accents linguistnet news since victor raskin kindly kept supplied responses received july 6 query westfield accents petition unusually well prepared respond reporter meredith obrien phoned july 8 ask opinion linguist matter told linguistnet discussion quite surprised interested learn existence thing turned ediotr result article much linguistnet accents first know contacted victor get permission use gotten course neither us could contact quickly enough many linguists whose responses faxing newspaper figured victor agreed messages sent linguistnet less public case good positive opportunity us educating public always looking opportunities certainly hope everyone quoted article agrees right thing making linguistnet discussion available reporter think reporter good job text article springfield mass union news westfield edition friday july 10 1992 p 1 linguists criticize accent position meredith obrien westfield victor raskin linguistics professor purdue university indiana quite perplexed saw article local newspaper westfield petition prohibit instructors accents teaching elementary school students anybody else seen weird piece newspaper measure taken greek mayor small massachusetts town ethnically mixed population prevent people foreign accents employed grade school teachers raskin asked subscribers linguistics computer network week besides killing chances ever teaching grade school measure nonsensical linguistically queried responses raskin question coming worldwide computer network called linguistnet week far away netherlands australia respond nothing good say petition raskin one several linguists assailed petition also chastized education officials including state secretary education unfounded racist school committee curriculum subcommittee wednesday night unanimously rejected petition committee attorney told legally unenforceable full committee vote issue next meeting yet scheduled petition organizer laura lee whitten comment subcommittee decision meanwhile eight linguists called linguistnet computers concluded parents worried elementary school children acquiring accent teachers chances happening next impossible network subscriber barbara partee chairwoman linguistics department university massachusetts concurs conclusions colleagues research exists matter makes clear would nearly impossible influenced accent grade school teacher said wednesday young children almost universally pick accents peers said people looked immigrant families children born country would find children adopted parents accent many others agreed used live boston cut local accent knife played organ church arlington mass pastor wife midwest craig thiersch linguistics professor tilburg university netherlands said children strong towny accents rather limited experience children nt influenced foreign accents parents much less teachers echoed university georgia professor michael covington kids get accents peers agreed susan ervin tripp university california berkeley linguists roundly criticized petition said could understand parents signed noting problems college students understanding foreign professors acknowledged teacher english understandable existence accent reason rule hiring instructor said opinion legitimate require teachers understandable students presumably normal job qualification require petition partee said said umass foreign instructors professors screened assure english understood one ever disqualified accent end newpaper article paper nice column william raspberry much repeats things net extract bit ending one taught french german accented professor used amuse us talk consonants wowels understand parents might wary youngsters taught reading teachers whose pronunciations far standard nation thousand accents far standard determines much whole business simple prejudice hispanic teachers one draw line legitimate interest occupational qualification illegitimate interest ethnicity national origin universal principle kant might want hear principle problem good principal would handle thing without working sweat listen make experiencebased judgment whether teacher accent might prove impediment beginning readers make appropriate assignment might even able tell close cases tipped judgment one way another would really awful try make kantian universal make principle stuck willynilly language panels ethnic spokespersons teachers union reps course lawyers people stop speaking across racial ethnic lines everybody working get everybody else fired defeated reelection problem course remain unresolved say massachusetts would thought things addressed terms philosopher universal law kant