Standard english, normativity and the cox committee report

Abstract

This article seeks to establish the status of linguistic rules in relation to their use in educational contexts. A distinction is drawn between descriptive and normative use of linguistic rules and the logical primacy of the normative is argued for in understanding how children come to learn their native language. Normativity is itself to be classified in terms of correctness and appropriateness and it is argued that the teaching of Standard English in both written and spoken forms, although it should be prescriptive in nature, should also be in terms of appropriateness rather than correctness.

The view that the alleged correctness of Standard English can be justified in terms of logic is criticised, and the case for teaching it as an appropriate variant on pragmatic and practical grounds is defended.

Finally, it is shown that although the Cox Committee understood the importance of the distinction between normative and descriptive use of rules of language farly well, that distinction is frequently obscured in the detail of the report, leading to unclear and inconsistent attainment targets in both speaking and writing.