Video 1/6
Click on the video play button. Watch the video. Listen carefully to James. | Text Window 1/6 This is James's complete answer. Is it "Standard English"? James might surprise you. Let's look at the dialogue in detail, keeping David Crystal's distinctions in mind. Click on the "Click Here*" button again (twice to have both boxes which make up the pair). |
Video 2/6 . Click on the video play button. Watch the video. Listen carefully to my friend Paul, an interviewer. | Text Window 2/6 First, the question: What do you hope to accomplish before you die?
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Video 3/6 . Click on the video play button. Watch the video. Listen carefully to James. | Text Window 3/6 Secondly, a "perfect answer" (Standard English) from James: I always have had a dream of industrializing Africa. The spoken and written versions are the same. James speaks clearly and uses the present perfect tense correctly in the context. This is also Standard American English with its regional accent. So far so good! But let's look at video # 4/6 now. |
Video 4/6 | Text Window 4/6 Thirdly, an "imperfect answer" typical of informal speech. It seems a lot, a real broad, you know... Standard English: It seems like a very broad ambition. The spoken and written versions are not the same. James says "a lot" but a lot of what?
"Broad" is an adjective, but he does not say what noun he is describing. This type of speech is very common. The listener (the interviewer in this case) reacts by nodding his head, showing that he has "filled in the missing words" himself. |
Scroll Down for Video 5/6
I can't figure out how to
get it up to the top with the text. Help! Click on the video play button. Watch the video. Listen carefully to James. |
Text Window 5/6 (a long column)
As Fernanda pointed out, James makes a "grammar mistake".
Breaking News: this just in from Grammar Headquarters:
Date: Mon, 11 Apr 2005 08:22:34
-0700 (PDT) Subject: Re: A point of grammar More Breaking News: this just in - Fernanda's Reply:
"From: Fernanda Rodrigues
The Times They are a Changin' (again)? Maybe. As I wrote earlier, it was my stupid mistake of not noticing what is usually considered as a "grammar mistake". Of course, to play on the safe side, the "Standard English" should be:
"I really believe, that if I get a lot of money like that, I'd really do it. I'd go over there and make Africa just like the United States."
This is an ongoing live workshop and it inevitably includes grammar. A conclusion? IMHO, Fernanda and Elizabeth are both correct, which in the end, means to me that words only mean the way we use them... This is not a cop-out. Saying that "words only mean the way we use them" certainly relativizes the whole concept of grammar, but in a sense, those cryptic words might be a good conclusion of what my friend Ludwig Wittgenstein pointed out at his lectures. I respect grammar of course as the existing-whether-you-like-it-or-not fabric of the language. This fabric seems to be tough and durable, yet very flexible.
This dialogue also illustrates that we often use repetition for hesitation, and to put emphasis on certain ideas or intentions. The interviewer continues to nod his head, showing he understands. All native speakers of American English would in fact understand, but what about "the poor student", as Professor Crystal put it? |
Video 6/6 . Click on the video play button. Watch the video. Listen carefully to James. |
Text Window 6/6 Lastly, another "imperfect answer" with grammar mistakes, also typical of informal speech. So, I don't want no big power, you know, I don't want no big position, I just want to be noticed for that, you know. Standard English: I wouldn't want to have a powerful position, I would just want to be recognized for that. This example illustrates common grammar mistakes such as double negatives "...don't want no..." and the use of the present tense instead of the conditional "would" which is more logical in the context. |