website uses cookies to improve your experience while you navigate through the website. Out of these cookies, the cookies that are categorized as necessary are stored on your browser as they are essential for the working of basic functionalities of the website. We also use third-party cookies that help us analyze and understand how you use this website. These cookies will be stored in your browser only with your consent. You also have the option to opt-out of these cookies. But opting out of some of these cookies may have an effect on your browsing experience.
Necessary
Always Enabled

Necessary cookies are absolutely essential for the website to function properly. This category only includes cookies that ensures basic functionalities and security features of the website. These cookies do not store any personal information.

Non-necessary

Any cookies that may not be particularly necessary for the website to function and is used specifically to collect user personal data via analytics, ads, other embedded contents are termed as non-necessary cookies. It is mandatory to procure user consent prior to running these cookies on your website.

loading Cancel
Post was not sent - check your email addresses!
Email check failed, please try again
Sorry, your blog cannot share posts by email.