The Principles of Language-Study

by Harold E. Palmer

When, therefore, we use the terms inaccuracy, mistake, fault, wrong form, error, etc., we shall always mean something not in conformity with the type of speech chosen as a convenient standard.

One of the duties of the language-teacher and method-writer is to react against the tendency of the student towards inaccuracy. We shall generally find two types of inaccuracy: (a) that which consists in using the wrong dialect (literary instead of colloquial, or vice versa), and (b) that which consists in using pidgin. Pidgin or pidgin-speech may be defined as that variety of a language which is used exclusively by foreigners.[4] Some kinds of pidgin (e.g. pidgin-English of the China ports, the Chinook jargon of British Columbia) have become so standardized that they may almost be considered as normal languages; many people deliberately set out to learn such pidgin-languages, and we may conceive of the possibility of these possessing sub-pidgin forms.

In connexion with the first type of inaccuracy (wrong dialect), we should here note that the uneducated native tends to make too extensive a use of the popular dialect, whereas the tendency of the student to whom the language is foreign is the contrary one: he makes too extensive a use of the classical or traditionally correct form. The uneducated native will tend to use the colloquial form when writing; the foreigner will tend to use the literary when speaking. In both cases it is part of the functions of the teacher to react against these tendencies: to the schoolchild he will say, “Don’t use a preposition to finish a sentence with!”; to the foreign speaker he will give the contrary advice.

Having defined the terms accuracy and inaccuracy, let us now see to how many branches of language-study these terms (and their synonyms) may be applied.

(a) There may be accuracy or inaccuracy in sounds. The student must be taught, by means of appropriate drills and exercises, to make and to use the sounds of the language he is studying; if he uses an English sound in place of a French one, or if he uses a right French sound in the wrong place, he will be doing inaccurate work. Ear-training and articulation exercises (as described in Chapter [VII]) will tend to make him accurate in this respect.

(b) There may be accuracy or inaccuracy in the use of stress and intonation. To use one language with the stress and intonation system of another results in a form of pidgin. The student must be taught, by means of appropriate drills and exercises, to observe and to imitate the system used by the natives.

(c) There may be accuracy or inaccuracy in fluency. Most languages are spoken at the rate of five syllables per second. Nothing is to be gained by speaking at a slower rate; indeed, it will often be found that rapid speech is easier of acquisition than slow speech. Correct fluency includes correct assimilation or absence of assimilation, and the requisite degree of smoothness or grace of utterance; we may often note the harsh and halting effect of the speech of foreigners who when speaking their native tongue are masters of the art of elocution. By means of appropriate exercises, the student can be made to observe accuracy in fluency.

(d) When the student uses the traditional spelling of the language he should be encouraged to avoid orthographic inaccuracy. Generally, however, few mistakes of this sort are made, and these tend to be eliminated more or less spontaneously. If this is not the case, appropriate exercises may be devised in order to ensure accuracy in this respect. Let us note here, with all the emphasis which is due to such an important point, that the exclusive use of a phonetic script in the early stages generally leads to a greater accuracy in the traditional spelling which is learnt subsequently. We make no attempt here to furnish an explanation of why and how this is so, but leave it to psychologists to investigate the subject and to ascertain the causes of what may seem paradoxical and even incredible to those who have not had sufficient teaching experience.

(e) There may be accuracy or inaccuracy in combining words; the laws of sentence-building are not the same for all languages, and the student must be trained to observe the right laws; he must be taught to be accurate in concord, in compounding, and in word-order. Some of the most interesting methods and devices are designed specifically to react against inaccurate tendencies in this respect. It is as easy and as natural to say la table (and not le table) as it is to say latitude (and not letitude); it is as easy to learn je ne le lui ai pas donné as any of the inaccurate examples of word-order by which the average English student tends to replace it.

(f) There may be accuracy or inaccuracy in the use of inflexions. It is as important to learn the right inflected forms of a word as to learn the uninflected word. If our methods are right, it is as easy to learn the word enverrai as it is to learn the word envoyer, and far easier to learn enverrai than envoyerai. The habit of using the right inflexions is one that must be acquired at as early a stage as possible and as unconsciously as possible. Many methods and devices exist which have been designed to combat inaccuracy in this respect.