A discussion and clarification of various forms and levels of Black English is provided together with a conjugation of the verb "to be" outlining the levels of meanings as used by most divergent black speakers. (EH)

The hypotheses that black subjects comprehend nonstandard English materials better than those in standard English and that white subjects comprehend standard English materials better than those in nonstandard English were not supported. (Author)

In an attempt to measure the effect that dialect of presentation has on Black-English-speaking children's oral reading performance, this study measured the percentage of unknown words attempted by third and fifth grade subjects on equivalent forms of an oral reading task presented in Standard English, Black English standard orthography, and Black…

The author criticizes the way educators brand students who have learning problems, group them under one label, and treat them as though their problems were homogeneous. The author illustrates his argument by a brief introduction to black English and how it relates to this problem. (Author/BP)

Published originally in "The Bulletin of the Minnesota Council for the Social Studies, Fall 1968.

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…

A CONFERENCE WAS HELD ON AUGUST 3-5, 1964 TO BRING TOGETHER SCHOLARS IN DIALECTOLOGY AND RELATED FIELDS. THE ENTIRE CONFERENCE WAS TAPE RECORDED AND A TYPESCRIPT MADE. THE CONTENTS OF THE REPORT ENCOMPASS BOTH THE PANEL PAPERS PRESENTED AND DISCUSSIONS ON (1) SOCIAL DIALECTOLOGY, (2) FIELD PROJECTS, (3) SCHOOL AND COLLEGE TEACHING PROGRAMS, (4)…

THIS REPORT WAS DESIGNED (1) TO PROVIDE A MORE DETAILED AND SOPHISTICATED KNOWLEDGE ABOUT SOCIAL DIFFERENCES IN ORAL COMMUNICATION AND (2) TO ASCERTAIN THE ACCURACY WITH WHICH SUBJECTS COULD IDENTIFY THE RACE AND EDUCATION OF SPEAKERS WHOM THEY COULD NOT SEE. TO DETERMINE REACTIONS TO PRONUNCIATIONS, THE INVESTIGATORS DEVISED AN INSTRUMENT…

A corpus of Black English (BEV) data is re-examined with exclusive attention to the "is" form of the copula. This analysis differs from previous examinations in that more constraints have been introduced, and the Cedergren/Sankoff computer program for multivariant analysis has been employed. The analytic techniques that are used allow for a finer…

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…

Information is presented in this paper regarding suprasegmental features of Black English thay may cause reading interference for some Black children. Much of the research concerning reading problems of many Afro-American students stresses the segmental differences of the phonology, the morphology, the syntax, and lexical selection between two…

The question of whether the Black English dialect affects the spelling performance of children who speak Black English is explored in this paper. Evidence is cited from existing research to show that Black English speakers make significantly more dialect-related errors than do non-Black English speakers. The various Black English features which…

Earlier sociolinguistic studies distinguish between Standard English and Black English with respect to indirect question formation. Standard English typically does not invert the tense-marker "do" in the imbedded question ("Ask John if he played basketball today") while Black English does ("Ask John did he play basketball today"). In fact, the…

This study was conducted to discover how Nonstandard Negro English speaking kindergarten children form verb phrases and what they mean by the various forms. It was limited to the main verb in each sentence; passive forms and imbedded sentences were excluded. Only verb phrases from four types of sentences were analyzed: declarative, negative,…

The factors of race, politics, economics, and the social sciences provide a unique dilemma for black communication scholars. Such scholars must respond to forces which seek to suppress their work and must also seek better ways of understanding the unique characteristics of communication among blacks. Investigations in black English should seek an…