The loss of the copula in Black English Vernacular (BEV) is demonstrably traceable to norms of pidginization that have their roots in West African languages and in contact among those languages. An extensive examination of the verb systems of a number of West African languages reveals that in every case a variety of verbal forms serves the many…

This dissertation provides a heuristic model for defining, analyzing, and exemplifying the artistic dimension of black English. Further, it offers a method of recognizing and evaluating this aspect of verbal behavior for the purpose of strengthening curriculum development and methods of instruction. After a review of the literature that deals with…

This projective exploratory study in responses by racially prejudiced and non-prejudiced individuals to samples of black speech, which was designed as a means of uncovering trends, resulted in some conclusions "made with some degree of assurance": (1) The Southern students participating in the study were significantly more prejudiced than the…

Seventy-two lower-class black children were given tests of grammatical contrasts and production. The results indicated that comprehension of both easy and hard contrasts in both black and standard English increased with age in a parallel fashion, but that the production of black English decreased with age. (JMB)

Because the spoken rhythm of Black English differs from that of standard varieties of American English, speakers of Black English are more likely to write sentence fragments. (DD)

Concludes that only a few of the 43 features of black English dialect influence the way in which 223 black fourth, fifth, and sixth graders spell words. (DD)

Indicates features of Black dialect, or Black English vernacular, and discusses relationships between speaking Black English and learning to read and write. Suggestions for teaching speakers of Black English to write are offered. (RH)

The crux of the problem lies not in Black English itself, but in the attitudes toward it. (Author)

This writer takes the position that black English does exist and that teachers of black children should know the grammar of this language so that they can better deal with teaching the children who speak it. (DM)

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)

Suggests postponing teaching negatives to Black English speakers until they have achieved a formal control of the Standard English auxiliary system and the tense/aspect distinctions which are indicated by it. Sample exercises given. Appears in special anthology issue "Linguistic-Cultural Differences and American Education of "The…

Discusses the factors that led to linguists being able to present effective testimony in the form of an unified view on the origins and structural characteristics of the Black English vernacular at the Ann Arbor trial. (EKN)

Demonstrates how the speech and writings of Blacks living in the United States and abroad reflect a holistic cognitive style. (DA)

Reviews the debate between Herskovits, Turner, and Johnson on Africanisms in Gullah. Suggests that Whinnom's approach, which considers pidgins and creoles under the rubric of "linguistic hybridization," is a more appropriate model with which to view Gullah, making irrelevant the question of whether it is an African or European language.…