Black Children, Black Speech

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If students of different races and ethnic backgrounds adopted the Standard English language, then it would be easier for them to speak and communicate with each other. Language has been changed in many different ways that it has become somewhat of a challenge for some students to comprehend. Today we have a set standard of how language should be taught, written and even spoken. It is a known fact that the English language is a long and complicated language that various ethnic groups change the wording form Standard English to some sort of “dialect with a form and structure of its own” (Seymour 339). Although patterns of non-standard dialect seem to become a problem in the way we are told is “correct” English. It is known that children are learning these patterns either at home or from other children. Parents do not seem to mind that their children are not speaking in what is considered to be Standard English, as long as they are able to communicate with them everything should be okay, right? One of the patterns is that of “Black English”. Does this pattern cause problems in the learning process that Standard English is taught in schools today? Claude Brown says that “no dialect is intrinsically ‘bad’ or ‘good’, and that a non standard speech style is not defective speech but different speech” (Seymour 339). That is something that contradicts the value we emphasize in teaching proper Standardized English. Those who are older and tend to speak Standard English do not understand the “Black English” language. This form of language is some sort of “slang”, something that is mainly used in lower class people to communicate with each other, one way or another. Which brings me to agree with the statement that, “the children who speech style is so different form the writing style of their books, have difficulty learning to read” (Seymour 342). Even though there are

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