Monograph Series on Languages and Linguistics lumber 22, 1969 edited by James E. Alatis 20th Annual Round Table Linguistics and the Teaching of Standard English To Speakers of Other Languages or Dialects Georgetown University School of Languages and Linguistics REPORT OF THE TWENTIETH ANNUAL ROUND TABLE MEETING ON LINGUISTICS AND LANGUAGE STUDIES JAMES E. ALATIS EDITOR GEORGETOWN UNIVERSITY PRESS Washington, D.C. 20007 © Copyright 1970 GEORGETOWN UNIVERSITY PRESS SCHOOL OF LANGUAGES AND LINGUISTICS GEORGETOWN UNIVERSITY Library of Congress Catalog Card Number 58-31607 Lithographed in U.S.A. by EDWARDS BROTHERS, INC. Ann Arbor, Michigan CONTENTS Introduction vii WELCOMING REMARKS Reverend Frank Fadner, S. J. Regent, School of Languages and Linguistics xi Dean Robert Lado Dean, School of Languages and Linguistics xiii FIRST SESSION Theoretical Linguistics and Its Implications for Teaching SESOLD Chairman: Charles W. Kreidler, Georgetown University William Labov The Logic of Nonstandard English 1 Raven I. McDavid, Jr. A Theory of Dialect 45 Rudolph C. Troike Receptive Competence, Productive Competence, and Performance 63 Charles T. Scott Transformational Theory and English as a Second Language/Dialect 75 David W. Reed Linguistics and Literacy 93 FIRST LUNCHEON ADDRESS Harold B. Allen The Basic Ingredient 105 iv / CONTENTS SECOND SESSION Applied Linguistics and the Teaching of SESOLD: Materials, Methods, and Techniques Chairman: David P. Harris, Georgetown University Peter S. Rosenbaum Language Instruction and the Schools 111 Betty W. Robinett Teacher Training for English as a Second Dialect and English as a Second Language: The Same or Different? 121 Eugene J. Briere Testing ESL Skills among American Indian Children 133 Bernard Spolsky Linguistics and Language Pedagogy—Applications or Implications ? 143 THIRD SESSION Sociolinguistics: Sociocultural Factors in Teaching SESOLD Chairman: A. Hood Roberts, Center for Applied Linguistics David DeCamp Is a Sociolinguistic Theory Possible? 157 Roger W. Shuy Subjective Judgments in Sociolinguistic Analysis 175 Virginia French Allen A Second Dialect Is Not a Foreign Language 189 Frederic G. C as sidy Teaching Standard English to Speakers of Creole in Jamaica, West Indies 203 William A. Stewart Sociopolitical Issues in the Linguistic Treatment of Negro Dialect 215 SECOND LUNCHEON ADDRESS Albert H. Marckwardt 'What a Thing It is!' 225 WASHINGTON LINGUISTICS CLUB 'EVE OF THE ROUND TABLE MEETING' Sociolinguistics and Urban Language Research Moderator: Roger W. Shuy, Center for Applied Linguistics CONTENTS / v Ralph W. Fasold Distinctive Linguistic Characteristics of Black English 233 William A. Stewart Historical and Structural Bases for the Recognition of Negro Dialect 239 Walter A. Wolfram Linguistic Correlates of Social Differences in the Negro Community 249 Joseph R. Applegate Urban Speech Analysis 259 LIST OF REGISTRANTS 263 INTRODUCTION For the past twenty years Georgetown University's Annual Round Table Meeting on Linguistics and Language Studies has brought together scholars in linguistics and related disciplines to report on their latest research and to discuss current problems. The sixteen papers includ- ed in the present volume represent the proceedings of the 20th Annual Round Table Meeting, which was held at the School of Languages and Linguistics of Georgetown University on March 14 and 15, 1969. The meeting consisted of three sessions and two luncheon addresses. Like the two previous Round Table Meetings, the 20th Annual Round Table Meeting had a central theme: 'Linguistics and the Teaching of Standard English to Speakers of Other Languages or Dialects'. The first session centered on "Theoretical Linguistics and its Implications for Teaching SESOLD', the second session on 'Applied Linguistics and the Teaching of SESOLD: Materials, Methods, and Techniques', and the third session on 'Sociolinguistics: Sociocultural Factors in Teach- ing SESOLD'. A brief discussion period followed the reading of each paper. Respondents were asked to speak from microphones stationed throughout the meeting hall and to limit themselves to two minutes. The discussions which ensued were recorded, transcribed, and are included as a part of this volume. On the evening before the Round Table the Washington Linguistics Club held its 'Eve of the Round Table Meeting' which this year centered on 'Sociolinguistics and Urban Language Research'. Since this topic was so pertinent to the theme of the 20th Round Table, and since there were so many references to the Thursday night papers in the Round Table discussions of Friday and Saturday, through the kindness of the officers of the Washington Linguistics Club the four papers read at their Thursday night meeting have been included in the present volume