Blog Two

Jennifer Conley
Ms. Hughes
Language Controversies
28 August 2009

As we can all see Dalrymple thinks Pinker is a hypocrite, and other individuals may agree, but out of the two arguments we have been reviewing Pinker has been the one saying that it is alright for people to speak the languages that they have learned throughout their lives. Dalrymple remarks," I doubt very much whether it would have reached its 25th printing had he chosen to write it in the dialect of rural Louisiana, for example, or of the slums of Newcastle-upon-Tyne." I agree with Dalrymple in this statement but Pinker probably wrote his book the way he did so that everyone could understand it. Although not everyone speaks in Standard English, they would understand it easier in a standard dialect rather than a nonstandard dialect. In this case it makes me think that Pinker is not a hypocrite. I am not sure how Pinker was taught but by his writing I perceive that he had been taught the rules of the Standard English language. Dalrymple wants to discredit Pinker for the way he writes but in actuality I believe that Pinker knew what he was doing when he wrote in the Standard English. Yes, Pinker may value Standard English but he does talk about and give examples of different vernaculars. In no way did Pinker belittle any other language or give more credit to the standard dialect. He has accepted different vernaculars and has provided the research of the science behind some of his examples. If Pinker was as big of a hypocrite as Dalrymple makes him out to be then why does Pinker make such an effort to further explain his theories to others that there are many different people who speak in many different dialects? I am sure Dalrymple believes he has sufficient evidence against Pinker but I do not agree with Dalrymple's opinion.