They [clarify, the black militants and white liberals, or Claude Brown?] say it composes it’s [its, not it's] own structure like any other kind of dialect. Most middle class listeners assume the black speakers are just being careless. Seymour says that most black immigrants lacked the two th sounds of English; their West African languages did not consist of these sounds. She also says even Germans are surprised and confused because the only Germans to [who, not to] use this sound are people with lisps. [bring closure to this idea of phonology--how is it important to the thesis? never end on an example or a subpoint]
Black English even has it’s [its, not it's] own structure. Black English and Western African languages correspond in structure. Many times past-tense is not used with verbs.
[for the same reason as above, a quote should always be followed by an analysis of that quote in context with the idea it supports--here, you bounce to a new idea altogether] In Black English it isn’t [lose the contraction] even necessary to use an s [put the s in italics or in quotation marks] to express plurality. The Chinese and Japanese languages share this same factor. "There are three book on the table;" this is correct to say in Chinese. Seymour says the same logic is the basis of Black English. Black children will say "two dog" or "them boy." In these languages plurality is conveyed in different ways. [lame closure--tell me why the structural integrity of black English reinforces its integrity as an independent language or dialect]
Words can also hold several different meanings. Gloria Naylor examines the meaning of the word "nigger." Depending on it’s [its, not it's] use , it can be comprehended in a variety of different ways. In the singular form it is considered as a compliment.
This word in the plural form carries an opposite meaning. Parents who neglected their children, a drunken couple who fought in public, and someone who refuses to look for work were all associated with the plural form of nigger. They were called "trifling niggers;" they had lost all self-respect. [develop this idea--when the word is used by blacks it has a number of different meanings, but when it is used by whites, it has only one--what's that indicate?]
Black English follows neither the rules or structure of standard English. During school years children are taught the rules of standard English. These rules are the legacy of prescriptive tradition from the eighteenth century, when the English language was developing. Prescriptivism is the idea of preserving the English language’s purity. In the 18th century [insert a comma] all the main European languages were studied prescriptively. There were a few reasons for this prescriptive study.
David Crystal also talks of the use of academies. An academy to purify the Italian language was founded as early as 1582. The name of this academy was Accedemia delta Crusca. Several other academies followed in the 18th and 19th centuries. The main goal of these academies were to rid their language of imperfections and to purify their language. [so, what's his point? that we need an Academy? what would happen if the black community establishes its own academy to govern the rules of black English? would that alter the way it is perceived in the world? bring this idea to its logical conclusion]
English is the most widely spoken language. It is spoken natively by over a quarter billion people. Millions more speak it as a second language. English has become so diversified you must now classify it as American English, British English, Australian English, Indian English, Black English, and so on. [don't quote from Roberts without giving him credit for what you're quoting--including quotation marks and then giving credit leaves the impression that these words the precede the quote are your own] "In 1500 English was a minor language, spoken by a few people on a small island. Now perhaps it is the greatest language of the world."(Roberts 8) [the period follows, rather than precedes, the parentheses in short quote form] English has grown greatly diversified. The language has seen a great deal of changes. Changes occur everyday in our language [language and culture? linguistic culture?] culture. So the English language can stay modernized, [eh? give me an appropriate conjunction to link these two sentences] it will continue to go through a great deal of changes. A brief look at the history can tell you the future of the language. [strengthen this concluding sentence a tad--why is it important that we predict our linguistic future?]
Bibleography [spelling]
"Language in America"
-The English Language is highly diversified. [strengthen this thesis and fix all your citations--you can find the publication information in the Instructions to the Readings and find out how to compile that information in the Instructions on the Annotated Bibliography]
1. Crystal, David. "The Prescriptive Tradition." www.sebsteph.com/Professional/Bart’s%20class/Readings/crystal.htm
This article talks of a study called Prescriptivism. This is a study to purify the English
Language. It also sets the rules of English.
2. Naylor, Gloria. "The Meanings of a Word." www.sebsteph.com/Professional/Bart’s%20class/Readings/naylor.htm
This article explains the different meanings of the word nigger [put this in italics or quotes]. She always [always? how do you know? you've read only one article] talks about how the use of this word affected her childhood.
3. Roberts, Paul. "A Brief History of English." www.sebsteph.com/Professional/Bart’s%20class/Readings/roberts.htm
This article just explains some background behind the English language. It tells of its beginnings to the modern period.
4. Seymour, Dorothy Z. "Black Children, Black Speech." www.sebsteph.com/Professional/Bart’s%20class/Readings/seymour.htm
This reading explains difficulties in education because of diversified dialects. It concentrates on inner-city dialect and Black English.
REVISION:
One's culture determines pattern of speech. When young, and still
developing a vocabulary, what is heard will have an impact on speech. When someone
hears something repeatedly it will eventually show in personal speech patterns.
Of course, this fact is more evident in the younger people. The things one is
around drives the way they speak and act.
