People form impressions of us based on the language we use, whether written or spoken. Our language choices tell people where we are from, whether we are educated or not, or professional business people or not. This is a universal truth with all languages, not only English.

In our last ESL blog, we talked about “Correct English” and how there are some people (Descriptivists) who believe in the educated speaker rule—namely, if an educated native speaker says it, that reflects Standard Language Usage. Others (Prescriptivists) believe that language should be spoken according to a set of rules (generally from Latin or Greek), regardless of how the current language actually functions.

There is yet another set of rules, and that is the way the language actually works. These are rules that native speakers of any language internalize as they acquire their language from childhood. In English, for example we say, She likes bananas. Most native speakers haven’t analyzed that and they cannot state the rule of the “3^rd person s” (likes) in simple, active declarative sentences. However, they know it and they use it. Non-native speakers haven’t internalized these rules and they need to learn them, either for social reasons or professional business reasons.

We can easily hear an accent in spoken English. Accents usually reflect pronunciation, but they can also reflect non-English word order, or non-English word formations. People are generally more forgiving about these issues in spoken English. However, in written English, especially in Academic English or in Business English, these issues become more of a problem.

In written form, non-native English is more easily seen. Sometimes we can identify a person’s native language by the types of errors he or she makes.

Russians and Slovaks, for example, tend to leave off the article before nouns. (I like show. We go to movies.).

Spanish speakers will tend to write or say I have cold instead of I am cold. Or I have 23 years instead of I am 23 years old. This is because in Spanish, the verb tener (to have) is used in these instances, rather than the verb, to be, as we use it in English.

Sometimes an English word is similar to a word in another language, but it really is not the same. For example, the English word embarrassed seems like the Spanish word embarazada, which actually means pregnant. It is no wonder that Spanish speakers will confuse the two, both in meaning and spelling. That woud be fairly embarrassing!

Sometimes certain errors are universal. By this I mean that, because English is unique in one or more aspects, non-native speakers from various language backgrounds will falter and show their accents in written English.

Third person s:  He like cars, instead of He likes cars.

Word order and third person s:   She fight all the time her brother, instead of She fights her brother all the time.

Plural nouns: They have two dog, iInstead of They have two dogs.

The above are only a few examples of accent in written English. There are many more. Usually, the correct forms can be learned in a course or from a book. Often, being aware of the native-speaker rules, will help.

So, what can you do? Check yourself on the above structures, or have someone edit your writing for you. Do you make these types of errors? Record yourself talking about a situation or a person. Then write the same story as a paragraph. Do you notice any differences?

Do you notice any of the problems we just illustrated above? If you do, just practice writing a few sentences using the native-speaker models above for these. The first step is being aware of how you speak and write.

Have some experience with this topic? Or perhaps a question? Leave us a COMMENT to share your thoughts.

MARILYN—Read more about this editor

What is correct English? Is it the English spoken on TV?  Is it a dialect of English, such as British English or American English?  Could it be a variety within American English, such as Mid-Western English or Southern English?

Is correct English what the grammar books tell us to say or write? Should written English be more correct than spoken English?

The answers to these questions may be “Yes” or “All of the above.” It really depends on who is asking the question and who is giving the answer.

People look at language in different ways. Linguists (like myself) are people who deal with the science of language and language change. Most linguists are Descriptivists who describe what is said in the language. Descriptivists don’t judge how the language (in our case, English) should be spoken. They just analyze and observe how it is being used. Descriptivists don’t judge any variety or dialect of English. They think that American English is just as good or correct as British English and that Mid-Western English is not any better or worse than Southern English.

Prescriptivists, on the other hand, argue that there are certain rules of the English language (many handed down from Latin and Greek) and these rules must be followed. Prescriptivists are often grade-school English teachers, sometimes grammar book writers, or others who believe that the language must not change.

Let’s look at some examples and how Descriptivists and Prescriptivists would react to them.

Example:                                          

1.  She thinks different from me.

     Drive slow.

     Speak clear.                      

Prescriptivists would say that the use of an adjective  instead of the adverb (differently, slowly, clearly) in the examples above is totally incorrect. It should be: She thinks differently from me; Drive slowly; Speak clearly.

Descriptivists might mourn the increasing loss of the adverb in American English, but would describe the above examples as an inevitable product of language change.

2. Give it to Joe and I.

    Sally is against you and I

    It’s between John and I

Prescriptivists would say that we should use the objective case of the pronoun here (me, instead of I ) because only objective case pronouns should be used after prepositions (to, against, between).

Descriptivists would say that the use of the subject pronoun (I ) is a case of hypercorrection. Because we have generally used John and I in the subject position in a sentence,   (John and I are leaving now), it has come into use even when the phrase occurs after a preposition (It’s between John and I).

So who decides what is correct?  What should the student of English as a second language do?  As a textbook writer of many books in English for foreign students, as well as a university professor and teacher-trainer, here is my advice:

If possible, learn the rule as stated in the grammar books, but be aware that you will probably hear an alternate expression in spoken English. In written English, try to follow the prescriptive rule.

For example,  the polite request, May I have a drink, please?  will often be heard as Can I have a drink?  The question Whom did you bring? illustrates the prescriptive rule of using the objective form whom, but we rarely use that in spoken English. We are told to use It’s  I  in response to the question, Who is it?, but we would sound very archaic if we followed that rule, instead of just saying It’s me.    

The English language is changing constantly. We are judged on how we speak the language and how we write it. Generally, I tell my students that Standard Spoken American English is that variety heard on national television in broadcasters’ speech. I think this is a good rule of thumb for educated usage. So, for example, if they hear between you and I in the speech of educated people, it probably means the language is changing and that is becoming acceptable in Standard Spoken American English.

However, in written English, the criteria for acceptability are more formal and closer to the rules of the prescriptivist. In written English, especially in Business English, you should use the more formal expressions.

So here’s a parting piece of advice for written English: When in doubt, follow the rule. In spoken English, follow your ear.

Do you struggle with issues of English grammar and usage? Have some experiences you’d like to share? Or perhaps a question for our ESL expert? Leave us a COMMENT.

MARILYN—Read more about this editor