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Old 20-Oct-2006, 19:29
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Default Re: Should non-standard English be banned in the classroom?

When you say "Pidgin", what you mean is "Hawaiian Pidgin", which is actually not a pidgin but a creole. That's an important distinction: a pidgin is only any good for trade; a creole is a pidgin that has evolved so much it has become useful for everyday life.

I think you need to clarify the question. What do you mean by "ban in the classroom"? Do you mean banning anything at all that is not standard English from being spoken anywhere in school? Or do you mean formal lessons being conducted only in the standard language?

If you insist that formal lessons be conducted in non-standard variants of English as well as the standard, there could be problems in such diverse multicultural societies as the USA. If, for example, students have the right to be able to speak to their teachers and receive instruction in all non-standard variants, then you have to find teachers who can understand and speak all those variants.

And where exactly do you draw the line? Is it reasonable to expect a school in Southampton to train its staff to speak Scots English on the offchance that someone might move down from the Highlands and demand the right to be taught in Scots English? If not, when does it become reasonable? And, also, isn't that racist? But if you're prepared for Scots English, why not Geordie or Scouse? If you include some non-standard variants but not others, aren't you saying that some variants are not as important as others? And isn't that discriminatory as well?
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