Students will have to hold
their tongues from now on at the Harris Academy in Upper Norwood after the
introduction of a new anti-slang initiative in September this year. The south
London secondary school has banned the use of 10 slang phrases in so-called ‘formal
language zones’ including classrooms and corridors. The school’s principal
Chris Everitt hoped the initiative would raise awareness about the use of
language and better prepare students for formal situations in later life such
as job interviews. Among the forbidden words are "innit",
"bare", "like", "extra" "aint" and “coz” which are deemed unsuitable for use in school. The heinous
practice of beginning sentences with "basically" or ending them with
"yeah" has also been outlawed. The severity of the punishment for
transgressing these rules is unclear, though I can’t help thinking that
detentions would be heavily oversubscribed were they to enforce it too harshly.
Critics fear the initiative may
alienate the very youngsters they are hoping to help, slang often being
associated with those from working-class backgrounds or ethnic minorities.
Darren Chetty, founder of the Power to the Pupils hip-hop education project
argues that "Banning [the words] makes a very strong value judgment to
pupils and it has an effect on the pupils who use that language.” "It
situates the school as a middle-class place." Rather than inspiring them,
there is a very real danger that a negative initiative like this could
demotivate pupils even further.
What do you think of this initiative? Does
banning slang impinge on people’s freedom of speech? What slang words would you
ban given the chance?
Source: The Guardian Online
