Amber Allen

English 1101: “Language Controversies”

Dr. Hughes

Blog #2

Pinker gives and example of a preschooler named Sarah, whose parents only had a high school education. Obviously, their lack of education limits them. Through this example he suggests that with uneducated parents it was only possible for the young girl to say grammatically complex sentences because she just “created” these forms herself through instinct. Pinker even goes as far to state, “ …sentences like these show clearly that language acquisition cannot be explained as a kind of imitation.” How is it possible for Pinker to ignore the fact that her parents were not very educated and had her environment not changed then she may have never spoken a different and more complex language than her parents? This child should have the chance and ability to go beyond the limitations of her uneducated parents. If she is restricted from doing so, then for the remaining of this child’s life there will be a lack of expression. The child’s instinct to use the –s agreement suffix may begin to be used in their language, but it is not by coincidence. Pinker also suggests that the child suddenly realizes it should be used to make sentences fluent. The idea of that simply as an “instinct” for the child is quite absurd. Children will use imitation of language they have previously heard. It is obvious that a child will imitate the language of others, and more than likely the language others speak has derived from speaking a language that has had more construction and education than they were instinctually born with in their natural language. According to Pinker though, children do no need correction to clarify the language they speak. Children will automatically advance linguistically and become a linguistic genius as they become older.  How can Pinker use all of his evidence to suggest that language does not correlate with intelligence? As I have seen in many of my patients throughout my career I feel very confident in the forming the opinion that linguistic abilities will not suddenly develop with age. Without any effort or revision to an individual’s language, I conclude that the person will never acquire the greatest power of their linguistic ability to express themselves. 

Pinker a Hypocrite?

I do not believe that I would consider Pinker a hypocrite. Although some of his writings and actions would make one think so. I would consider him as a man who likes to play with the minds of his readers and ultimately prove his point. We have discussed in class that he may have written this specifically because he wanted doctors and professors to read the article.I believe he had a greater purpose for his writing. I believe that Pinker did this on purpose, but not with the intention for just professors or doctors to read. I believe he wanted everyone who is capable to read to indulge in his article. I think this way because of how he supports other dialects and languages and discredits standard English. I believe he wrote in standard English to prove himself wrong. As funny as that sounds, he tries to show that standard English is just as proper as any other language like Ebonics. If you think well English is defiantly more proper,you are wrong. The truth of the matter is that all languages are proper. I also believe he wrote like this to show that even though he is criticizing standard English, that he himself is using it to write. I think he is trying to show that there are certain circumstances that you have to know about of how to approach the different kinds of dialects. It would be foolish to use Ebonics in a paper, even though he argues that no two languages are better then the other. There is a certain time to use it and when not to use it though. The funny thing about writing is that no matter what kind of dialect you speak, it is hard to tell how you sound in writing. The rules of writing are that you specifically use standard English in formal articles and papers. I think that Pinker was just following the rules of writing. If he were to tell you in person about this article he would use a much different language.