Dialect: Simply Correct Or Standard English?

Introduction

There are many ways in which people interact with language on a daily basis. Language itself can not only be seen, like when you read any number of different types of texts, it can also be heard, not only when conversing with others, but when watching a movie, listening to the radio and in many other everyday situations. Language can also be standard or diverse as not everyone speaks the same dialect, type or form of English as everyone else. Depending on what purpose language is being used for, a person will quite often change from using standard English, mainly used for academic and formal purposes, to a less standard form or dialect for informal purposes and professional purposes, as some professions have their own dialect …show more content…
This can be done in either a standard form of a particular language, such as Standard English, or in a specific dialect that has been formed by the blending or combining of two or more different languages, such as Aboriginal English. In no way should a dialect be seen as a wrong or incorrect form of a particular language, but rather as a different and equally correct and meaningful form of that language. Just as standard forms of a language contain specific ‘vocabulary, grammar, pronunciation and rule systems’ (Fellowes and Oakley, 2014, p.39), dialects of a language, while sharing many common characteristics not only with the standard form of a language and also with other dialects, are equally as rule governed, containing their own set of grammar, pronunciation and vocabulary. A child entering into their first years of schooling generally do not bring with them Standard English, but rather the language and dialect of that language that they have learnt and used while at home with their family and their community. The standard form of a language is more often than not something that needs to be learned at school, as there is more need for the use of it in an academic setting than there was/is when the child is at home. This is more evident in children for whom English is a second language. These bilingual children often find the transition to school life quite daunting. Not only are they entering into an environment quite different to what they are used to, they are also being immersed into a culture and language quite different to what they have up until this point experienced. Some of these children may start school with some knowledge of the English language and how and when to appropriately use it, while others will require more time to learn the basics of English, and the appropriateness of when to use certain words, terms and phrases as they may have spoken and