We Can’t Teach What We Don’t Know
In their recently published book, Understanding English Language Variation in U.S. Schools, Anne Charity Hudley and Christine Mallinson add to what we know. This book is for educators, scholars and individuals concerned with the success of all children.
Charity Hudley and Mallinson help us to better understand the range of dialects (or varieties of English) that students bring to the classroom and how to embrace and manage these differences.
This is a book for anyone who has ever worked with or interacted with school children and has recognized a mismatch between how some children actually speak and how they are “supposed to speak” in school.
Music Monday: AAE’s Soaring Like a G6!
This week African American English (AAE) is once again holding down the Billboard Charts, by way of the song Like a G-6. Performed by Far*East Movement featuring Cataracs & Dev, Like a G-6, which recently peaked at #1, currently holds the #2 spot–a major jump from it’s position as #10 on our last Music Monday post. Read more…
In Remembrance: Dr. A. Fay Vaughn-Cooke
Dr. Fay Vaughn-Cooke
We at Word. mourn the loss of one of the very best in her field, Dr. Fay Vaughn-Cooke.
According to the Washington Post, Dr. (Anna) Fay Vaughn-Cooke died peacefully on Wednesday, October 20, 2010 at Washington Home Hospice.
Why Black People Can Use the N-Word: A Perspective
Written by guest blogger Luvell Anderson
Why is it okay for African Americans to use the N-word but not others (or mostly not others)? Isn’t it racist to say that only some people can use the word while others can’t? Doesn’t this create some unfair double-standard?
These are some of the questions one often hears in a discussion about the N-word and permissible use. There are really at least two questions that should be addressed. First, what is going on linguistically? Uses of the word by African Americans typically aren’t offensive, so-called appropriated uses, whereas uses by others (with some exceptions) generally are offensive. What explains that difference? Read more…
Props to a Sista!
Dr. Simanique Moody
We at Word. want to give props to Dr. Simanique Moody, who is confirmed to receive her Doctorate of Philosophy (PhD) in Linguistics from New York University this coming January 2011. Simanique is African American and hails from Georgia.
Much of what we know about African American English is thanks to the diligent work of trained linguists. But linguists cannot do the work they do without the African American community and the data they provide for analysis. Read more…
Run and Tell That! (Part Two)
Antoine Dodson is STILL in the news and all over the blogosphere. What’s more, people are showing mad love for his use of language. Read more…
Monday Music: ‘Cause AAE is Still On Top
This week African American English (AAE) is still dominating the Billboard Charts. A lot of these hits seem to be playing with phonological (sound) reduction, which can be found in words like ’cause (because), ’fore (before), and ’specially (especially) . Here’s a look at some samples of the AAE-infused songs currently topping the charts. Read more…
Run and Tell That!
On July 28, 2010, Antoine Dodson appeared on a WAFF-48, a local news channel in Huntsville, Alabama, to react to a local crime. A month and a half later, people are still talking about him. Read more…
Michael Steele and the Black Vote
Michael Steele, the 63rd Chairman of the Republican National Committee (RNC), wants many things. And he has drafted a plan to get black people to vote Republican–speak their language.
Michael Steele.
When he became RNC Chairman, Steele articulated the contours of a strategy that involved speaking to black voters according to their own cultural idiom. He referred to hip-hop and used AAE vocabulary in order to describe what he had in mind. In the time since the statement of these ambitions, the specifics of this supposed public relations campaign have failed to materialize. Read more…
The N-Word: Who you callin’ a ….?
"Landing Negroes at Jamestown from Dutch Man-of-War, 1619"
Who you callin’ a ….
The opening question on the Ebony magazine July 2007 issue. One of the goals of this issue of Ebony was to engage Black America in a discussion of the use of the N-word by folks in the black community and others. But we want to give an historical perspective to how the descendants of American slaves (DAS) have referenced themselves over time.
In her book, Talkin’ That Talk, Geneva Smitherman reminds us that,
“For African Americans, the semantics of race have been recurring themes… since 1619, when the first cargo of African slaves landed at Jamestown. The societal complexity of the Black condition continues to necessitate a self-conscious construction of identity.”
