Paper Summary:

The author of the paper contends that, in order to understand the existence of accent or dialect bias, it is important to understand the historical and cultural framework within which the English language developed. In the paper, the author examines the history of the development of the English language as it relates to the preference expressed for a specific accent or dialect as being "correct".

From the Paper:

"Language is a remarkably complicated but simple matter. Each language system--French, Japanese, African languages, etc.--has its own set of sounds or hand gestures that people who speak or use their hands to communicate other languages would find difficult to produce. In the United States, children learn English via the parts of speech. They learn that verbs are action words, nouns are people, places, things, or ideas, and adjectives are descriptors. Students taking English classes in the United States may feel that only English speakers must struggle through these lessons, they are wrong. In fact, language universals appear in each language. This means that while every language has different words, sounds, and meanings, all share similar parts of speech, a concept that allows a great deal of insight into the human mind (Fromkin, Rodman, and Hyams (17). In fact, while children in English language classrooms are taught the standard features of their language, they do not need formal education in order to understand the language. Instead, children begin to speak simply by hearing their parents and others in their environment speak."

Sample of Sources Used:

• Fromkin, Victoria, Rodman, Robert, and Hyams, Nina. An Introduction to Language.Boston: Thomas Wadsowrth, 2007.
• Soon Magazine. "History of the English Language." Soon Online Magazine. 25 April 2007. 22 January 2009. <http://www.soon.org.uk/page18.htm>

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