Should there be a Standard English?

June Jordan seems to be arguing,  "Should there be a Standard English?"  How do we recognize the different types of English that students use?  I am not only referring to Black English, but other types of English as well, i.e., Spanglish, Konglish, etc. Is it proper to suggest that everyone must speak Standard English without the  consideration of someone's background or ethnicity, i.e., the Queen's English? This English is of course considered to be one that provides more opportunities to those that use it. Standard English is if course, privileged, while Black English is not. How does a teacher balance both languages in the classroom if he/she has students who use these languages? Should he/she privileged one form over the other, particularly if many of the students use Black English? How does the teacher even begin to address this issue?



I think that one of the things that the teacher could do to address this issue would be to explain that Standard English is in fact privileged in this country, and that using it can afford them better  opportunities in their lives.  It is the language that most people in this country accept as being the proper way to speak. Of course there are many who may disagree with this sentiment as well, and therein is the controversy.



One of the things that June Jordan brought up in her article was the notion of someone who speaks in Black English losing their power if they spoke or wrote in Standard English for the purpose of being understood by the majority, even if by so doing, you were allowing yourself to be understood by a greater number of people. I believe that to write in a language that the majority of the country use, does not give away your power. It deepens it. It makes it more powerful because it shows that even though you may speak, read, and write in Black English, that you can also do the same in Standard English. The person that June Jordan writes about in her essay,  Willie Jordan, would disagree. He would regard this as speaking in the language of the oppressor, even at the expense of being understood.



As I was reading Willie Jordan's thoughts on this issue, my mind went back to Frederick Douglass'  book. In his book, he did not resort to speaking in Black English, but instead used the language of his oppressors to get his point across on the indignities of slavery, so that he could reach a greater number of people who might be sympathetic to his plight. If he had in fact spoken in a language that was not considered to be in the majority, his arguments, as well as his observations with respect to slavery and its evils would not have been understood by the very people who he was trying to reach. By speaking in the language of the oppressor, he is able to make his argument even more powerful. Similarly, when Willie Jordan finally decided to use Standard English, his argument about what the police had done to his brother become more powerful.  And more to the point, his thoughts about this terrible injustice reached a greater number of people, than if he only written in Black English, who, one can hope, were able to feel sympathy for what he had gone thorough, and could lend their voices to his, to make make a difference. I believe that the ability to speak in the language of the dominant culture,  does not take give away power that you might have by not speaking in a language, that is not  considered acceptable by the majority of people. The ability to use language to reach a greater number of people shows a tremendous power, and should be applauded.