An Inclusive Litany

12/13/93

From "Teaching Intentional Errors in Standard English: A Way to 'big smart english,' " by Donald A. McAndrew and C. Mark Hurlbert. The essay appeared in the English Leadership Quarterly in May 1993, and was later judged best article of the year by the journal's sponsoring group, the Conference on English Leadership.
Writers should be encouraged to make intentional errors in standard form and usage. Attacking the demand for standard English is the only way to end its oppression of linguistic minorities and learning writers. We believe this frontal assault is necessary for two reasons: (1) it affords experienced writers, who can choose or not choose to write standard English, a chance to publicly demonstrate against its tryanny [sic] and (2) if enough writers do it regularly, our cultures [sic] view of what is standard and acceptable may widen just enough to include a more diverse surface representation of language, creating a more equitable distribution not only of the power in language and literacy but also, ultimately, of the power in economics and politics that language and literacy allow.