The fact that Young’s article, “Should Writers Use They Own English,” is not written in ‘standard English,’ is a crucial component to what makes his argument strong and compelling. The entirety of the article showcases a concept that I personally had not realized even existed. It is easy to understand what exactly Young is trying to share with his readers, as he speaks in a way that is comfortable for him; none of his ideas are being restrained by a cookie cutter style of writing.
The concept of standard English seems innocent at first, but the more you look at it, the more issues it conceals. Forcing standard English upon all people, students and adults alike, essentially has underlying racial complications. Young infers Fish would argue that “he dont like it when whites don’t speak rite, just the same as he dont like it when Latinos not speakin rite” (Young 4). The flaw in this statement is, that naturally, minority groups have a disadvantage when it comes to writing in standard English. Many minority groups do not start with English being their first language, as many of them are composed of immigrants. So what Fish might say, raises questions on whether opportunities or expectations are equal for different racial groups.
I remember feeling frustrated when I read one of the quotes from Fish that Young points out. Fish remarkably states, “it may be true that the standard language is […] a device for protecting the status quo, but that very truth is a reason for teaching it to students” (Young 1). The statement, “protecting the status quo” is very jarring to me, as we currently live in a society that is trying to break it. If “standard language” is truly a means to “protect the status quo,” I feel like it is an even more so reason to discourage it. This context from Fish is a strong piece of evidence that Young includes that made me question Fish’s credibility.
Personally, after reading this article, I realized that I have been trapped by the thought that I have to write in a formal, proper way. The notion that I have to avoid certain verbs or structure my sentences in certain ways, is actually hindering my writing rather than enhancing it. In my AP Language and Composition class that I took in my junior year of high school, I remember vividly my teacher telling me not to use “to be” verbs in my writing. The entire course was emphasized by this and I found myself being restricted while trying to communicate my arguments. At the time, of course, I believed that it was all to improve my writing. I became conditioned to believe that using “to be” verbs made me a bad writer. Starting the course WRIT150 with an article like Young’s is inspiring and reassuring to me. I feel like I have more room to share my thoughts and ideas in a way that is comfortable and clear to me. Young is able to have individuality in his writing, while being convincing, and I will strive to do the same as the semester progresses.
