On November 30, the class had a brief discussion on the topic of language in relation to class. If I'm not mistaken it was concluded that the upper-middle class way of speaking is not as correct (or proper) in comparison to the average middle class (Petty- Bourgeois), because this class seems to be overconscientious of their grammar and way of speaking.
While I can see this argument- simply put; that they are trying too hard to be 'perfect' and do this so people think that they are at a higher societal level than they really are (as they try and associate themselves with the upper-middle class), is it really true, however?
I think that the way people speak and use proper English reflects the level of education they have and perhaps even the people they associate themselves with. It makes sense to me that the more contact a person has with a scholarly environment the higher the chance they will develop proper English and use it as they mature and develop. In fact, we have even had conversations about how the wealthy (upper-middle class) are the ones who dictate power and have control in our society, therefore wouldn't it make sense to say that they also have access to the highest levels of education. If they have access to high levels of education, then wouldn't they be the ones who have developed the skills to use proper English and grammar when they speak? I think so!
Truthfully, I havent seen to many upper-class educated people use terms like: 'proper!' aka for 'well done!' or 'nice job' or 'what are you saying tonight?' aka for 'what are your plans for the evening?' or even 'are you down to reach (or chill)?' aka for 'would you like to join us?'. It's more the middle-class, petty-bourgeois (or lower) that use these or the finding of an upper-middle class person trying to act 'cool' in order to fit into another class in society. Or it may even be that the lingo we use is slowly being altered top the point that this is how young people (upper middle class or middle class, academic or not) communicate among themselves- because I've definitely never heard someone address a professor like that....!
-Andrei
I agree with you on the fact that one's vocabulary and use of correct grammar is a reflection of their education. However, it does not take the common use of slang into consideration. I think it is a safe assumption that virtually every person uses some type of slang in their everyday language without even realizing it. Words such as "hey", ""yeah", "what's up?".
ReplyDeleteAnother point to consider is our society's heavy reliance or everyday use of technology. Now that smartphones autocorrect misspelled words, it probably helps a lot of people appear to be better spellers and grammatically correct.
Personally, I think that a distinction is hard to detect between the upper-middle class, and average-middle class as they essentially live and work amongst one another in the same society. I also think that it depends a lot on who we are conversing with. If it is one of our professors, as students we are probably going to more aware of our grammar as we speak with them. Like you said, I find it hard to believe that any student would ask their professor if he's "down to chill during office hours". As with most things in life, language and grammar is contingent!
-Ashton
Just came across this, really funny!
ReplyDeletehttp://stuffwhitepeoplelike.com/2008/05/12/99-grammar/