Describes research in which 28 black parents and community people were polled as to their attitudes toward vernacular and standard Black English. Attitudes were assessed in four domains--school, home, community and playground--and in four channels--reading, speaking, writing and listening. Standard Black English was preferred in all domains and…

Based on taped samples of the students' speech, 68 white elementary school teachers rated subjects on personality, quality of response, and current and future academic abilities. Black students, Black English-speaking students and unattractive students were rated consistently lower. Academic failure may result from evaluations based on race and…

Postscores provide evidence that the phonological patterns of black college students can be improved significantly as a result of speech remediation techniques. However, these remediation techniques do not seem to affect self concept either positively or negatively. (Author/AM)

Forty-eight Black children, ages 4 to 9 years, who utilized features of Black English in their oral language, participated in a study which investigated selected linguistic features believed to be a function of age among children. (Author/MH)

Identifies the body of information essential to any course on Black English and gives appropriate variations for departments of ethnic studies, linguistics, or education. Organized in the format of an annotated syllabus, with suggestions for course title, rationale, purpose, objectives, texts, lecture topics, and assignments. (SA)

Investigates the relationship between the oral and written language of one college-level basic writing student who is a speaker of vernacular Black English (VBE). Reports that neither VBE patterns in the student's oral language nor other features of orality that previous research has identified account for his writing problems. (HOD)

Investigates the hypothesis that dialect speech interferes with the auditory discrimination of standard English speech sounds. (Editor/RK)

This paper examines the importance of teaching about non-standard dialect awareness in English departments, focusing on African American Vernacular English (AAVE). The paper asserts that it is the job of teachers to present students with appropriate knowledge about language and to raise awareness of nonstandard dialects, rather than perpetuate…

In this book, Teresa M. Redd and Karen Schuster Webb explain not only what African American English (AAE) is, but also what role it may play in students' mastery of Standard Written English. Designed especially for writing teachers, this volume is a concise, coherent, and current source that summarizes the major schools of thought about…

This study examined students' and teachers' attitudes toward using black dialect (BD) in a community college writing program. White educators completed a Language Aptitude Survey and followup interviews. African American students completed interviews. Teachers held Standard English (SE) in high regard and did not agree with using Ebonics in…

This paper offers a brief but comprehensive overview of various issues pertaining to the use and origins of Black English. The purpose of the paper is to help educators understand Black English and celebrate this dialect in class while facilitating the acquisition of Standard English. It holds that Ebonics is a dialect of English with its own set…

Essays on the history of African American Vernacular English (AAVE) include: an introduction to the evolution of AAVE within the African American diaspora (Shana Poplack); "Rephrasing the Copula: Contraction and Zero in Early African American English" (James A. Walker); "Reconstructing the Source of Early African American English…

Argues that since the black child is handicapped not so much by a lack of reading skills but more by certain phonic sounds he is forced to memorize, black language will not aid him in learning English. (Author/JM)

Argues that the African's struggle to survive the racist language may be seen as psychological rejection and resistance to mastering the language, and advocates the development of a language of African Humanism. (Author/JM)

Composition teachers should recognize that all errors in student writing are not the same. The author distinguishes between handbook rules, spoken language, and ambiguity. (MM)