[Augustine23389]

Why does it seem like there is a distinct form of 'less-educated English', that it has its own peculiar grammar, and that cuts across regional and even racial boundaries? I refer to people who say, for instance, 'would have went' instead of 'would have gone', 'I seen' instead of 'I saw', 'the water has ran' instead of 'the water has run', and so on. It is as though these people are learning a grammar with fairly consistent rules, only problem being that it's not correct, 'educated' English grammar. I would like to think that it's a kind of cultural marker distinguishing persons on opposite sides of an educational and cultural gap, but sad to say, I hear people talking like this who have graduated from college! (Obviously they didn't major in anything that required them to learn proper grammar.) What's going on here?

User Detail :  

Name : Augustine23389, Gender : M, Race : White/Caucasian, Age : 41, City : Columbia, State : SC Country : United States, Education level : Over 4 Years of College, Social class : Middle class, 

[ShirleyAvery]

As a former English teacher, I lament the decline of proper English. In some cases, it's just laziness. I'm not referring to fancy shmancy literary speech, just good grammar. It's true that spoken language is more casual than written language. On the internet, anything goes and speed seems more important than precision. My English skills have come from a good secondary education and from avid reading. With the TV, internet and DVDs, few Americans read for pleasure any more. Apparently, some folks think that "keeping it real" is incompatible with taking the time and effort to speak correctly. It's sad. If you look at those who have succeeded - Bill Gates, Obama, Colin Powell - they all speak correctly. It's no coincidence. Just Curious

User Detail :  

Name : ShirleyAvery, Gender : F, Disability : none, Race : White/Caucasian, Religion : Jewish, Age : 52, City : st. louis, State : MO Country : United States, Occupation : writer, Education level : 4 Years of College, Social class : Middle class, 

[Author]

Posts