In an effort to resolve some of the problems of widespread reading failure, this report investigated the way in which the language of inner-city black first graders corresponded to the language of beginning reading texts and whether or not dialect features occurred consistently in the children's speech. Twenty first grade black children were…

Various aspects of Arabic and Semitic linguistics are discussed in this text. The nine chapters include: (1) fundamental Semitic vocabulary and the classification of southern dialects; (2) observations on nominal derivation by affixation in several Semitic languages; (3) an automatic analysis of literary Arabic; (4) "Addad" and…

The process of national integration does not necessarily require monolingualism. The western, post-Versailles, intellectual heritage prompts contemporary sociologists to assume that cultural and linguistic differences automatically tend toward demands for nation formation and language recognition. Countries like India prove otherwise. Not all…

Two curriculum strategies were implemented and assessed in an effort to increase the bidialectal proficiency of fifth grade speakers of nonstandard Negro dialect. It was hypothesized that (1) children exposed to the curriculum strategies will show increased proficiency in their use of standard English; (2) children thus exposed will maintain…

To investigate black children's attitudes towards reading material written in standard English and Black English forms, third and fourth grade children from two elementary schools with a predominantly black population were asked to listen to tapes of two versions of a story--one written in standard English and the other in Black English. The…

Links between language and identity are so strong that attempts to correct nonstandard speech are likely to be interpreted by West Indian children as criticism or rejection. A far more constructive approach would be to acknowledge and accept Creole in the classroom. (Author)

Black students that were grouped for English ability by their standardized test scores translated a standard English text into black dialect. Analytical data show group differences in dialect facility that correlate to standard English ability, suggesting that language development affects both dialect performance and standard English learning. (RL)

Describes an investigation of the nature of English dialect acquisition among bilingual Puerto Ricans. Subjects were in the sixth grade of a school in the Puerto Rican community in North Philadelphia. Results show that subjects can socially classify linguistic variants from two competing systems and use them appropriately. (Author/RM)

This paper discusses the present situation in Canadian schools and delineates some approaches which schools can adopt to meet the needs of West Indian students. These students already speak a dialect of English but must also acquire the Canadian dialect. (CFM)

This article deals with the question of how American teachers' language attitudes affect the implementation of bidialectal language programs. It places this question in historical perspective by focussing on past controversies involving the evolution of American teachers' attitudes towards children's language. (POP)

This book is a collection of conference proceedings, papers, comments, and other documents that was compiled as a response to the national controversy that erupted in the aftermath of the resolution on Ebonics by the Oakland Unified School District in late 1996. That resolution affirmed the need to incorporate an explicit focus on Ebonics in…

Article investigated the hypothesis that Caucasian subjects supply significantly more standard English, and Negro subjects supply significantly more predictable nonstandard English endings to present, plural, possessive, and time extension words, and that differences are obtained regardless of the standard or nonstandard English mode of…

Describes a study in which Black English was taught as a standard dialect with elementary education majors serving as subjects. (RB)

Discusses (1) American class anxiety and racism as reflected in the linguistic purist tradition; (2) the didialectalism of contemporary Black Idiom speakers; (3) the need for accurate comprehensive descriptions of Black Idiom; and (4) the need for teachers to teach communication skills to Black students. (MM)