It's just more elitism

When people from another country want to learn English, they sometimes buy one of the many books on teaching the English language from one of the thousands of bookstores' shelves.  So, they learn the so-called "standard" grammar.  Of course, the internet is also full of programs to teach the English language.  Its advantage is for people to hear the language spoken.  But, what language do these people learn?  The first time they go out and talk to the people on the street, they can't understand a whole lot of what is being spoken.

They see someone who says, "Hey, whatcha doin'?"

Of course, they learned the greeting, "Good morning, How are you?" So, they say nothing.

"OK, fella," says the person.  "Guess it's not so good a day for ya.  Hope it gets better.  Have a good one."

The person learning a language didn't understand but maybe 4 words, partly because it's said fast, but partly because the interchange wasn't at all what was expected.  And more subtly, the English used was not what the textbooks or internet programs teach.

The prescriptive approach of sharing language is the only approach used in the public schools in America.  Not that the approach has a good track record, it doesn't.  Dismal, actually.  But, businesses adopted the same method to begin with.  Then, companies began to notice that the above example happens more times than not, so they changed to a more conversational style of English and situational scripts to teach English.  Companies like Berlitz were famous for their script approach to situational English and accompanying reading manuals.  The internet capabilities are just now being used to explore more expansive and effective methods for teaching English.  Rosetta Stone is probably the software leader in teaching with pictures and videos with people speaking the language, but primarily with situations.  They also use single word vocabulary presentations to increase one's vocabulary.

The variationist approach to English teaching has been recognized for a great many years, but methods encapsulizing this approach are not used to any great extent. They should be - I am sure.  Those who interpret for a living wouldn't dream of transforming one language into another without the variants at play in the person they are representing or the person they are speaking to.  There are some language basics, to be sure.  But, variation, not prescription is a main characteristic of a living language.  There is no such thing as a native speaker who is "wrong" in speaking her/his language.  Standard English, proper grammar, slang, substandard English, correct way of speaking, profanity, and fuzzy grammar are merely terms that various groups of people want to use to feel elitist and perpetuate the differences of class in society. 

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