Supporters of official English in the United States can learn from Slovakia

[Barbara Need]

Wilson,

I asked that very question in SF in 1987 (there was a joint plenary
session of the MLA and LSA, which at the time were meeting the same
days). Hiakawa was supposed to be there, but he was not doing well, so
a colleague came. I explained that I was aware that my English was not
the same as my students' English, so what English would official. His
reply? "Well, English English!" I decided I did not need to follow
that up!

Barbara

Barbara Need
Chicago

On 13 Jul 2009, at 9:56 PM, Wilson Gray wrote:

> You've noted an interesting problem for English-only-ers. Whose
> version of English is going to be the official, "correct" version? I
> cast my vote for academic jargon. Failing hat, my vote is for
> down-home, from-way-out-in-the-country, BE "flat talk, leavened with
> the vulgarities and obscenities of urban BE.
>
> -Wilson
>
> On Mon, Jul 13, 2009 at 5:52 PM, Dennis Baron<debaron at illinois.edu>
> wrote:
>>
>> There's a new post on the Web of Language:
>>
>> Supporters of official English in the United States can take a hint
>> =20
>> from Slovakia, where a new official language law promises to be
>> two, =20
>> two, two things in one: it=92s a nation builder and an agent of =20
>> oppression.
>>
>> Find out more. Read the post on the Web of Language: Â  Â =
>> http://www.illinois.edu/goto/weboflanguage

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