Charlene J. Sato's "A Nonstandard Approach to Standard English": A Major Contribution to the Field of Sociolinguistics

Abstract

In her article, "A nonstandard approach to standard English" (1989), Charlene Sato addresses several issues rerated to the controversy over the use of Hawai'i Creole English (HCE) and standard English (SE) in the crassroom. Opposing an assimilationist perspective and taking a pluralistic position toward language use in society, Sato stresses the importance ofunderstanding the differences between SE and minority, or nonstandard, varieties in legitimizing the educational experience of language minority groups. Sato defends her "nonstandard" approach by showing how a pruralistic perspective can contribute to the school success of minority ranguage students. She bases this view on empirical studies that show minority varieties ofEngrish are different from SE both linguistically and in discourse structure, and thus adjustments in the classroom must be made to accommodate these differences ifchirdren are to be given the opportunity to succeed. Sato also offers suggestions on what teachers can do to contribute toward equal education for minority language speakers. we will summarize Sato,s points and discuss the significance of her article.