How to Spell: Standard vs Non-Standard English

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• published: 20 Jan 2013
• views: 6991

Something different & powerful for you in this video and a bit different from the other How to Spell spelling videos but it's very important & helped me with my writing, my English, my confidence and my self-esteem and that's understanding the differences between Standard English and Non- Standard English. When I say Standard English I mean the grammar used by the British, Americans, Australians, all English speaking countries. Most of us native speakers don't have a clue about grammar, haven't learnt it at school and just know when something sounds strange or not right, but don't have a clue why. Which is a shame because we can be so much more confident in our language usage if we know more about grammar. One key way to improve your spelling is learning to love words and learning to love English, and not being intimidated by it. People get intimidated by grammar and say, "I don't understand grammar!". But you don't need to understand everything but I think understanding the key things between Standard and Non-Standard English is important. There are so many misconceptions about what is "good" and "bad" English, and 'good' and 'bad' accents. And I hope this video will clear up a few of those nasty misconceptions. Standard English is the grammar used in grammar books. A standardised grammar and nothing to do with accent. We can speak Standard English in any accent we want. 90% of us speak in Non-Standard English with our own grammar, words, slang, dialect which is great for a lot of situations but not others. We need to understand Standard English (standardised grammar) to be able to compete in the world, to be able to get a good job, to empower ourselves. I was brought up in the East Midlands and for decades didn't realise I was using the wrong grammar in "Was you?" "Where was you going?""They was happy" - lots of dialects use this grammar form, all over the world- England, America, Australia, Canada etc. It's fine with family and friends but not so good in a business, formal situation. It should be: "Were you?""Where were you going?" "They were "They were happy." 'were' is quite unstressed 'wa' We use was with I was he as she was it was I now understand the English language much better, which has made me more confident. I'm no longer intimidated by more 'educated' people, but I also value my own Non-Standard English and accent. I know that my accent has nothing to do with my language usage and grammar. I want you to learn the importance of Non-Standard English and Standard English and the importance of both varieties. I want you to value your accent and dialect as well as to be able to switch to Standard English when you need it. Understanding the differences between Non-Standard English & Standard English will empower you. You'll be able to tell those people who say "you aren't speaking proper" English just why the way you speak is 'proper'. Don't let anyone tell you your accent isn't 'proper' English, don't let people intimidate you with how you speak and use language. Your accent, your dialect, the way you speak , your dialect is part of your cultural identity and soul. But we also need to be able to switch to Standard English when appropriate. I've got a fantastic new video explaining all about the differences between Standard vs Non-Standard English and goes deeper into the English language and into the heart and soul of people's culture, upbringing, and self-esteem, pronunciation, and grammar, so pop over to my website www.howtospell.co.uk and check it out back to the lesson. Do you know the Standard English versions of these None Standard versions? 1. I done it yesterday. 4. She don't want it. Let's look at 'I done it yesterday'. People use I done, he done, she done, they done all the time in the Uk, America, Australia, Canada etc. I done it. He done it. She done it. It should be 'I did it yesterday'. If we use yesterday we have to use past simple tense. He did it yesterday or She did it. I did it But when we use 'done' we need to use 'have' and 'has' with it to make the present perfect tense. I've done it = I have done it. She's done it = she has done it. have and has is very unstressed I've done it he;s done it maybe that's why it's been left out now but you can't use yesterday with done. only with past simple. I did it yesterday. I've done it, I did it yesterday. Let's look at She don't want it. It should be She doesn't want it. He doesn't want it. But I don't want it. Present simple tense.