Transcriber: Hoda Adel Reviewer: Elisabeth Buffard
So, that's correct.
I'm here today to tell you that there is no such thing as correct English.
But first, I want to hear a bit from you all.
So, how many of you are from Fargo or within fifty miles or so ?
(Audience cheers)
Ok. Now, who among you can name
the mascot of North Dakota State university sports ?
Audience: The Bison!
Ok, excellent.
I'm going to ask you another question, and I want you to be honest with me.
How many of you have ever tried to tell someone how to say it right?
(Laughter)
Yeah?
So, you're probably aware
that there are at least two ways to say this word.
And that locals tend to have a very strong allegiance toward one of them.
(Laughter)
So strong in fact
that outsiders have been known to be bullied into saying "bi-zon"
with the z sound in the middle instead of the s sound in the middle,
which is how virtually everyone else in the country says it.
(Laughter)
It turns out that a difference in pronunciation
often serves as a local or social identifier,
and that failure to say it right can have real social consequences.
The same goes for grammar.
Consider the case of habitual be.
This is a grammatical feature
used in some varieties of African American dialects
to indicate ongoing behavior or habitual behavior.
Many English speakers consider this usage to be non standard.
A failed attempt at producing proper English.
As though these be's are just dropped in there,
haphazardly at random.
But research reveals that habitual be
is intricate, systematic and communicative,
as much as any verb in mainstream varieties of English.
In dialects that use this feature,
habitual be consistently expresses ongoing action.
And yet, using habitual be
and other features of African American English
has consequences in mainstream America.
Recall the Trayvon Martin case, in which key witness Rachel Jeantel,
a young African American woman, was widely misunderstood, and discredited
for the way she spoke English,
using systematically features of African American varieties of English.
George Zimmerman was acquitted,
and Rachel Jeantel was viciously attacked on social media,
as highlighted by these tweets,
and reflected in one juror's attitude,
that her speech patterns were non communicative
In the view of the mainstream public,
Rachel Jeantel just didn't "say it right".
Young women in general have often come under fire
for failure to "say it right".
Take a look at this quick video clip
from Faith Salie on cbsnews.com.
Faith Salie: America's young women are running out of oxygen.
What esle could explain why so many of them sound like thiiiiis?
Girl 1: Sooo cuuute!
Girl 2: Hiii!
Girl 3: It's just kind of, like, you know, moootto.
Girl 4: Chloe just dooon't get iiiit!
Faith Salie: believe it or not,
there's a scientific term for the way a Kardashian speaks:
and it's "vocal fryyyy".
(Laughter)
So, vocal fry is a kind of pronunciation difference
affected in the vocal cords.
And mainstream media tends to vilify vocal fry,
pinning it to young women,
and blaming the Kardashians for instituting its use.
Our own Fargo forum even noted that vocal fry is often found annoying,
and the Atlantic advises that young women who wish to get a job
ought not to vocal fry during their job interview.
(Laughter)
And yet, there is insufficient scientific evidence to show
a) that vocal fry is anything new
and b) that it's young women, who are predominantly doing it.
Men are actually vocal frying too.
It's just we find it annoying, when young women are doing it.
(Laughter)
Another group that just can't catch a break
when it's comes to saying things right is young people.
Whether it be changing the meaning of words completely,
changing nouns into verbs, or vice versa,
young speakers are always innovating,
and the language isn't continually influx.
Whereas "epic" used to mean something like broad in scope,
as in "an epic poem by Homer",
we know live in a world where epic can refer to a really good cheeseburger.
(Laughter)
Lebron James can be "literally on fire" when shooting a high percentage.
"Google" is a verb and "invite" a noun.
Language changes.
That's why Harry Potter doesn't sound like Shakespeare
and that's why older generations will always accuse younger generations
of destroying the language.
Barry Sanders of the Raleigh News Observer,
often lament the morbid state of the English language.
I wonder if he realizes
that older generations were saying the same thing to his generation
when he was a kid
and that young speakers communicate successfully,
and we will continue to do so.
So, if you're buying what I'm saying,
you maybe sitting there thinking right now:
"Sure! There is no such thing as correct English.
But, couldn't people who come to Fargo from the outside
just learn to say "bison"?"
(Laughter)
Shouldn't Rachel Jeantel just have learned to speak a little whiter for court?
Can't young women stop vocal frying
long enough to get through a job interview?
And shouldn't young speakers just speak formal academic English all the time?
Well, it would be very easy for me to answer yes to all those questions,
because I'm a white male, college-educated English teacher from Fargo.
(Laughter)
In other words,
I belong to all of the privilege demographics
who gets to decide what it means to say it right in these cases.
What I wish to impress upon you all today
is that it is us, members of privilege demographics,
who need to change.
We need to stop using language variation,
as a reason to exclude people.
When language variation represents a difference not a deficit,
that should be celebrated, and not subordinated.
So, please know,
that the next time someone comes up to you and tells you say it right,
they are talking utter nonsense.
Thank you.
(Applause)