This document is a creative piece of writing that emulates an article. This is a typical Paper 2 Question 4 essay that will show up on an AQA English Language exam. This piece received a Grade A.
‘Accent-shy Brits?’ – or Individuals Craving Distinctiveness
Elocution lessons are back in vogue and more discouraging than ever. The idea of erasing
part of my identity makes me profoundly uneasy, nevertheless, it is something that many
people are now embodying. Language is a cuisine; the foundation of language encompasses
the same ingredients, despite the variation. Language is a spice; a sprinkle of bohemianism to
celebrate our individuality.
As a matter of fact, some of the most influential linguists; expertise of the English Language
also suggests that there is not an issue with the idea that language is changing, but rather a
‘complaint tradition’ – a term coined by Leslie Milroy. Implying that individuals are overly
opinionated about the redirection of English.
As an activist – I was appalled to stumble across a wild ignorant prescriptivist; an individual
that believes there is one ‘correct way’ to articulate. Nonsense. How can one so called
‘journalist’ simplify the complexities and intricacies of the timeless beauty English holds?
This close-minded attitude suppresses diversity while diluting language into one bland
elocution class taught by idiots. Paul Waldie writes from The Globe and Mail, in his article
‘Accent-shy Brits Anxious to Talk ‘Posh’’ – that ‘speaking properly is critical’, while
representing tutors as ‘role-models’. The fundamental concept of language intends to rejoice
the importance of diversity and the organic delicacy in which hundreds of cultures and
accents have dented our language in a fascinating way. After all, English language is known
as a ‘lingua franca’ (a mixture of languages used for the purpose of communication amongst
those who do not share a single native language).
Jean Aitchison, another renowned theorist proposed the theory if the ‘Crumbing Castle’.
Though she acknowledges English as a prestige monument, the theory leaves no room for
diversity in the dialect, much like Waldie; interpreting English as a stationary concept and
forbids any form of disruption to it. Ridiculous.
Let me simplify this for the feeble-minded (much like Paul Waldie). Language is an
accumulation and celebration of individuality, culture and tradition. There is in fact no such
thing as having the ability to ‘speak properly’. In reality, English is a vast collection of
numerous dialects from Latin to Indian. Many of the words you articulate are indeed
borrowed from foreign languages. For instance, how would you describe a house with one
level? A bungalow? Correct! A word stolen from the Indian dialect. Reinforcing my point
that the English Language is the recipe of a global meal.
Upon further reading on the pure insanity of ‘elocution lessons’, I stumbled across a website
– thetutorpages. I was almost amused by the lack of compassion littered throughout this site.
The irony of representing an established tutoring service for elocution lessons with such an
outrageous tabloid format humored me. ‘It is much more acceptable to have a ‘modified RP’
accent’. This article not only categorizes people with distinctive accents, but belittles people
of a lower class. Unacceptable. My mother tongue does not materialise a strict criterion, one
of which suffocates my freedom to paint language how I perceive it. Instead, embraces the
flavoursome diffusion of accents and diversity, that construct the rigid edges and ever-
growing beauty of English. Embracing the ‘annoying’ Americanism and the ‘uneducated’
regional accents. Other so called theorists, such as John Honey, equally raise disgusting and
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