Verbal Deficit: A Critique [Hardcover]

Originally published in 1981. Verbal deficit theories try to account for differential educational attainments in linguistic terms, suggesting that children reach varying levels of success in school as a result of their ability or inability to express themselves, and relate this to social class. This critique considers such theories, especially in the form propounded by Bernstein, primarily from a sociolinguistic viewpoint but with special attention to the historical and educational context behind the theories. It claims that verbal deficit theories are not only unscientific and non-linguistic, but are educationally damaging as well, and proposes instead a linguistic difference theory.

Introduction  1. Differential Educational Attainment  2. Classical Verbal Deficit Theory  3. Bernsteins Sociolinguistic Theory  4. Challenges and Alternatives  5. Verbal Deficit Theories in Context.  Conclusion and Prospect.  Appendices

Originally published in 1981. This critique considers verbal deficit theories, especially Bernstein's, from a sociolinguistic viewpoint but with attention to the historical and educational context. It concludes that verbal deficit theories are educationally damaging, and proposes instead a linguistic difference theory.