DOCUMENT RESUME ED 049 265 TE 002 393 AUTHOR Laird, Charlton; And Others TITLE [Linguistic Approach to the Study of the American Language.] INSTITUTION Baltimore City Public Schools, Md. PUB DATE 67 NOTE 83p. JOURNAL CIT Baltimore Bulletin of Education, A Journal of the Public Schools; v43 n2-4 p1-80 1966-67 EDRS PRICE EDRS Price MF-0.65 HC-$3.29 DESCRIPTORS Diachronic Linguistics, Dialect Studies, Language Arts, *Language Usage, *Linguistics, *Linguistic Theory, *Nonstandard Dialects, Reading Proyrams, Structural Grammar, *Teacher Education, Traditional Grammar, Transformation Generative Grammar ABSTRACT This bulletin reports on condensations of tape-recorded lectures and discussions from a workshop which trained a nucleus of Baltimore City Public School personnel in new apprlaches to the study of the English language. Desiyned to serve as an orientation, it is made up of six major sections: (1) Charlton Laird discusses the history, nature, and function of language, (2) Robert DiPietro explains the traditional, structural, and transformational approaches to the analysis, study, and teaching of language,(3) Royer Shuy shows the causes of dialect differences and demonstrates how "good" or "bad" usage is effected by historical, psycholoyical, and sociological principles, (4) William Stewart discusses the historical, sociological, and foreign language influences which congribute to the shaping of systems of aonstandard speech, (5) Rosemary Wilson describes the benefits of a reading program based on linguistic principles, and (6) Edgar Schuster offers a structural grammar lesson on modification of nouns. A list of references for language and linguistics is also included.(DD) U S. DEPARTMENT OF NEAE.TEl. EDUCATION INEI FARE OFFICE OF EDUCATION THIS DOCUMENT HAS BEEN REPRODUCED EXACTLY AS IR ECEVE0 FROM ZHEPERSON 04 ORGANIZATION ORIGINATING IT POINTS OF VIEW OR OPINIONS STATED DO NOT NECES SASSY REPRESENT OFFICIAL OFFICE OF ECK, CANON POSITION OR POLICY In this issue. LANGUAGE 2 CharltonLaird,Professorof English,University Of Nevada LINGUISTICS 26 Robert J. DiPietro. Associate Professor ofLinguistics, Georgetown University BOARD OF SCHOOL COMMISSIONERS Eli FRANK, JR., President DIALECTOLOGY AND USAGE 40 J PERCY BON!) Roger W. Sl .ry, Associate Professor of English and MRS. M. FICMIOND EARRING Linguistics, Michigan State University PHILLIP R. MACHT WILLIAM D. McEr...FDY MRS. ELIZABETH MURPHY MOSS NONSTANDARD SPEECH PATTERNS 52 WILLIAM S. S7ONE, M.D. William A. Stewart, Center for Applied Linguistics (MLA), Washington, D.C. JOHN'. SWEENEY, JR. SIDNEY IL TINLEY, JR. BOARD OF SUPERINTENDENTS LAURENCE G. PAQUIN, Superintendent of LINGUISTICS AND RED. ,ING 66 Public Instruction Rosemary G. `lison. Assistant Director, Curriculum M. THOMAS GOEDEKE. Associate Superim OlTice,Philadelpliia Public Senna! System teneent, Administration VEr.lioNS. V AvkiNA, Associate Superin- tendent, Curriculum and Instruction SIDNEY N. CHERNAK, Assistant Superintend- ent, Secondary, Vocational, and Adult LINGUISTICS AND WRITING '73 Education Edgar IL Schuster, Assistant Professor of English, AMBROSE J. CHLADA, 115., Assistant Superin- Re,,ver college, Penns)ls,ani3. tendent, School Facilities Ilousrem R. JACKSON, Assistant Superin- tendent, Pupil Personnel and Staff S.,rtices WALTER A. MACCUbBIN, Assistant Superin- tendent, Sleff Personnel and Central Ad- ministrative Services I .:BRARY REFERENCES 77 SAUL M. PERDUE, Assistant Superint ndent, Business Management Emus V. WALKER, Assistant Superintend- -PEFINUSSION TO PEPROCYJCIE THIS COPY ent, Elementary Education 5151110 MATIRIHE HAS SEEN GRANTED sr ..; 4 17,6( Editi: AngelsM. Bicening,Director, %%SButeall ofPublications, 3 East 2511-, Street, 10 ERIC AND ORGANISATIONS OREPArING UNDER 'SPUMES'S WITH THE 1.15 OFFICE Baltimore, Maryland 2121); ALAI Nos. 2.4 OF EDUCATIONEVIrHEN 14.PPOODCrON OUTSIDE THE (PC 54511M RE051515 REA 1966.57 5005,05 OF THE C0P,AIGH1OHNER Foreword For several years the supervisory staff of the Secondary English Department has been exploring linguistic approaches to the study of the American English Language. This study has been pursued through hearing information-giving lectures by out-of-state consultants, reading of selected references and follow-up discussion in English depart- mental meetings, attendance at institutes conducted by regional colleges and universities, and participation of some staff members in the preconvention workshops conducted by the National Council of Teachers of English in connection with national conventions. From this intensive study, the supervisory staff under the chair- manship of Milton Velder projected a series of workshops for the Baltimore City Public Schools. This series was planned in three phases, the first partially financed with ESEA funds and the third entirely financed with ESEA funds. Mr. Ve lder, with the cooperation of L. Earl Wellemeyer, Josie C. Smith, Charles L. Allen, Elsa R. Graser, Jean B. Owens, and Virginia P. Redd, set