Grammar and standard English grammar are the same thingДespite what some would argue, it is not contradictory to advocate for grammar to be taught and for standard English to be presented simply as one variety. The Picture Art Collection / Alamy Stock Photo 1. Here then, a debunking of the five major myths.Д«eowulf, the medieval epic, is written in a non-standard form of English. The op-eds that have since followed go further in demonstrating the widespread misunderstandings of what standard English is. Is that really a claim anyone wants to level against, well, every English speaker before 1400, which is when what we now think of as standard English in Britain first emerged?

It implies that the 85% to 88% of the UK population that speak non-standard forms of English, not to mention the many millions of people elsewhere in the world who speak non-standard varieties of English, cannot think clearly.ДЄnd thatвЂ™s before you dig into the history of the language.

This position is as absurd as it is misguided. вЂњIf you say, вЂI wereвЂ™, youвЂ™re just not thinking straightвЂќ. вЂњDoes it really matter,вЂќ Robinson asked Gwynne, вЂњif I say, вЂI were going to the shopsвЂ™?вЂќ How so? Well, if your teacher tells you that вЂњI was going to the shopsвЂќ is the only correct way to say it, and if thatвЂ™s how youвЂ™ve always said it, youвЂ™re going to have an easier time than another child who, at home, has always said, вЂњI were going to the shopsвЂќ, and has to change the way they speak when they get to school. Saying it is the only correct way to speak puts those children who donвЂ™t speak that way from birth at a disadvantage.

Robinson asked that I explain my position, which is as follows: standard English should not be presented in the national curriculum as the only correct form, but as what it is, which is the socially most prestigious form. My opponent was Nevile Gwynne, a British private tutor, author and, as presenter Nick Robinson put it, a вЂњstickler for the right sort of grammarвЂќ. When I recently explained why teaching grammar in primary school still matters, Radio 4вЂ™s Today programme invited me to debate the importance of standard English.

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