Activities for teaching Ebonics-speaking children to differentiate between problematic standard English and Ebonic forms are presented. (Author/MC)

Presents literature and argues for educators helping children to become bidialectal. The primary goal of language teaching in the schools should be to eliminate biases of society toward those who speak a dialect different from that of the majority rather than to eradicate cultural diversity of students. (Author)

The ways in which Black consciousness and experience emerge in the works of three Black poets are explored in this article. Historical, cultural, psychological, and linguistic influences are considered. (GC)

Describes an attitude study which suggests that by the age of eight or nine children are developing stereotyped attitudes toward speakers of nonstandard English. (DD)

This article discusses the linguistic background of two Italian children who lived with their parents for an extended period of time in Holland and for a brief time in Puerto Rico and spent vacations in Italy where their relatives spoke the dialects of Veneto and Friuli. (CFM)

Discusses some principles to keep in mind in facilitating learners' literacy development: recognize linguistic variety; facilitate authentic discourse; contextualize instruction on language structures within composing and comprehending; and design literature-based lessons with linguistic benefits in mind. Argues that, for acquiring English…

Analyzes specifics of computer-mediated communication. Finds features and attributes inherent in oral and written forms of speech in dialogs, monologs, and polylogs (telelogs). Finds a particular kind of "pidginized network English" being formed by "netters" for whom English is not their native language. (RS)

Examines acquisition of the Philadelphian short "a" by 3- and 4-year-old children. Despite the complexity, the children generally matched the short "a" distribution of both their parents and adult Philadelphians interviewed in the mid-1970s. Results indicate that even the youngest community members are actively participating in…

Compared spelling of children who speak General American English and those who speak Southern British English. Found that spelling errors of children with spelling ages of 6 to 7.5 reflected characteristics of their dialect, and that at older spelling ages, British children made overgeneralization errors reflecting their dialect. Concluded that…

Describes the use of black communication style by African Americans in an organized environment. Uses a research method involving a multimethod approach of field data collection using direct observation and semi-structured interviews. Shows that, although the black employees felt they were changing their communication style to fit organizational…

Suggests that the United States may well want to entertain a National Language Policy, a supplement to the National Education Goals and the national standards that have appeared in recent years. Notes that a position paper developed in 1988 by the Conference on College Composition and Communication, entitled "National Language Policy," might serve…

Compares linguistic and non-linguistic components of ways of speaking, being, performing, and reasoning within an urban African American secondary classroom and a midwestern African American hair salon, identifying culturally shared interactional norms that inform knowledge building across sites and analyzing how the discourse norms and structures…

Discusses the Gullah language, an English-based Creole language that contains words from approximately 21 African languages. Discusses historical background and educational implications. Concludes that in communicating with Gullah speaking children, a teacher has to be flexible, understanding, and willing to learn the student's native language.…

Discusses dialectal differences in the aggregate. Employs a dialectometric technique that provides an additive measure of pronunciation difference: The (aggregate) pronunciation difference. Sampled Dutch towns and villages, where the variation ranges between 56% and 81%, lending credence to the dialect continuum view. (Author/VWL)

Discusses the belief that divergent language usage has a negative impact on visible demonstration of academic reading achievement. Illustrated this through a case study of Gullah-speaking students. While students' indigenous language patterns created holistic pictures, they did not use the exact word to communicate the appropriate meaning to those…