up these purposes for the workshops: Phase I (summer 1966) to train a nucleus of informed personnel in the new approaches to the study of the Lnglish language so that they may serve as leaders for future regional city-wide work- shops. Phase II (school year 1966-1967) to study in depth the topics presented in the first phase and to prepare materials for the third phase. Phase III (school year 19674968) to conduct city-,vide work- shops onaregionalbasis opentoallelementary school teachers and secondary English teachers. Each regional work- shop to be headed by members of the English supervisory staff T and by teachers selected from participants in Phase I Workshop, This Bulletin reports con(lensatiors of tape-recorded lectures and discussions in the Phase I Workshop. Vincent D. Malin awl John J, Schreiber of the Bureau of Publications attended the sessions, tape recorded the lectures and discussions, and prepared the condensation. Mr. NIalin and Mr. Schreiber read the transcriptions, made by the secretarial staff in the Bureau of Publications, and drafted the condensation along the lines planned by the editor with Mr. Wider and Dr. Graser and the staff in the Bureau of Publications. Mr. Wider and Dr. Graser read the condensations, as well as thr, transcriptions, and assisted in determining how fully the lectures would be reported, Each lecturer retainscopyright privilegesforthe material which appears in this Bulletin. The Bulletin is offered to the Baltimore City Public School staff and to the profession as a useful orientation to the topic "Linguistic Approach to the Study of the American Language." ANCELi, M. BROENINC. Editor 2 Language "Here we are with language which we have devised and yet we do not understand the thing," Dr. Laird said at the outset of the Linguistics Workshop, and then he promptly demonstrat'd that he has a thor ough knowledge and understanding of "the thing." Dr. Laird gives us an intriguing picture of Language as it has developed from Chaucer to Chomsky, from Sanskrit to Pennsylvania Dutch, and from primitive symbols to the Oxford English Dictionary. CHARLTON LAIRD I have been asked totell you what isremember God and Adam are supposed to language. We are dealing here with one of thehave started using language at once, discuss. mysteries of the world. Here we are withing relatively difficult subjects the first day. language which we have devised and yet we do not understand the thing. We do not knowMystery of the Mind where it came from and we do not know what it is. We come close to knowing what itis. One reason we don't know how language We do know something of how it works. works is that language is the product of the Language is a mystery in which for a longmind and we don't know how minds work. time we had very little interest. As far as we Neurologists insist that minds work as a re- can tell, earlier, relatively primit:ye peoplesult of an almost infinite number of binary just ignored it. They used language but theychoices, that is, the only thing the mind can asked no more about it than they did aboutdo is to say "yes" or "no." Apparently, our something like walking and eating.It wasminds work like a computer but they deal something one soon decided to do and thewith such great bodies of materials so rapidly ability to do so was just assumed to be there.that comprehending what the mind is dying In fact, in many quarters it was firmly be.as it deals with an unbelievable number of tieved that language was always there. You'llbinary choices is incomprehensible. A comput- er has tanks of knowledge stored in tapes Thi, ,ndensatinn n:sfr by mg e nt Mails of the 11i.arsu Pubh and drums and when it is asked a question, it I mai,. of 11 SAN' tr1.14Ing id I),lair(' ire,. 711.tirm to thr I Sorsi,tir orsbnp tonds led by the Battironre CA! Du blir Ftrboole. A urset 525. just assembles this body of knowledge and 1956. Dr. !Jiff rosins the top)rtgli on this material .n4 hn Olen the gives its answer on the basis of that body of Elsner, of Publir vino, retIlli.iina to print this ron.leetssline in the Pelf Mare ON liffon Of EA.. lion. knowledge. Our minds apparently work in 2 3 LANGUAGE 3 very much this way. They have stored upcan go on to the mathematicians who can results so that when there is a decision to bethink in mathematical symbols.Ihave a made, they don't say, "Well, now, in light offriend, a composer, who, 1 believe, can cc- everything, considering the possibilities of thetually think in tone. Tones are symbols suffi future, I would think this might be good" ciently precise for him so that his mind can they can't do that at all; they say "yes," "no"work directly with them. that's all they can do. When I speak it's But the largest body of relatively precise simply the result of an inconceivably largesymbols and there is no other group even number of "yes" answers. Something in theclose is the symbol or the symbols that brain is being asked to do something and it'smake up the language.