The purpose of this essay is to suggest one area of study, the functional nature of social dialects, and certain principles of anthropology as they are applied to social and cultural change, which may prove of some use to the teacher. There are essentially three pragmatic functions of language in communicative interaction: manipulative,…

Teaching of English is involved in the transmission of culture in two ways: (1) it is part of the complex process through which culture is transmitted; and (2) it can be a vehicle for the transmission of culture. The English teacher is faced with a combination of the two tasks of enculturation and acculturation. The effective teacher must clearly…

The need for teachers of English to accept speakers of nonstandard dialects of English is stressed. It is the responsibility of these teachers to help their students cope linguistically with all aspects of their lives. With linguistic insights and information and classroom expertise, teachers bring hope to the disadvantaged child. (CK)

AMBIGUOUS SENTENCES WITH "BE" IN THE NONSTANDARD SPEECH OF NEGROES ARE DISCUSSED. THE AUTHOR HYPOTHESIZES THAT THERE ARE DIFFERENCES IN THE UNDERLYING SEMANTIC STRUCTURE (DEEP STRUCTURE) BETWEEN NONSTANDARD NEGRO SPEECH AND OTHER DIALECTS OF ENGLISH, AND THAT A "HABITUATIVE" CATEGORY MUST BE POSTULATED TO REMOVE STRUCTURAL…

Bidialectical instruction is a way to help nonstandard English speaking students develop standard English speaking skills for greater academic achievement while not eradicating their nonmainstream English skills. The rationale for one school system's bidialectal instructional model is presented along with a description of program content and its…

Presents evidence for a causal relationship between particular sociolinguistic contexts and a direction of language change in morphosyntax by identifying a class of contact languages that are similar. They are similar in that they are 'lower' languages used in multilingual diglossic speech communities that are isolated from the standard and…

This article outlines some basic linguistic principles that provide a foundation for the recognition of African American Vernacular English (AAVE) as a legitimate language system that is not only an asset to its speakers, but has also made valuable contributions to American society in terms of artistic expression of identity and community. The way…

Discusses language usage among blacks and whites, pointing to some current theories. (RB)

Describes dialect differences, how to distinguish them, how to assess them and how to use them in teaching standard English. (Author)

Special issue on Black Dialect: Historical and Descriptive Issues'' edited by William A. Stewart. (RS)

Study attempted to find to what extent and in what manner the language patterns of a selected group of disadvantaged pupils differed from standard patterns. (Authors)

The author stresses the importance of the Fields of Linguistics, Cultural Anthropology, Education, Communication, Rhetoric and Literature in the preparation of teachers of standard English as a Second Dialect (SESD). Paper presented at the TESOL Convention, March 1969. (FWB)