OK. I've had time to reread this latest PoliticsNC dispatch. I could say a lot about the written text, but the conversation with Nathaniel Pearlman is well worth a listen. For content and for nuances of a distinctive Lower Piedmont NC dialect. Our state is language rich in dialects and sociolinguistics. Plenty has been written and resear…
OK. I've had time to reread this latest PoliticsNC dispatch. I could say a lot about the written text, but the conversation with Nathaniel Pearlman is well worth a listen. For content and for nuances of a distinctive Lower Piedmont NC dialect. Our state is language rich in dialects and sociolinguistics. Plenty has been written and researched about this over the years. What so many do not value are our oral traditions, region by region. And it's "truth" you can count on that children who arrive at school with spoken language close to "standard" English have a leg up on those coming from backgrounds rich in oral traditions. And are even stigmatized for it. It would improve spoken and written English teaching if teachers were better schooled in "oral" traditions and learn from their students rather than the other way around. But because standard English carries power, schools have forever privileged this at the expense of broader/deeper ways with words. Don't get me wrong, we want learners to develop a command of both spoken and written language standards and usage. And Mills as he speaks about writing process is fascinating. Aside: Mills drops "ng" word endings as many of us do, and within the same conversation keeps the full "ing" endings. And it's natural to rural Anson County; at least I think it is. I know this post is about ballot drop-off/roll-off; the stakes concerning the "charade" of misinformation on purpose--big topic; and the in-our-face "media shift" weakening our national fabric of a common base of knowledge and the pursuit of truth(s)--another big topic. Much to ponder.
OK. I've had time to reread this latest PoliticsNC dispatch. I could say a lot about the written text, but the conversation with Nathaniel Pearlman is well worth a listen. For content and for nuances of a distinctive Lower Piedmont NC dialect. Our state is language rich in dialects and sociolinguistics. Plenty has been written and researched about this over the years. What so many do not value are our oral traditions, region by region. And it's "truth" you can count on that children who arrive at school with spoken language close to "standard" English have a leg up on those coming from backgrounds rich in oral traditions. And are even stigmatized for it. It would improve spoken and written English teaching if teachers were better schooled in "oral" traditions and learn from their students rather than the other way around. But because standard English carries power, schools have forever privileged this at the expense of broader/deeper ways with words. Don't get me wrong, we want learners to develop a command of both spoken and written language standards and usage. And Mills as he speaks about writing process is fascinating. Aside: Mills drops "ng" word endings as many of us do, and within the same conversation keeps the full "ing" endings. And it's natural to rural Anson County; at least I think it is. I know this post is about ballot drop-off/roll-off; the stakes concerning the "charade" of misinformation on purpose--big topic; and the in-our-face "media shift" weakening our national fabric of a common base of knowledge and the pursuit of truth(s)--another big topic. Much to ponder.