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Why “Correcting” African American Language Speakers Is Counterproductive Language Arts Journal of Michigan Volume 32 Issue 2 Race, Language, & Privilege Article 6 5-2017 Why “Correcting” African American Language Speakers is Counterproductive Alice Lee Illinois State University, [email protected] Follow this and additional works at: https://scholarworks.gvsu.edu/lajm Part of the Bilingual, Multilingual, and Multicultural Education Commons, Curriculum and Instruction Commons, Educational Methods Commons, Elementary Education Commons, Elementary Education and Teaching Commons, and the Junior High, Intermediate, Middle School Education and Teaching Commons Recommended Citation Lee, Alice (2017) "Why “Correcting” African American Language Speakers is Counterproductive," Language Arts Journal of Michigan: Vol. 32: Iss. 2, Article 6. Available at: https://doi.org/10.9707/2168-149X.2162 This Article is brought to you for free and open access by ScholarWorks@GVSU. It has been accepted for inclusion in Language Arts Journal of Michigan by an authorized editor of ScholarWorks@GVSU. For more information, please contact [email protected]. PRACTICE Why “Correcting” African American Language Speakers is Counterproductive ALICE LEE n a Spring afternoon ing them to talk like that in the class- in-service teacher attitudes towards AAL in 2010, I sat in the room, when they’ll be expected to speak in their classrooms. In my experience back of a university standard English in the real world?” working with pre-service teachers, while classroom doing my Those questions began my quest to many are open to accepting AAL as a best to listen to my better understand AAL and what role it “real” language, there are still questions professor talk about language diversity, a should play in the classroom. The pro- and hesitations about allowing its usage Otopic I had heard about many times be- fessor and course mentioned above were in the classroom. In this article, I would fore. I was exhausted from teaching my monumental in my journey to know and like to address the topic of AAL usage in the classroom, particularly the line of fifth graders all day, and graduate school accept AAL as linguistically legitimate; this truth changed how I understood thinking that assumes “correcting” the only fit in my schedule “part time” as a my students and teaching. I also became language is what will “set students up full-time classroom teacher. Most classes more attuned to the ways teachers’ lack for success” in the future. By providing were a struggle to turn on my “intel- of knowledge about AAL played a role some abbreviated information on how lectual cap” and to theorize about best in their instruction. In one conversa- children acquire language, I will explain practices when the majority of my day tion with another elementary classroom how AAL “correction” is not only a was spent surviving all the moving parts teacher, he wondered how he would be faulty perspective (since AAL is linguis- of being a teacher. But on this particu- able to teach his student math when tically legitimate), actually counterpro- lar day, my ears perked up when, in the the student could not even “talk right.” ductive for student “success”—in both midst of talking about language diver- In another conversation with a literacy language acquisition and learning. Ad- sity, the professor mentioned the term specialist, after broaching the topic of ditionally, I will offer practical sugges- “African American Language.” She AAL, she informed me that AAL usage tions for how AAL can be incorporated said it in such a nonchalant, every day was only acceptable at home. The divide in curriculum and instruction. manner. I thought I might have mis- between research and practice became heard what she said, and began to listen blaringly apparent to me when I invited Historical and Linguistic more intently as she discussed the need a Reading Recovery coach into my class- Highlights of AAL to honor African American Language room to assist with writing instruction, and she would cut off speakers of AAL (AAL) in the classroom. As someone Much has already been written mid-sentence and yell at them to “say about how AAL is a legitimate language who had never heard that term before, it again” in “standard English.” These (Baugh, 1999; Labov, 1969; Smither- I quickly looked around the room to see conversations are representative of the man, 1977; Wolfram & Fasold, 1974). if any of my peers were as perplexed as I ideas many teachers (and those soon- My goal in this article is not to provide was. To my surprise, the other students to-be) have about accepting AAL in the a comprehensive linguistic background sat calmly and quietly, without any con- classroom. Ball and Muhammud (2003) for AAL, but to provide cursory infor- fusion as to why she continued to refer have called this a “zero tolerance” stance mation to help readers understand why to AAL as something I knew as “slang.” when working with pre-service teachers AAL is and should be considered