Maintains that the concept of verbal deprivation'' constituting an integral part of the operating assumption of Sesame Street'' has been thoroughly refuted by reputed liguists; that nonstandard'' English is not an inept, deficient approximation of American English but a separate, logical, and highly structured system of communication. (RJ)

The author discusses bidialectalism as a movement in education to render lower class students able to speak both their native dialect and standard English. However, it should not be seen as a way to remedy the injustices of American political and economic life. (Author/LF)

Opposes the legislation of linguistic conformity by penalizing minority students who write in nonstandard dialect. (DD)

Considers the recent Ebonics debate, and examines Patricia McKissack's use of dialects in her book "Flossie and the Fox." Points out its subtle yet meaningful lessons about the intersection of language and culture, and suggests a pedagogy that honors students' home language while accepting responsibility for offering them ways to switch language…

A study of 10 nondialect speakers who stutter, 10 nondialect speakers who do not stutter, and 10 dialect speakers who do not stutter, investigated the effect of speech dialect on listeners' speech naturalness ratings. Speech naturalness ratings were influenced by type of dialect, speech fluency and speaking rate. (Author/CR)

Examines the changes in dialect usage and the predictive relationship between dialect usage and reading achievement, controlling for differences in the acquisition of language forms common across dialects. Suggests that dialect usage might be a distinguishing variable between average and poor readers. Finds that correlations do not support the…

Demonstrates that linguistic accuracy is not and can never be a primary goal of writers who create effective renderings. Compares renderings of 19th- and early 20th-century white writers of dialect with those of contemporary writers. Finds that neither can be said to be more accurate than the other. (PA)

Reconstructs the present temporal reference system of Early African American English by investigating the aspectual conditioning of a morphosyntactic construction within the domain of present temporal reference in three representative varieties. (Author/VWL)

This article summarizes African American Vernacular English (AAVE) phonological features from the perspective of phonetic transcription. Relevant International Phonetic Alphabet symbols and diacritics are discussed, as well as the importance of transcription detail when differentiating dialect variation from phonological delay or disorder. A chart…

Pacific Island countries are recipients of considerable education reform projects, many of which are sponsored by various global donor agencies. These agencies have become partners for development in the region. Research cautions that development projects may have detrimental influences as their designs and delivery often ignore the economic,…

Grounded in integrated and excerpt style (Emerson, et al., 1995), this article chronicles Mr. Lehrer, an English teacher who provides his students access to standard and nonstandard writing conventions. Student writing samples and discursive practices illustrate enhanced awareness of distinctions between nonstandard language (African American…