Do English speakers make mistakes on purpose?
I recently received the following message from VloganieToTakieDanie on YouTube:
I was thinking about something recently: making language mistakes on purpose. In Poland, many people get annoyed when someone makes a language mistake, especially when it's a very common mistake. We hardly ever make mistakes on purpose and when we do, it's only as a joke.
In English, I see mistakes made on purpose quite often, such as in the title of the Timbaland song "The way I are" or when I hear someone say "we gonna" instead of "we're gonna." Don't native English speakers get irritated when they hear such things? I'd like to know the general opinion as well as your opinion.
Have a nice day,
Read more for my response!
In normal speech, I don't think that people make mistakes on purpose. In songs, definitely. Sometimes the artist has to make the words fit the rhythm of the music or rhyme.
In the case of "the way I are," it's poetic license. In normal speech, that would definitely be incorrect. But in the song, it's used to mirror the phrase: "the way you are." In poetry and music, almost anything goes!
Baby if you strip, you could get a tip
'Cause I like you just the way you are
I'm about to strip and I want it quick
Can you handle me the way I are?
There is a lot of debate on this topic! Depending on who you ask, you'll get a different answer.
But I would contend that "we gonna" is not a mistake. It's definitely not standard English but that doesn't mean it's wrong.
English (like all languages) is in a constant state of flux and what was correct or incorrect in the past, is different now. There are also many, many, MANY competing dialects. What is correct or incorrect in one dialect, is different in another.
Standard English is a dialect too, which actually, I think no one really speaks natively! :-) We all speak slightly different dialects and most people can speak or at least understand more than one.
For example, in my native dialect we can say a number of things that would be incorrect in standard English. I recently wrote a full article about it, but here are a few examples: "I was by grandma on Sunday", "What do yous guys think?", "It's cold out today, aina?"
"We gonna" is perfectly acceptable in certain dialects. (On the other hand, I don't know any dialect where "the way I are" is acceptable.)
In school, they attempt to teach you standard English and will evaluate you accordingly. That said, when your teacher gets out of school, they speak their own dialect just like everyone else!
According to linguists, anything a native speaker says which they consider to be acceptable, cannot -- by definition -- be a mistake! The rules (ie. grammar) we create for a language, exist mostly to describe it, not define it.
However, in a formal context or in writing, you should strive to use standard English. Dialects can be very localized and using standard English helps more people understand you. And it will make you appear smarter and more educated!
If you're learning English as a foreign language, I would recommend always sticking with standard English.
Language is changing all of the time. Even though Shakespeare spoke modern English just like us, his dialect (with thee/thou, "art" instead of "are", etc) has died out and is no longer standard. That doesn't mean that today's standard English is any less correct!
In 50-100 years, some language features that were once in a nonstandard dialect will become part of standard English. We could all be saying "we gonna!"
To finish answering your question: some people will get annoyed when others don't use standard English. But this is definitely the minority! Most people (assuming they understand you!) will simply accept it.
The bigger problem really is understanding. If someone is unfamiliar with the dialect you speak, they simply might have no idea what you are saying! :-)
What do you think about all the different dialects of English? Do you know something that is correct in some dialects but not in standard English? Write a comment below!