Asserting that all dialect variation is accountable for in terms of social factors, this article strongly critizes the methods, assumptions and conclusions of geography-oriented dialectology. (FB)

A LINGUISTIC FIELD SURVEY OF THE ENGLISH SPOKEN IN THE CULTURAL-GEOGRAPHICAL AREA OF APPALACHIA SHOWS THAT THERE ARE AT LEAST TWO MAJOR NONSTANDARD DIALECTS IN CURRENT USE. THE DIALECT FAMILY MOST COMMONLY ASSOCIATED WITH THE APPALACHIAN REGION IS MOUNTAIN SPEECH. ALTHOUGH WELL STRUCTURED AND EXPRESSIVE IN ITS OWN RIGHT, IT HAS COME TO BE…

THE AUTHOR FEELS THAT THE STUDY OF THE CREOLIZATION OF LANGUAGE IN THE CARIBBEAN AREA IS IMPORTANT TO LINGUISTS, LANGUAGE TEACHERS, AND SOCIOLINGUISTS IN ALL PARTS OF THE WORLD. IN THIS PAPER, PRESENTED AT THE SECOND INSTITUTE OF THE INTER-AMERICAN PROGRAM IN LANGUAGES AND LINGUISTICS (MEXICO CITY, FEBRUARY 1968), HE FIRST REPORTS ON WORK DONE AT…

Defining bidialectalism as a movement in education systematically to render lower-class students able to speak both their native dialect and standard English, the author states his purpose to indicate why this attempt to change people should be rejected. (Author/JB)

Generally, the article describes and discusses topics and positions found in the literature on Black English. Specifically, particular attention is paid to certain articles and positions that misrepresent opposing opinions and facts of the area. (Author/RM)

Teachers can help students increase their range of registers by being aware of and encouraging their students' linguistic efforts and encouraging students' control over literate" forms. (Author/JB)

This paper begins with a discussion of the assumptions basic to the study of both language and social dialects: verbal systems are arbitrary, all languages or dialects are adequate as communicative systems, they are systematic and ordered and learned in the context of the community. A survey of current work and findings in dialect studies follows.…

A study of one speaker's intuitions about and performance in Black English is presented with relation to Saussure's "langue-parole" dichotomy. Native speakers of a language have intuitions about the static synchronic entities although the data of their speaking is variable and panchronic. These entities are in a diglossic relationship to each…

ALTHOUGH AMERICAN EDUCATORS ARE GRADUALLY REALIZING THAT SOME CHILDREN SHOULD BE TAUGHT STANDARD ENGLISH AS A SEPARATE, SECOND DIALECT, REMEDIAL ENGLISH PROGRAMS STILL DO NOT REFLECT STRUCTURAL OBSERVATIONS ON LANGUAGE VARIATION AMONG THE DISADVANTAGED. THERE IS A LACK OF COMMUNICATION BETWEEN LINGUISTS, TEACHERS, AND COMMUNITY LEADERS, AND THE…

One of the most significant problems that linguists face in their attempts to describe Vernacular Black English (VBE) is the matter of fluctuating forms. It is consistently observed that speakers appear to fluctuate between a socially stigmatized variant and its presumed nonstigmatized counterpart. Fluctuations in VBE have often been viewed as a…

Critical rejoinder to Lawrence M. Davis' Social Dialectology in America,'' Journal of English Linguistics, March 1970, p46-56. Special issue on Black Dialect: Historical and Descriptive Issues'' edited by William A. Stewart. (RS)

The characteristics of several nonstandard dialects of American English are presented in this paper in the form of an inventory of features. It has been compiled with the recognition that nonstandard dialects are governed by pronunciation and grammatical rules and that within the broad category of nonstandard dialects, regional and ethnic…

This study was conducted to examine certain social factors, such as sex, ethnicity, and socioeconomic group, as they influence the speech of a sample of black and white children, aged 10-12, from a lower socioeconomic group in Albany, New York. The tapes of the interviews were analyzed to determine the usage of the nonstandard forms of four…

This essay notes that the book under review is primarily a popular translation of research in the area of vernacular black English (VBE) that presents a relatively non-technical discussion of the linguistic characteristics of VBE and their educational implications. (Author/AM)