Good and Bad English

Loads of common people, like me, as well as contemporary linguists have made many judgments about the English language, which appear both common and controversial. The various complaints over the quality of the English language are far spread in English speaking countries. These complaints are generally targeted at the quality of British or American English rather than the local variety of Standard English that is spoken in many English-speaking countries.

So is English “Good” or Bad”? Much debate has taken place on this topic and frankly, it is rather difficult to conclude for certain whether something is considered “good” or “bad”. No one can say conclusively that they know exactly what is right and what is wrong, thus any judgments made on the English language can only be an opinion and not the absolute truth. As Mackinnon mentions in chapter 9 that linguists believe “that all judgments about good or bad in language are ill-founded”. Hence who do we regard as being the reasonable authority on what is “good” and what is “bad” English. It is indeed a quandary and I tend to think that even though many ordinary people seem adept at making personal comments about the English language, I on the other hand will take a very neutral stand and not commit myself for fear of any censure by a linguist who is himself wary of making too sweeping a comment.

Since as Mackinnon himself states, that it is apparently difficult to make any reasonable judgments concerning the quality of English, there are however many things that we can consider to be helpful hints or rules that can aid us in making educated observations on whether something in English is “good” or “bad”. I will attempt to explain these various methods as I move along and will remain as always a neutral observer and not make any conclusions of my own of the validity of the following judgments.

Apart from spelling, punctuation and grammar, we can also make judgments based on accent and dialect, which some people believe to be random usage mistakes while others declare it to be a completely separate and consistent non-standard English dialect. This component involves the pronunciations and word or sentence forms other than those of Standard English. Sometimes these variants can be seen as simple mistakes in pronunciation. At times, a dialect and accent may also over time develop its own set of rules such as in “AAVE” and in Southern English. Such rules can occur because in language, changes are taking place all the time and in the instances mentioned above certain regions just develop their own accepted structure for the language they use.

Having looked at dialects and accents, we must also expect mistakes and changes in the meaning of words. Sometimes we come across words that appear to have double meanings. In a sentence, when a writer actually wants to convey certain particular emotions, he or she could inadvertently lead to a misunderstanding with the readers who might conceive some other meaning from a particular word. For example, the word “disinterested” that Mackinnon mentions appears to have two meanings and in a sense, readers might come away with somewhat different perceptions of what the author really means. In short words that have more than one meaning can be rather vague or lead to a misunderstanding between two parties.

Language can also be considered “good” or “bad” based on whether it is ”ugly” or “beautiful.” We have sometimes come across pieces of writing which appear heavy-handed and inappropriate. For example, some pupils attempt to use bombastic words in their essays which although appears congruent with the sentence is nonetheless inappropriate and thereby ”ugly.” A pupil once wrote that the “crystal waters of the pond shone brilliantly in the morning sun,” before suddenly jolting back with a very mundane “I was out for a jog.” Thus language can appear “ugly” when not used properly and hence Fowler provides us with some rules that can guide us to write beautifully. For example, using a familiar word rather than a fanciful one in a sentence because ultimately we want every reader to understand what is being said and not send them looking for a dictionary to figure out the meaning of a particularly abstract word.

Judgments can also be made according to the word usage and pronunciation of a certain individual and this can often lead one to conclude a speaker's social class, occupation or education level due to the manner in which an individual speaks. In this category of ”social judgment,” it allows for people to make unfair judgments towards a particular group of people and this can invariably lead to some level of stereotyping and class consciousness that we do not want pervading our environment. This aspect is”bad” but we see it being employed everywhere and it will take a concerted effort to actually not think in that manner at all.

Apart from social judgments, “Moral Judgments” can also be used to decipher whether the quality of language is “good” or “bad.” How we use words can either impress or anger the people around us. These judgments, which can sometimes be archaic, refer to the appropriateness of using certain kinds of language and words. Sometimes to come across as casual and hearty we might use a word that we deem entirely fine but might be morally considered wrong by others. So by saying something simple like “too bad” when faced with the tsunami disaster, one can actually be considered to be morally despicable and unsympathetic when one actually really means nothing untoward at all. There is another facet to consider and that is “Appropriateness” but I will not delve too much on this as I think I have somewhat already mentioned this aspect in my earlier discussions above. This type of judgment is based largely on the situation that one finds himself or herself in and it deals with when and where to use certain types of language, for instance using the language of academia in a formal, professional setting, while using informal language in a non-formal setting like when ordering food at the hawker center. Often this can be quite testing especially when at times as teachers we need to speak in Singlish to our pupils’ parents, and well it can be unnerving sometimes to actually hear ourselves speak so inappropriately.

There is still another area called “controversial usage” that we can discuss about too. This element refers to the screening of certain language by the speaker, due to the judgments that others will make upon the speaker. This category of judgment not only concerns the use of offensive and derogatory slang words, but also grammatical uses of the English language that are debated upon among between linguists and other professionals. This includes items, which although may be considered incorrect according to strict guidelines of British Standard English, the common use among even the educated have made them more acceptable. For example, ending a sentence with a preposition or using the word “irregardless” when no such word actually exists in the dictionary!

Many linguists, who do not like to make judgments concerning good and bad usage of language, often make exceptions regarding political correctness. That is language that is condemned as being sexist, racist, or in some way discriminatory against groups of socially or economically disadvantaged people. Being an Indian and hence a minority in Singapore, I have myself across the grotesque face of discrimination as well. I guess it has become part-and-parcel of life that to get angry is no more an option as it has become quite normal for some people to call us by some derogatory terms. Well, the ”politically correct” word is generally established to attempt to create a more positive image of a specific group. In America, it has become widely accepted to use terms such as Latino or African-American to associate people of a South American and African heritage respectively. But these ethnic terms can also create many problems. It lumps ethnic groups together without regard to their individual preferences and it leads to them being stereotyped and regarded in certain similar ways. Moreover, members of the specific group may not use the politically correct term in reference to other members of the same group, as they themselves might feel distant from others in that particular group. So it is very wrong indeed to simply use such terms to marginalize these ethnic groups in America.

In conclusion, it is evident that there are many ways to assess the quality of the English language and make comments about whether it is ”good” or “bad.” However, it is also apparent to a great extent that it is easier to argue for it being “bad” rather than to defend it adequately as “good”. Nonetheless, at the end of the day, how appropriate a sentence is or whether a dialogue is “good” or “bad” is not really an issue as it will always be difficult to decide because of the fact that people can always differ in their sentiments concerning the quality of something. Thus, I believe that as long as what is being said can be understood, that is ultimately the goal of language so let us put our doubts aside and strive to read and listen to understand rather than have an antenna out to always criticize and question language whenever the opportunity arises.