The United States is highly diversified. There
are people all around the world who migrate to America. With all these different dialects
and languages intermixing, there are new forms of the English language evolving. Although
it is still called English, there are so many different forms that English can be
sub-categorized. The one which I will focus on is Black English, or "Ebonics."
A person's speech patterns can play a major role in an ability to educate one's self.
Dorothy Z. Seymour says children may have a hard time learning how to read if their
speech style is different from the writing styles of their books. Most of these children
speak Black English. Seymour points out the results can even lead to dropping out of
school. Most black parents want their children to learn standard English in school because
they believe it will help them communicate with others easier. Black militants and
some white liberals would disagree:
They urge that middle-class Negroes stop thinking of the inner-city dialect as something
to be ashamed of and repudiated. Black author Claude Brown, for example, pushes this
view. (Seymour 2) Black militants and white liberals say it composes its own structure like
any other kind of dialect. Most middle class listeners assume the black speakers are just
being careless. Seymour says that most black immigrants lacked the two "th"
sounds of English; their West African languages did not consist of these sounds. She also
says even Germans are surprised and confused because the only Germans who use this sound
are people with lisps. Black English even has its own structure. Black English and Western
African languages correspond in structure. Many times past-tense is not used with verbs.
Many West African languages have a tense which is called the habitual. This tense is used
to express action which is always occurring and it is formed with a verb that is
translated as be. "He be coming" means something like "He's always
coming," "He usually comes," or "He's been coming.(Seymour 4) In Black
English it is not even necessary to use an "s" to express plurality. The Chinese
and Japanese languages share this same factor. "There are three book on the
table;" this is correct to say in Chinese. Seymour says the same logic is the basis
of Black English. Black children will say "two dog" or "them boy." In
these languages plurality is conveyed in different ways. In the same way other
languages have their own style of speech, Black English also has its own style of
speeking. Words can also hold several different meanings. Gloria Naylor examines the
meaning of the word "nigger." Depending on its use , it can be comprehended in a
variety of different ways. In the singular form it is considered as a compliment.
In the singular, the word was always applied to a man who had distinguished himself in
some situation that brought their approval for his strength, intelligence, or drive... it
became the pure essence of manhood--a disembodied force that channeled their past history
of struggle and present survival against the odds into a victorious statement of
being.(Naylor 2) This word in the plural form carries an opposite meaning. Parents who
neglected their children, a drunken couple who fought in public, and someone who refuses
to look for work were all associated with the plural form of nigger. They were called
"trifling niggers;" they had lost all self-respect.
Black English follows neither the rules or structure of standard English. During school
years children are taught the rules of standard English. These rules are the legacy of
prescriptive tradition from the eighteenth century, when the English language was
developing. Prescriptivism is the idea of preserving the English language's purity. In the
18th century, all the main European languages were studied prescriptively. There were a
few reasons for this prescriptive study. The aims of these early grammarians were
threefold: (a) they wanted to codify the principles of their language, to show that there
was a system beneath the apparent chaos of usage, (b) they wanted a means of settling
disputes over usage, (c) they wanted to point out what they felt to be common errors, in
order to "improve" the language.(Crystal 1) David Crystal also talks of the use
of academies. An academy to purify the Italian language was founded as early as 1582. The
name of this academy was Accedemia delta Crusca. Several other academies followed in the
18th and 19th centuries. The main goal of these academies were to rid their language of
imperfections and to purify their language. If Black English were to develop these
academies, the language might be taken more seriously throughout the world.
English is the most widely spoken language. It is spoken natively by over a quarter
billion people. Millions more speak it as a second language. English has become so
diversified you must now classify it as American English, British English, Australian
English, Indian English, Black English, and so on.(Roberts 8) "In 1500
English was a minor language, spoken by a few people on a small island. Now perhaps
it is the greatest language of the world".(Roberts 8) English has grown greatly
diversified. The language has a great deal of changes. Changes occur everyday in our
language and culture. So that the English language can stay modernized, it will have to
continue to go through a great deal of changes. A brief look at the history can tell you
the future of the language so that English language can continue to progress.
Bibliography This citation format is still not correct. See note above.
-The things one is around develops how they act and speak.
1. Crystal, David. "The Prescriptive Tradition." www.sebsteph.com/Professional/Bart's%20class/Readings/crystal.htm
This article talks of a study called Prescriptivism. This is a study to purify the English
Language. It also sets the rules of English.
2. Naylor, Gloria. "The Meanings of a Word." www.sebsteph.com/Professional/Bart's%20class/Readings/naylor.htm
This article explains the different meanings of the word "nigger."
She talks about how the use of this word affected her childhood.
3. Roberts, Paul. "A Brief History of English." www.sebsteph.com/Professional/Bart's%20class/Readings/roberts.htm
This article just explains some background behind the English language. It tells of its
beginnings to the modern period.
4. Seymour, Dorothy Z. "Black Children, Black Speech." www.sebsteph.com/Professional/Bart's%20class/Readings/seymour.htm
This reading explains difficulties in education because of diversified dialects. It
concentrates on inner-city dialect and Black English.
Return to Guest Book Page