DC's teacher says axing...

[Anonymous]

Wait, I thought the OP was talking about ONE word: "ask"? Which is it: is the teacher mispronouncing one word or is she using blatantly incorrect grammar over and over? In my mind, there is a big difference.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Wait, I thought the OP was talking about ONE word: "ask"? Which is it: is the teacher mispronouncing one word or is she using blatantly incorrect grammar over and over? In my mind, there is a big difference.

This thread has been about regional and dialectical speech patterns. In my professional experience, it's doubtful that just one word is ever the entire issue, but maybe so in this instance.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:^^Standard.

You'll need to preface "American English" with a region. Thank you.

Not really. There's Standard English, and then there are regional dialects. They're not equally valid in every situation.

A previous poster (maybe you?) used the term Southern American English. Do you think there's any region in the US that speaks Standard English without the need for a regional designation?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:^^Standard.

You'll need to preface "American English" with a region. Thank you.

Not really. There's Standard English, and then there are regional dialects. They're not equally valid in every situation.

A previous poster (maybe you?) used the term Southern American English. Do you think there's any region in the US that speaks Standard English without the need for a regional designation?

I am not PP 15:39, but I am the one who first used the term Southern American English (00:20).

Why do you feel the need to quiz me on which English dialect I speak? What relevance does it have to this thread? I answered PP 00:17 who wanted to know what the teacher is attempting to say when she says "axing" and now you need to know which specific dialect I speak?

To the OP of this thread, if you need to discuss this issue with someone at the school, I'd suggest taking it up with the principal first.

[Anonymous]

To OP - good for you -please do act on it and let us know how it goes.

You might start by talking to other parents to see how much support you have. If these responses are any indication, it might not be much.

But I'd press on regardless. Go to the principal. See how he/she reacts. Make it clear this is your only complaint about the teacher (assuming it is) and that you wnt to help her to be as effective as posible and that includes proper English in class.

If the principal is reluctant, go the next step, pointing out that the principal does not seem to think mispronunciation of a commonly used classroom word is a problem.

Considering how important this administration thinks classroom teachers are to children's academic success, it's hard to imagine that they will blow off a teacher mistake that is so easy to correct.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:^^Standard.

You'll need to preface "American English" with a region. Thank you.

Not really. There's Standard English, and then there are regional dialects. They're not equally valid in every situation.

A previous poster (maybe you?) used the term Southern American English. Do you think there's any region in the US that speaks Standard English without the need for a regional designation?

I am not PP 15:39, but I am the one who first used the term Southern American English (00:20).

Why do you feel the need to quiz me on which English dialect I speak? What relevance does it have to this thread? I answered PP 00:17 who wanted to know what the teacher is attempting to say when she says "axing" and now you need to know which specific dialect I speak?

To the OP of this thread, if you need to discuss this issue with someone at the school, I'd suggest taking it up with the principal first.

I'm not trying to quiz you about your specific dialect or speech patterns. I pointed out that the poster used the term Southern American English. Since the south is a region of the US, I then asked (above): Do you think there's any region in the US that speaks Standard English without the need for a regional designation?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:To OP - good for you -please do act on it and let us know how it goes.

You might start by talking to other parents to see how much support you have. If these responses are any indication, it might not be much.

But I'd press on regardless. Go to the principal. See how he/she reacts. Make it clear this is your only complaint about the teacher (assuming it is) and that you wnt to help her to be as effective as posible and that includes proper English in class.

If the principal is reluctant, go the next step, pointing out that the principal does not seem to think mispronunciation of a commonly used classroom word is a problem.

Considering how important this administration thinks classroom teachers are to children's academic success, it's hard to imagine that they will blow off a teacher mistake that is so easy to correct.

I am blown away by this. You must have an enormous amount of free time on your hands--and no need for self-improvement--if you think a mispronunciation is worth this kind of time and effort.

My husband had a teacher in elementary school who said "poim" instead of poem. He actually did come home pronouncing it that way. His parents (one of whom was a teacher) laughed, corrected him, and moved on with their lives.

A little perspective, people.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

I'm not trying to quiz you about your specific dialect or speech patterns. I pointed out that the poster used the term Southern American English. Since the south is a region of the US, I then asked (above): Do you think there's any region in the US that speaks Standard English without the need for a regional designation?

That's not what you asked me, you asked me which specific subset of American English I speak.

General/Standard American English is a dialect that's relatively free of regionalisms. If you'd like to learn more about it, there are grammar websites (look for ones with .edu) or even read articles on Wikipedia.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

I'm not trying to quiz you about your specific dialect or speech patterns. I pointed out that the poster used the term Southern American English. Since the south is a region of the US, I then asked (above): Do you think there's any region in the US that speaks Standard English without the need for a regional designation?

