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Article: Bashing Black English: the pundits got Oakland wrong. (includes related article on teachers' view of Black English)(Column)
- Article from:
- Commonweal
- Article date:
- February 28, 1997
- Author:
CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 1997 Commonweal Foundation. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group. (Hide copyright information)
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Twenty-five years ago I published in this magazine an article on Black English explaining that the dialect, although socially stigmatized, is not merely careless speech; it has a definite structure, probably influenced by the languages that West Africans brought with them. The article ("Black Children, Black Speech," November 19, 1971) recommended that teachers recognize Black English as a nonstandard style of speech, learn the differences between the dialect and the standard, and teach the children the standard speech style without trying to denigrate the dialect.
The immediate response to my article was the same kind of furor caused by the Oakland School District's ...