Pinker vs. Dalrymple

Samantha Redden
August 28, 2009
Dr. Jennifer Hughes
Pinker vs. Dalrymple

In modern day American society, Standard American English (SAE) is the respected way of speech. Pinker was not being a hypocrite by writing in a different style than he was defending. He never said that Black English Vernacular (BEV) was the correct writing or speaking style. If so, then writing in SAE rather than BEV would have been considered being hypocritical. Also, if he would have written in BEV then there would be a large chance that his book would not be as popular along with his ideas.
Dalyrmple accuses Pinker of being a hypocrite again because the wording of the dedication to his parents in his book: “For Harry and Roslyn Pinker, who gave me language.” Dalrymple jumps to conclusions and says that Pinker does not actually believe that language is not a process of parental education. However, if Dalrymple would have taken the time to look deeper into Pinker’s meaning he would have seen that he was dedicating the book to them because they gave him the biologic part of language. Pinker believes that language is DNA structured, or “hot-wired” into your brain. By his dedication he is thanking his parents for giving him life, life that language is a really critical part of. He was thanking them for that piece of DNA that allows him to learn language.
Dalrylmple constantly abuses Pinker as well as other individuals in his writings. It is hard to grab his concepts and accept them when he is aggressively judging and questioning a pregnant teenage girl. Pinker brings about his ideas more gently. Pinker is soothing in the way that he teaches. Dalrymple is educated and makes some good ideas from a totally different perspective, however the way he puts forth his ideas is somewhat forceful. I automatically join Pinker and defend him against Dalrymple because Dalrymple seems to get his ideas from forming the opposite of Pinker’s and going with them and that strategy makes it hard to respect him.