June 17, 2006

ARTS AND LETTERS DEAN EDWIN BATTISTELLA published a book called “Bad Language,” which explores the dynamics between culture and language. Orville Hector | Daily Tidings

Dean of arts and letters explores ‘bad language’

By Sarah Golden
Tidings Correspondent

If you show up to a job interview in ripped jeans and an old sweatshirt, chances are you won’t impress a prospective employer — but in another setting, the same outfit could be just right. By the same token, regional dialect, slang and even four-letter words will have different effects on listeners, depending on the situation.

That’s fine with Edwin Battistella, Southern Oregon University’s dean of Arts and Letters. As an academic, he might be expected to be a stickler for traditional rules of grammar and usage. But he believes good language is relative.

“You have to understand your audience and your purpose in order to decide whether any particular usage is good or bad,” Battistella said in a recent interview. “Use language that will enhance your message, not get in the way of it.”

He expands on that idea in his book, “Bad Language” (Oxford University Press). “I was interested in defending the idea that the way we speak depends on the audience we want to speak to,” Battistella said.

“If you take the idea that there is only one kind of language that people should use all the time, it’s like wearing one sort of clothes all the time. It doesn’t allow you to be efficient.”

In an information age where slang is often used and readily understood by national audiences — whether television viewers or Internet users — Battistella doesn’t agree with those who say language today is at an all-time low.

“It’s a form of absolutism,” Battistella said of the notion of prescriptive grammar. “People who accept universal impositions of rules get fixated on things that aren’t really important.”

He added, “Dialects reflect what’s going on in the language, and then people put judgments on top of them.”

Battistella believes words and speaking style can function as a kind of fashion statement, but warns that speakers need to make informed decisions about how they present themselves.

And the more a person knows about language, the more that person will have the ability to use it to advantage.

“You have to learn the standard rules to know when you can break them for a particular effect,” said Battistella. “If you don’t know the standard stuff, you don’t know whether you can use non-standard usage effectively or not.”

The manipulation of language is common in American culture. For example, President George W. Bush spoke more forcefully and used more religious and patriotic language during the election of 2004 than he had in 2000, according to a study reported in the journal American Behavioral Scientist.

Over time, popular usage has impacts even on the academic world.

“Dictionaries change,” said Battistella, noting that they are updated about once a decade to stay abreast of changes — a process that requires dictionary editors to study newspapers, magazines and other popular culture sources to see how language is evolving.

When television became a common addition to every household, many wondered whether dialectic differences would become a thing of the past. Instead, language became a way for people to define themselves. It became clear that people want to sound like people they want to be like, not like other people from other groups, Battistella noted. People use dialects socially to fit into different groups and make friends.

“When you’re with your close friends, you probably don’t use as much slang as when you’re with new acquaintances,” he said. “You use the slang to judge who fits in, if somebody is like you, and once you’ve determined that, you no longer need to test those boundaries.”

The argument against the dynamic tendency of language is that it will hinder communication in society. For this reason, Battistella urges people to stay aware of shifting connotations.

“Every generation is going to reinvent language,” he said. “As you’re faced with these reinventions, you have to ask if it’s a reasonable change for your purposes.”

Battistella also emphasized the importance of not imposing personal judgments or pet peeves on others, as the evolution of language is inevitable: “I think it’s important for the language to evolve and show some spirit.”

After serving for six years as dean of Arts and Letters at SOU, Battistella intends to step down on June 30. He will be on sabbatical until the fall term of 2007.