Linguists say black English be a real dialect, jus like standard
Black History Month Bonus Week
Ashley Tate, News Reporter
Issue date: 3/4/08 Section: Campus Life
Editor's note: One line has been removed to correct an editorial mistake in the original article. Barbara Nykiel-Herbert's comments about symmetry and economy referred to another grammatical feature of black English, not the absence of "is" from "it cold" as the article stated.
It cold in here.
It be cold in here.
Which is correct? Linguists on the campus of Youngstown State University say both are right when speaking African American Vernacular English, also known as Ebonics or black English.
While the dialect doesn't have the same status in America as standard English, it follows it's own grammar rules, and has some features that are better than standard.
YSU English professors Steven Brown and Salvatore Attardo wrote the textbook "Understanding Language, Structure, Interaction, and Variation," used at YSU to teach about dialects.
"Even if you don't think you speak a dialect, you do. We all do," Brown said.
His book explains that "it be cold in here" from black English has a slightly different meaning than "it's cold in here," with the "be" signifying ongoing action. "It be cold in here" means "it's always cold in here," but with fewer syllables.
Barbara Nykiel-Herbert, assistant English professor at YSU, said "it is cold in here" in standard has no more meaning than "it cold in here" in black English. When speaking of the past, both dialects use "it was cold" since the verb carries important meaning. Nykiel-Herbert said Russian and Chinese work the same way. In this way, black English is more efficient, she said.
Brown said not everyone whom we would assume to speak a dialect speaks that dialect, and not all black people speak black English.
"I once had a student who was originally from Vietnam who spoke African American English because all his friends in high school did. That's the variety of English he knew," Brown said.
"All dialects, all varieties are a matter of percentages," he said. "That can't be stressed enough."
It cold in here.
It be cold in here.
Which is correct? Linguists on the campus of Youngstown State University say both are right when speaking African American Vernacular English, also known as Ebonics or black English.
While the dialect doesn't have the same status in America as standard English, it follows it's own grammar rules, and has some features that are better than standard.
YSU English professors Steven Brown and Salvatore Attardo wrote the textbook "Understanding Language, Structure, Interaction, and Variation," used at YSU to teach about dialects.
"Even if you don't think you speak a dialect, you do. We all do," Brown said.
His book explains that "it be cold in here" from black English has a slightly different meaning than "it's cold in here," with the "be" signifying ongoing action. "It be cold in here" means "it's always cold in here," but with fewer syllables.
Barbara Nykiel-Herbert, assistant English professor at YSU, said "it is cold in here" in standard has no more meaning than "it cold in here" in black English. When speaking of the past, both dialects use "it was cold" since the verb carries important meaning. Nykiel-Herbert said Russian and Chinese work the same way. In this way, black English is more efficient, she said.
Brown said not everyone whom we would assume to speak a dialect speaks that dialect, and not all black people speak black English.
"I once had a student who was originally from Vietnam who spoke African American English because all his friends in high school did. That's the variety of English he knew," Brown said.
"All dialects, all varieties are a matter of percentages," he said. "That can't be stressed enough."
Viewing Comments 1 - 7 of 9
Dan
posted 3/04/08 @ 7:16 PM EST
I just thought I might show just how mixed-up things have become. To Ashley, the author of this article, and probably a journalism major. Please go back to grade school english. (Continued…)
Edward Miller
posted 3/04/08 @ 8:42 PM EST
Are we now inventing a dialect to define incorrect English? Because that is exactly what it is. Just because a large group of people speak the same way does not make it correct. (Continued…)
Ed-Miller90
Ed
posted 3/04/08 @ 8:50 PM EST
Are we now inventing dialects to define bad English? Just because a large group of people speak a certain way does not mean it is correct. Good luck with the invention idea though. (Continued…)
Mark Capuano
posted 3/05/08 @ 8:39 AM EST
...and over here in Ohio Appalachia we say "Dang! It shore's colder'n a well digger's ass in Jan'ray!" By the way Dan, your second sentance lacks a predicate. (Continued…)
Ramòn
posted 3/27/08 @ 1:13 PM EST
French, Italian, and Spanish were all at one point "bad Latin".
English was first "bad Proto-German," then became a mixture of "bad Proto-German" and "bad Latin". (Continued…)
MDME
posted 3/09/10 @ 11:57 PM EST
Oh please don't stick African-Americans with a "black dialect" that actually came out of the white south. It's poor English and lack of education.
kede
posted 4/06/10 @ 11:05 PM EST
Great article. I agree totally.
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