South London school bans "slang"

boing
63

So they were dressing up their historical educational failures in the Elizabethan frills and ruffs of linguistic pedantry, parading them in front of parents whilst maintaining the ruse.

It’s the same gig.

I’ve a relative at Eton, in the UK. Somewhat distant, but I’ve seen him a few times since he entered. To be frank, it’s pretty fucking incredible. They don’t pedantically insist on pretending every single aspect of character needs controlling.

They just get on with figuring out best how to educate the cohort in front of them.

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(as a writer, it’s totally obvious to me that “I wasn’t doing
nuffink” has a totally different flavour from “I did nothing” or “It
wasn’t me”)

'Totally ’ is yet more streetlang. Were you speaking in civil-service you might have used ‘perfectly’ for the first and ‘an entirely’ for the second.

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65

It’s more sophisticated on this enclosed little island. I see it at work all around me, across the full age spectrum.

Individuals inherit cultural fragments, and rapidly, say by age 10, implicitly understand that the grandees with wealth are an inaccessible bunch. They just don’t quite know how many grandees there are, and just how inaccessible they are. Anyway, they project onto their futures this cliff-face, and they don’t even apply for those jobs - in fact, they probably never know they exist, nor which firms have those jobs.

So the system automatically pre-filters. The very smart students are given a leg-up, to an extent, but must learn the plummy accent in order to blend in. In a law firm, for instance, an upper class client risks being upset or worried if they’re dealing with a lawyer with a street accent. They will immediately presume, wrongly, ignorance, and hence menace to their capital.

It’s not just the language - in fact, the barrelling tone of voice, the ability to project, the capacity to engage and run a conversation, the ability in essence to control minds with your voice - that’s the key. The linguistic trickery sits on top of that.

Point is, there are 1,000 years of aristocratic history behind this. Any power system, to stay in power and control, must as an imperative control the decision-making, the capital, the people, the whole way of running it.

This is why entrepreneurs have a famously difficult time in the UK - it’s difficult to attract capital, because the capital sits with the aristo / banking class in the main, and if they can’t ensure control of the outcome of the entrepreneur, they sure as hell don’t want to fuel an emergent alternative wealthy class.

As a negative image, when you have a plummy aristo expressing themselves in street slang, it’s an automatic assumption they’re taking the piss, or so enamoured with their trust-fund-funded dope lifestyle, they couldn’t give a toss, and want you to know it.

The UK is very, very good with language. It’s just that not all its citizens know that.

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66

It’d work better if WE uttered the word ‘stop’ after their bloody sentences.

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67

“Chavs”, eh? Teach the filthy underclass to better themselves by learning the abstruse language of their betters, what? If they can get their dirty little brains round it, that is.

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68

Factually inaccurate - while a few academies are selective schools, most are comprehensive which means, in the UK, that ability is not a factor in admissions.

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69

Which evidence? Show me the research.

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70

Well, you could always explain that to pupils, whilst you teach them, rather than banning the way they speak to each other. A friend of my mother’s used to teach here before it became an academy school. Just been talking to my mother about this. Guess which inner-city demographic is going to be hit by this ‘slang’ banning?

71

Timely article in today’s Evening Standard (widely read daily London rag) - basically, skools ain’ nuff inspirin’, yeh?

Ain’t nuffing new.

72

Given our current crop of Eton-educated leaders sound like tossers when they try to talk common, this school would serve the next generation of leaders better by mandating the use of this kind of language rather than deprecating it. So I heartily approve of the ban; wankers should sound like wankers.

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Is your point that banning words that they’ll use regardless will improve literacy levels? *scoff*

I’m personally more interested in your feud with the Guardian. What did they do to hurt your feelings, exactly?

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74

Basically is used as needless filler, a bit like ‘like’.

“So, basically, Trish is bare fit”.

Extra? I have to confess that one threw me as well, and I used to live in South London.

75

You realise that banning use of these markers and slang words has absolutely nothing to do with teaching grammar or literacy, like? As Cory indicated, they are simply a different code to the one used by our tribal leaders. One is more literate if one understands more codes, and less literate if one conforms solely to one code. Innit, yeah?

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76

There’s a way to teach it that isn’t snobby and condescending. How about using the slang or other recently developed languages in coursework by finding alternatives in “proper” English?

Language is language, and it evolves over time. Some words that start as colloquialisms become so popular, that they are used by all stations of education and later become legitimate in dictionaries. Sometimes new words are quite clever. The word “dis” is actually a prefix (dys) used in medical terms as bad; difficult; disordered. Therefore, if you “dis” someone it is obvious what the intent is.

77

It’s a contraction of ‘disrespect’, as it goes, but you’re absolutely right re: teaching.

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78

Yes, that interpretation too, (the opposite of the word following the prefix) But I think it is whimsical and smart. It would seem that the school is taking a standpoint that developing languages are foolish. In many cases they are not. Making up new terminology demonstrates intelligence, even if it doesn’t adhere to old standards. You need to start from that point and move further. At least, that’s my opinion. Starting with shame will only make people feel bad about themselves and you.

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79

“coz” is banned? Am I allowed to say 'cos instead?

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Besides, South London has actually become a live and vibrant cultural influencer.

There’s a slew of Carribean English inspired words / phrases, dis being one, and they’re morphing accent and vocab. Carribean English is lyrical, guttural, forceful, basically more florid and entertaining to use and hear than the prior regional accent.

Frinstance, it’s no longer “Saaaff Lonnun”, it’s become “Sow-Ph Lonnun” - with the ‘ph’ sound emanating pretty forcefully. It’s more assertive, more characteristic, and prouder.

Check it - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Caribbean_English

What’s funny, in a mild sense, is that loadza the middle / upper class kidz have taken it on. So “like” isn’t “l-ai-k” anymore, it’s become “l-eh-k”, much like the Queen herself would refer to her pond.

Rapid morphing of the lingo also allows key cultural influencers to stay on top of the game - they’re the koolkidz, inni’ yeh?

It’s a beautiful thang.

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81

@GilbertWham is on the money. Dis(respect) comes from the gangsta®s, and dissing someone can lead to some major consequences, including being killed. You can dis(s?) someone simply by looking at them the wrong way, at the wrong time, all the way through to cheating them, killing their compatriot, whatever.

82

Yes, I agree with that. It’s still clever.

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