Pinker Is Not A Moron!

Steven Holland
Engl 1101
Dr. Hughes
Blog 2

Theodore Dalrymple may have made a mistake to accuse Steven Pinker of being a hypocrite. Dalrymple thought that Pinker valued Standard English because he used it when he wrote. Pinker believed that people should use whatever language or dialect they prefer. Dalrymple attacks Pinker by saying that, “his own book is written, not surprisingly, in the kind of English that would please schoolmarms.” What Dalrymple failed to understand is that Pinker did not become hypocritical; he simply chose to use whichever language he preferred. Pinker chose to write in Standard English, which proved his beliefs in the first place. Pinker was the only person who could choose what language to write in. Pinker believed that language was an instinct and not so much cultural, as Dalrymple did. Pinker’s concept that language is an instinct only supports the idea that people will use the language or dialect that they feel the most comfortable with. How could Pinker be a hypocrite if he used his own idea and Dalrymple was too narrow-minded to notice? Pinker says that, “English is a zany logic-defying tongue, in which one drives on a parkway and parks in a driveway, plays at a recital and recites at a play. They know that English spelling takes wackiness to even greater heights…” Pinker understands that the English language is such a hard language to learn that people have problems using Standard English, and therefore don’t feel comfortable using it. Pinker also states that, “unlike most books with language in the title, it will not chide you about proper usage...” Dalrymple instantly attacks this statement by saying that there is an “old-fashioned elitist idea that there is a correct and incorrect form of language…” This actually does not argue against Pinker’s idea, because Pinker didn’t care if people used a correct or incorrect form of language. He only supported that people should speak however they want.