Introduction

Over the past half-century, advances in analyzing and understanding language – as it exists cognitively and as it is used socially – have shed light on the role language plays in perpetuating inequalities among stigmatized groups. Despite the importance of such information, sociolinguistic knowledge has not yet permeated mainstream American education even though there have been some who appealed for it roughly fifty years before modern sociolinguistic study emerged. The first president of the National Council of Teachers of English (NCTE), Fred Newton Scott, encouraged the inclusion of information about language diversity to be included as part of English studies (Carpenter, Baker, and Scott 1908). While it may be tempting to conclude that linguists have not been proactive enough in making the general public aware of the importance of their findings, the continued embrace of traditional grammar instruction is probably more attributable to revered notions of traditional grammar instruction as opposed to a failing of any specific groups, be they linguists or English teachers.

Linguists should not be overly dismayed at the apparent lack of progress in convincing teachers to incorporate sociolinguistic information in public schools. Though unquestionably from a different era, it is worth considering one such corollary of how slowly traditional views change. In 1514, Copernicus published observations that postured, contrary to conventional wisdom and theological doctrine, that the Earth revolved around the Sun and not vice versa. Galileo confirmed this in 1610, which led to his eventual imprisonment in 1633.