Blog 5

In the article written by Smitherman, Chapter 1 “From Africa to the New World and into the Space Age”, it explained Black English and how it started and why it is still used today. When I was reading this article what stood out was the reason behind why some of the words that are used are in a particular order: it’s the correct order for their native tongue. An example that was given was from Smitherman’s own classroom. She explained that she had a German student and when he quoted Patrick Henry’s famous quote he wrote, “Give me the liberty or the death”. Although this was incorrect for Standard English, in his native tongue that is correct. [Complex sentence: dependent clause first followed by comma and the independent clause to emphasize the idea of student’s right to their own language concept] This is similar to Black English. In Black English if someone was to say “He tell me he God,” this is not incorrect. It is for Standard English… but for Black English this stems from the same structure as West African.

Understanding people’s backgrounds is crucial while teaching. For students that speak a different language at home, being told at school that that language is totally and completely incorrect is hurtful: The language that their mom or dad or grandma or grandpa use. Although it is easy to tell your students that what they are doing is wrong, it is more beneficial to them to not shut down their native tongue. As a teacher it is better to show them different ways in which they can use Standard English and guide them through lessons you give the class, but with some students they will go back to their native tongue—and that’s okay. With some of the things that are written, and English teacher still understands what they are trying to say. With Black English slaves were not taught how to use English, this led to them hypercorrecting their language: they would say one man, two mans instead of saying two men for the plural of man. [A colon that gives examples of the hypercorrection for people who speak Black English].

The reading I did by Smitherman correlates with the Tea Part exercise we did the other day in that the black community strives to keep their native tongue. For some, if someone uses white English is looked down upon to use, but they also like speaking in the tongue of what they grew up using and hearing. This is similar to the story I had at the tea party. At the tea party I had John Rickford, a man who strived to keep Ebonics [complex sentence with a relative clause: it relates back to which specific man, John Rockford] (the main language of some African American students) alive and to make sure people were not ashamed of using their native tongue. This is similar to Smitherman’s piece because even though contemporary African linguistic has changed over time to become Black English, it still keeps similar aspects of African linguistics alive.

After reading this article I am planning on digging deeper into Black English for my research project. Black English is a language that teachers all over the United States come in contact with and teachers should know how to go about it. Specifically, I want to know more about the hypercorrection that is done and how I can teach these students without forcing the idea that Standard English is the one and only form of English that is allowed.