Language, Culture, and Writing: Sociolinguistic Foundations of Research on Writing

Abstract

Why is learning to write often so difficult, whereas learning to speak one's native language is not? Why do students from ethnic minority communities generally have even more difficulty in this process than middle-class, students? To begin answering these questions, it is necessary to explore what is known about (1) the language of nonmainstream cultural groups in contrast to the language of the mainstream middle class, and (2) the nature of writing, and the learning of writing, as one kind of language in context. This chapter will review what we know about writing, and the learning of writing, from the standpoint of language variation, that is, how language differs among users in its structure and in its use. Language variation, of course, can be viewed in both individual and group terms; here the focus will be on the latter, especially as it is reflected in ethnic and cultural identity. Because writing is seen here as one mode, or channel, in which to use language, and because relatively little research on cultural variation in language has focused on writing directly (most of it has focused on spoken language), some of the work to be reviewed deals with cultural variation in oral language. Research on cultural variation in language is important for research on writing for two reasons: first, because it provides a foundation upon which future work on cultural aspects of writing can be built. Second, knowledge about variation in language, both oral and written, has significant implications for the teaching and learning of writing. While it is clear that there are problems in the teaching and learning of writing in classrooms across the country (Applebee 1981, 1984), it is also clear that these problems are more serious