following the Round Table papers. The general theme and, indeed, the topics for each of the sessions of this year's Round Table were selected and structured to assist a new viii / INTRODUCTION academic program which was established at Georgetown University last year with the help of the United States Office of Education. The pro- gram is called the Experienced Teacher Fellowship Program (EXTFP) for Teachers of Standard English to Speakers of Other Languages or Dialects (SESOLD) and is supported from funds provided under the pro- visions of the Higher Education Act of 1965, Title V, Part C. For this program twenty-five fellows were selected from applicants from all over the nation and were granted Government fellowships. Five tuition- paying participants were also allowed to join the program. While the majority of the 30 teachers came from the District of Columbia Public Schools, some came from as far away as Hawaii, Texas, and Califor- nia. The program consisted of a highly integrated and coordinated series of courses leading to a Master of Arts in Teaching (MAT). Among the new courses which were developed to meet the needs of these predom- inantly urban teachers were 'Problems in Urban English' taught by Dr. Roger Shuy of the Center for Applied Linguistics; 'The Language Lab- oratory: Theory and Practice' taught by Dr. Joseph Hutehinson, Aca- demic Director of the Defense Language Institute; and 'Practice Teach- ing' guided by Supervisors of the D. C. Public School System, the Di- rector of Language Arts of the D. C. Public School System, regular members of the Georgetown University School of Languages and Lin- guistics faculty, and by Mrs. Charles W. Kreidler who was especially employed for this function. Practice teaching took place in special facilities of the School of Languages and Linguistics. Classrooms were especially equipped for the program with the installation of closed circuit television which allowed the practice teacher to be viewed, video-taped, and evaluated. Elementary school children from the Taylor School and older children from the Americanization School came to the University for the month of February. As part of an integrating colloquium, Dr. James E. Alatis, Asso- ciate Dean of the School of Languages and Linguistics and Director of the Program, demonstrated to the participants various methods, ap- proaches, and techniques of language teaching by teaching the Fellows some of the basic elements of Modern Greek. Thus, teachers became more sympathetic to students involved in language learning. Channel 4 in Washington produced a one-half hour color film showing the work done in teacher training. The Northeast Language Conference financed a film demonstrating how the closed circuit television was used in teacher training. It was thus our hope that this year's Round Table Meeting would help round out the experience of these Fellows and assist them in their attempt to integrate all the things they were learning, in such an in- tensive way, about theoretical linguistics, applied linguistics, and the sociocultural aspects of learning a foreign language or dialect. We INTRODUCTION / ix felt that it was perhaps precisely through this specialized program for teachers and through this year's Round Table Meeting that Georgetown University could make at one and the same time a uniquely practical and truly academic contribution to the solution of some of the most pressing social problems of our day. Thanks are due to the following graduate and undergraduate students of the School of Languages and Linguistics for their invaluable voluntary assistance at the 20th Round Table Meeting: Student Committee Chairmen: Jurgen He ye, Bill Hoffman, Frances Reid, and Nic Stevens; Committee Members: Janet Ayers, Debbie Carr, Cynthia Cherry, Diana Crone, Jamela Feldman, Jane Hawkan- son, Joy Newkerk, Wendy Powell, Sr. Frances Aid, Sr. Mary Rimblas, Sr. Sigrid Simlik, Pat Venditto, Kip Colegrove, Joe Matesi, Bill Wright, George Kelly, Jimmy Cato, Edward Cortner, Philip Dougherty, Douglass Gordon, Michael Herrington, and Carl Hundley. Special thanks go to George Kelly, coordinator of the student effort, for the smooth operation of the conference. His assistance before and during the meeting is very much appreciated. To Mrs. Margarita T. Hodge belongs the bulk of the credit for the success of the meeting. For her faithful cooperation, careful planning, and painstaking attention to the many details which go into a meeting such as this, I owe a heavy debt of gratitude. I am most grateful to Mrs. Nevzer Stacey and Miss Carol LeClair for their great patience and skill in typing the manuscript for the pres- ent volume. Each in her own way was magnificent. In addition, Miss LeClair worked closely with Mr. Stewart in transcribing