a “real” I finally raised my hand and asked, “Are and their attitudes of AAL in the class- language. For a list of resources that can we talking about slang here? Aren’t we room. Other research (Delpit 1998; offer a more comprehensive perspective doing our students a disservice by allow- 2006) has also documented negative of the linguistic and rhetorical prac- LAJM, Spring 2017 27 Why “Correcting” African American Language Speakers is Counterproductive tices within AAL, please visit: http:// the variation of other White Europeans matically) varies from “standard Eng- www.ncte.org/cccc/resources/positions/ languages that are recognized as such, lish.” Other examples in which AAL ebonics. The term, African American Norwegian and Swedish for example. varies phonologically and semantically Language, has also been referred to as The difference between a language and include: 1) the substitution of the nasal Ebonics, African American Vernacular dialect is often defined by whether or sound /n/ for /ng/ in the word “walk- English, Black English, Black Vernacu- not it is understood by speakers within ing,” which would be pronounced as lar English, and is defined by Smither- the same group. Some would argue that “walkin’,” and 2) the form of address man (2006) in the following way: speakers of AAL understand “standard of others as “Sister” or “Brother,” even Black or African American Lan- English” and vice versa, while the same if s/he is not biologically related to you guage (BL or AAL) a style of communicative properties would not (Smitherman, 1977). speaking English words with Black apply to monolingual speakers of Chi- It is important to note that there flava—with Africanized semantic, nese and English. However, as noted are many variances from “standard Eng- grammatical, pronunciation, and above, languages such as Norwegian and lish,” or the Language of Wider Com- rhetorical patterns. AAL comes out Swedish are considered two different munity (LWC) in America. Linguists of the experience of U.S. slave de- languages, even though monolingual Walt Wolfram and Ben Ward (2006) ex- scendants. This shared experience speakers of each group often understand plored 37 American dialects, categorized has resulted in common speaking those from the other group because of by geography and social group. Included styles, systematic patterns of gram- the linguistic similarity between the lan- are Southern American English, Appala- mar, and common language prac- guages. Smitherman argues, therefore, chian English, Maine English, Midwest tices in the Black community. (p. that what is considered a dialect versus English, California English, Chicano 3). a language is not solely based on lin- English, and Jewish English. It is equally AAL became particularly salient in edu- guistics, but involves decision-making important to note that these, and other cation during the Civil Rights era when entrenched in power. dialects, are not exclusively spoken by some in academe began paying attention As linguists, both Labov and Smi- “other” race/cultures/ethnic groups. to the achievement of Black students, therman have documented how AAL In fact, Wolfram argues that everyone especially as schools moved towards is systematically governed by rules—a speaks a dialect of English, and the idea racial integration. Among them were defining marker for what is considered of a “standard English”—in which some education psychologists Carl Bereiter a “real” language. Examples of linguistic people speak “correctly” and others do and Siegfried Engelmann (1966) whose components include syntax (grammar), not—is linguistically inaccurate. The research interpreted Black students semantics (closely related to vocabu- dialects mentioned above (with the ex- through a culturally deficit lens, and la- lary), and phonology (pronunciation). ception of Chicano and Jewish English) beled AAL as a “language handicap” (p. Linguists look for the ways these and are all spoken by White Americans of 5). William Labov (1969) is one of the other linguistic components follow European decent. Of course, all dialects first linguists to present research refuting rules. One characteristic feature of AAL are represented by multi-racial, multi- Bereiter and Engelmann’s claims, and to is the usage of the habitual “be” copula ethnic speakers. Not all African Ameri- provide evidence for AAL as linguisti- verb. The sentence “They be happy,” cans speak AAL, and conversely, not all cally legitimate. Geneva Smitherman for example, is often perceived as using AAL speakers are African American. Re- (1977) is a pioneering linguist who not “wrong” grammar. However, Smither- search (Martinez, 2017) has shown the only documented its linguistic rules, but man (1977) explains that there are rules intersection of non-Black social groups as a speaker of AAL, she was also able to (correct and incorrect ways) to use the incorporating AAL within their own bring insight into the language’s unique habitual “be” verb. The habitual “be” speech practices.
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