DW3b

Ideas regarding whether African American Vernacular English should be considered a language or a dialect has been a topic for much debate for over fifty years. In the article Liberating American Ebonics from Euro-English by Arthur Palacas, Palacas raises the questions, “is American Ebonics a different language from English, is it a dialect of English, how does American Ebonics relate to the larger Ebonics picture?” In an attempt to answer these pressing questions, Palacas focuses on the grammatical patterns of Ebonics.
It is with Palacas’ numerous citations and references of linguists that he begins to formulate his argument that Standard English and Ebonics are drastically different languages. He reinforces the ideas previously stated by John Baugh, Guy Bailey, J.L. Dillard, Ralph Fasold, Salikoko Mufwene, John Rickford, Arthur Spears, William Stewart, Donald Winford, Walt Wolfram, and Geneva Smitherman, when he defines Ebonics as, “a rational, rule-governed linguistic system just like any other language or language variety and, therefore, deserving of the respect due any language or language variety; it is not just bad, broken, careless, or lazy English, not is it a degrading reflection of an untrained or even inferior intelligence.”
While many continue to regard Ebonics and Standard English as similar, Palacas dismisses this, saying that,
the emphasis on similarity and relationship…devaluates the difference and sends a message that eases the burden of teacher training when the actual need is for teachers to be trained much more in grammatical application so that they have the tools for effectively dealing with linguistic difference in the classroom as practitioners of applied linguistics.
Palacas acknowledges the responsibility of teachers to become informed. He understands the difficultly in learning a second dialect. This is the reason that Palacas, along with many linguists, make the differentiation between Standard English and Ebonics. Standard English and Ebonics should not be considered similar because they are separate systems with different rules.
Palacas does an effective job at making an argument about African American Vernacular English in his article. It can be seen through the references he uses, that thinks that Ebonics should have a place in composition studies. Palacas believes that due to the many grammatical features, including the differences in inflection, agreement, noun clauses and verb phrases, that Ebonics and Standard English are different languages.

Annotated Bibliography

Bean Janet, Maryann Cucchiara, Robert Eddy, Peter Elbow, Rhonda Grego, Rich Haswell, Patricia Irvine, Eileen Kennedy, Ellie Kutz, Al Lehner, and Paul Kei Matsuda. “Should We Invite Students to Write in Home Languages? Complicating the Yes/No Debate.” Composition Studies 31.1 (2003):25-42.

The authors pose various questions regarding writing in Standardized English or one’s mother tongue. The authors state that it is the conditions of a situation that dictate when to use a specific language style. They offer a list of variable to consider when deciding what language or dialect to use.

Billings, Andrew C. “Beyond the Ebonics Debate: Attitudes about Black and Standard American
English.” Journal of Black Studies 36.1 (2005): 68-81.

Billings makes use of a study done, to show the influences that Ebonics may have on perceptions of Black English. The author makes known both sides of the debate by providing numerous references of sociolinguists. The results of the studies highlighted the situations appropriate for the use of Black English and the attitudes toward the dialect.

Louden, Mark L. “African-Americans and Minority Language Maintenance in the United States.” The Journal of Negro History 85.4 (2000): 223-240.

Louden makes two arguments regarding the historical origin of African American Vernacular English. One theory states that AAVE originated from creolized varieties of English. The other suggestion states that AAVE began with the first African American slaves’ attempt to decipher forms of English spoken by co-territorial whites.

Palacas, Arthur L. “Liberating American Ebonics from Euro-English”. College English 63.3 (2001):326-352.

Palacas raises several questions regarding Ebonics, including whether Ebonics is a form on English or a dialect. He focuses mostly on the grammatical features of Ebonics in comparison with Standard English. Palacas cites many credited sources in his journal article in order to provide viewpoints that portray Ebonics as a language.

DW3a

A Perspective on Teaching Black Dialect Speaking Students to Write Standard English
by Juith P. Nembhard

Main ideas:
-BD students to write SE
-use prewriting, writing, and reformulation as the basis for teaching students to write SE
-do writing in class to teach students to write SE
-teacher needs to distinguish the difference between oral speech and SE so that they know there is a time a place to use it
-must expect high expectations from AA students even if their home language isn’t SE
-keep students motivated
-having private conferences with students
-the aim is to have effective communication skills so they’re not limited by home dialect
-writing assignments must be graded fairly but thoroughly
-have the same expectations and standards of everyone
-have the students focus on voice and clarity as opposed to grammar
-have students keep their culture and acknowledge it
-don’t be afraid to fail students when warranted

Supporting evidence:
-teachers are being retrained and equipped with the skills to help student become more effective writers
-showing sympathy to black students because of language limits students' capacity to perform
-"The Students' Right to Their Own Language" said that black students have the right to speak as they wish and to maintain their cultural linguistic heritage.
-bidialectalism:allows students to retain their own language and also incorporate a standard form as a second language.

This writing discusses ways in which teachers can help students become effective writers. Nembhard asserts that the most important aspects of teaching students how to write include the focus on content, clarification of expectations and requirements, and the motivation of students.
The author believes that every student should be taught to write and be responsible for writing correctly. However, Nembhard also holds the belief that one's home dialect should not being abolished when acquiring a standard form of language.

Nembhard fails to make an effective argument about AAVE's role in composition studies. Her goal is to inform readers about the techniques to become an effective writer. Although Nembhard includes a discussion of composition studies when mentioning writing in school, she fails to make a strong connection to writing and AAVE. She does not plainly state that AAVE is or is not present in composition studies. However, she does make clear that Standard English should be the preferred language in writing.