Write for English

Some people get very upset about language. They don't like how other people speak in different accents, use expressions like youse or y'all, get really angry about innit, like, must of and your a star and start shaking and frothing at the mouth when they see text language or slang used in an inappropriate context.

There's obviously nothing wrong with caring about language and how it's used - that's why we study it and teach it - but, for the complaining community, language is going down the dumper and we must fight to restore English to its glory days. But what glory days? Many linguists would argue that while many of the examples above are non-standard, they're not necessarily wrong and that even if they are different to how we used language before, there's always been a lot of variation between speakers and writers. The examples above may even be a form of language evolution.

So, what does this have to do with you and what does it have to do with our English Language conference? It's simple. We want you to write a piece, arguing passionately and persuasively about why someone else has got it wrong about language. We want you to respond to a dubious representation of (say) slang, punctuation, textspeak, accent and dialect or spoken language features, and make a persuasive and linguistic case for the right to use that form of language. In short, we want you to Write For English.

Over the next 3 weeks, we'll post extracts and links that offer you negative representations of different forms of language use, from John Humphrys bemoaning text language to Ed West griping about 'Jafaican'. Take your pick from the different topics and then write a response.

In selecting the best entries, we'll be looking for some, or all, of the following:

• genuine engagement with the topic
• linguistic knowledge
• fluent and persuasive writing
• a grasp of the language issues
• originality, wit and flair

We're looking for responses in whatever form you think appropriate - an article of your own, an op-ed or letter perhaps, but the choice is yours. The word count is between 750-1000 words and the deadline for submission is Friday January 18th. The writer of the winning entry will be presented with a prize by none other than David Crystal at the conference.

More details about how to submit your entry will be given in the next week.

If you're an A2 English Language student doing your coursework for either ENGA4 or ENGB4, you'll be aware that for part of your work you have to produce a media text or language intervention, so you might find it's a good idea to choose a topic which relates to what you are doing for that. Hopefully, you'll find plenty of scope in what we offer you and plenty of different ideas to engage with.