How does this idea of Standard English have an impact on students’ voices in their writing or even when speaking? Although many schools and teachers continue to promote Standard English as the proper or correct way to speak and write, this belief could harm many students who have different ways to communicate in different dialects or accents. Many students feel pressured to change their way of speaking or writing to sound more academic or professional, which can make them feel that their natural way of speaking is wrong or less intelligent, eventually slowly losing their original voice in their writing or speaking. This idea of Standard English divides classrooms, where students who don’t speak it properly may feel judged or even discriminated against. As a result, their confidence and way of learning can be deeply affected. This essay will explore how the Standard English myth discriminates against their accents and dialects of English, ruins people’s confidence, and harms their education.

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One major impact of the belief in Standard English is discrimination against those who speak differently because of their accents or dialects. Many people are unfairly judged because of their accents or the way they use English. Society often connects “proper” English with being smart or professional, leading people who speak in other dialects to be seen as less educated or less capable. In Amy Tan’s essay “Mother Tongue”, she talks about how her mother, who is Chinese and speaks English as her second language, was often not taken seriously because of her accent. This article says, “That is, because she expressed them imperfectly, her thoughts were imperfect. And I had plenty of empirical evidence to support me: the fact that people in department stores, at banks, and at restaurants did not take her seriously, did not give her good service, pretended not to understand her, acted as if they didn’t hear her” (Tan 11-12). This shows how people who don’t speak Standard English are often treated with disrespect and looked down upon. Just like Tan’s mother, many students today experience similar discrimination when others judge their intelligence or ability based on how they speak. This kind of treatment not only harms people’s confidence but also reinforces the unfair idea that only one type of English is acceptable. It would even change their original voice when speaking, but in this case, Amy’s mother tells Amy to talk for her. 

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Another way in which the belief of Standard English affects students is by pressuring them to change their original voice when speaking and writing to sound more proper. In “Working Languages”, I see that through education, from Kindergarten to even college, we are told to change our form of writing and speaking to sound more proper, changing our natural voice in our writing and when speaking. In the text it says, “In our K-to-Ph.D. schooling experiences, the three of us have identified several situations that taught us to believe that the full extent of our voices did not belong, matter, or fit in academic or formal writing settings; even now, we occasionally find ourselves experimenting with new ways of bringing our full selves into our writing. In this manner, we must acknowledge that while schooling spaces mean well, they often engage ineffective and harmful writing approaches that view the richness of our language as problems to fix” (Kinloch 3).  This shows how education often teaches students that their natural way of speaking and writing is wrong. Instead of being encouraged to use their true voices, students are forced to adjust to what schools see as the “right” way to communicate. This pressure makes students lose confidence in their own language and identity. They begin to believe that sounding “proper” is more important than expressing themselves, which limits creativity and silences individuality in the classroom.

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This constant pressure to change how they speak and write doesn’t just silence students’ true voices; it also leads many of them to start doubting their own abilities and intelligence. In “The Standard Language Myth”, Lippi-Green explains that this idea of Standard American English, or SAE, is closely tied to the level of education achieved. He writes, “The social domain of the standard has been established: it is the language of the educated, in particular those who achieved a high level of skill with the written language” (Lippi-Green 59) and also adds, “If a high level of education is a primary characteristic of the hypothetical SAE” (Lippi-Green 59). These quotes show how society connects speaking “proper” English with being intelligent or highly educated. Because of this, students who speak in different dialects or accents often feel less capable or less smart, even when they are simply talking in their own way. The constant comparison to Standard English makes them question their abilities and feel out of place in academic settings. This belief creates a harmful divide between students who speak “standard” English and those who don’t, causing many to lose confidence in their own voice.

The belief in Standard English continues to negatively impact students in many ways. It pressures them to change their natural voices, which leads to discrimination against those who speak differently, and causes many to doubt their intelligence and self-worth. From Amy Tan’s story of her mother being judged for her accent to the lessons described in Working Languages and The Standard Language Myth, it’s clear that the idea of one proper way to speak or write English does more harm than good and is just wrong. Instead of treating language differences as problems, schools and society should value them as signs of identity, culture, and creativity. Everyone’s voice deserves to be heard and respected.

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Worked Cited

Alvarez, Sara P., Amy J. Wan, and Eunjeong Lee. “Workin’ Languages: Who We Are Matters in Our Writing.” Writing Spaces: Readings on Writing, vol. 4, edited by Dana Driscoll, Mary Stewart, and Matthew Vetter, WAC Clearinghouse/Parlor Press, 2020, pp. 122–139

Lippi-Green, Rosina. English with an Accent: Language, Ideology, and Discrimination in the United States. 2nd ed., Routledge, 2012.

Tan, Amy. “Mother Tongue.” The Threepenny Review, no. 43, 1990, pp. 7–8.