That's not what you asked me, you asked me which specific subset of American English I speak.

General/Standard American English is a dialect that's relatively free of regionalisms. If you'd like to learn more about it, there are grammar websites (look for ones with .edu) or even read articles on Wikipedia.

Please reread my post, which was 15:51. I'm trying to understand why "Southern" was used. Do you also say, "Western American English," "Northeastern American English," etc.? Is there a region that you consider to be "relatively free of regionalisms?"

[Anonymous]

The word "southern" was used because in AAVE (and in the original "aks" thread, some said Southern American English as well), metathesized pronunciations are commonly used. This is the explanation for why OP's child's teacher says "aks" instead of "ask."

Metathesized forms are not a common feature of every American English dialect, and it was therefore necessary to specify which dialects do feature metathesis. If you still do not understand, there's no other way to explain it to you. There is nothing more to explain. Go to Google or Wikipedia if you still need help, or perhaps enroll in a community college course in linguistics and phonetics.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:The word "southern" was used because in AAVE (and in the original "aks" thread, some said Southern American English as well), metathesized pronunciations are commonly used. This is the explanation for why OP's child's teacher says "aks" instead of "ask."

Metathesized forms are not a common feature of every American English dialect, and it was therefore necessary to specify which dialects do feature metathesis. If you still do not understand, there's no other way to explain it to you. [b]There is nothing more to explain. Go to Google or Wikipedia if you still need help, or perhaps enroll in a community college course in linguistics and phonetics.[/[/b]quote]

There is no need for you to be sarcastic; I understand your comments/posts. We probably have degrees in related fields. I also note that you are choosing to avoid answering the question.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

I am blown away by this. You must have an enormous amount of free time on your hands--and no need for self-improvement--if you think a mispronunciation is worth this kind of time and effort.

My husband had a teacher in elementary school who said "poim" instead of poem. He actually did come home pronouncing it that way. His parents (one of whom was a teacher) laughed, corrected him, and moved on with their lives.

A little perspective, people.

I'm blown away that you're blown away. How often did the teacher day poim? Several times a day for the whole school year, the way a teacher says axing? If I were either of those teachers, I'd hope someone would have enough courage and concern to correct me instead of talking about me behind my back and leaving me to repeat the error to another generation of students.

[Anonymous]

What exactly is your question? I thought I'd answered anything that you'd asked.

If it's about what dialects of AE are considered to be free of regionalisms, many people consider the accent of most of the Midwestern US to be close to "standard" AE. Do your questions somehow relate to the OP's concern about the teacher's AAVE (I am assuming the teacher is black American) or do you just want to discuss dialects?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

I am blown away by this. You must have an enormous amount of free time on your hands--and no need for self-improvement--if you think a mispronunciation is worth this kind of time and effort.

My husband had a teacher in elementary school who said "poim" instead of poem. He actually did come home pronouncing it that way. His parents (one of whom was a teacher) laughed, corrected him, and moved on with their lives.

A little perspective, people.

I'm blown away that you're blown away. How often did the teacher day poim? Several times a day for the whole school year, the way a teacher says axing? If I were either of those teachers, I'd hope someone would have enough courage and concern to correct me instead of talking about me behind my back and leaving me to repeat the error to another generation of students.

Wow, I hadn't realized that "poim" was that offensive--I thought it was a perfectly acceptable regionalism. My mom's family--highly-educated white Virginians--all say it this way.

[Anonymous]

My mother was an elementary teacher in a parochial school for over 20 years. She was born in Japan, and consequently had a lilting accent. More specifically, she had the stereotypical Asian r/l issue. She also occasionally had other issues with spoken language due to the fact that English was her second language. She worked very hard to correct these issues, practicing at home and with family members. She had parents who responded to her the way many on this forum are reacting, and it hurt her deeply as it felt like a personal attack on her identity. Yet this did not stop her from always giving her heart and soul to her students.

At her funeral, hundreds of former students came from as far back as her first teaching years. Every one of them told us how much she touched her lives, how they learned more from her than any other teacher, and how they always remembered her and her life lessons. Several of her "complaining parents" attended her funeral as well. They came to us in tears, saying how much they appreciated what she did for their children.

Not one of those attending spoke of her accent, her mis-pronunciation of words, or the fact that she wasn't speaking the Queen's English. They only remembered the life lessons she taught them and that she gave her heart and soul to her students in everything she did.

How sad that you might be denying your child the chance to have his/her life touched by a devoted, caring teacher just because of a stupid word. She might be a terrible teacher, or she might be the best thing that could ever happen to your child. I guess you won't know.