Since the civil rights movement of the 1960s, aspects of minority culture have undergone intense scrutiny and have become the subject o highly charged political debate. Not the least of these aspects is the variety of minority speech, especially that of African Americans referred to as "Black English." "Why," many educational theorists ask, "shouldn't the language of America's inner cities have a place in a school's curriculum?" Proponents say that Black English has useful refinements that Standard English lacks. For example, the use of the verb "be" can indicate a stable, on-going condition as in "He be working" which means, "He has a steady job" (McCrum, Cran, & MacNeil, 1988).
However, perhaps just as many disagree. Despite the expressive qualities of Black English, or any non-standard dialect, there are many vital situations in which Standard English (the form taught in primary schools around the nation) has a decisive advantage. To support this premise, we need to look at some examples where Standard English could solve problems posed by the use of dialect. These examples show how the use of Standard English affects our economic and social successes in life.
Standard English is the language of the business world. How closely we adhere to its norms often affects our economic success. I am sure that each of us can recall incidents where the use of dialect became a problem at work. A poignant example of this is the story of the woman in the American Tongues video who, despite her fine business education, found that her Brooklyn accent created a negative impression at job interviews.
Many educators have also noted the incompatibility of dialect with business success. Constance Clayton, the superintendent of schools in Philadelphia, referring to the dialect of her own ethnic group, once wrote, "I have yet to find Black English as beneficial in filling our a job application. Somehow those questions are not phrased in Black English- (McCrum, Cran, & MacNeil, 1988).
We should never take for granted that the person speaking English will always understand us. ... (Leaper, Norm, 1996) Most of our international dealings are handled in our native English. ... We must not judge intelligence on English fluency. They may not speak perfect English; on the contrary, they are the one who is making the effort to be multilingual. ...
