Theme: To show that AAVE has the same importance value as SE but code-switching is valuable when SE is not your home language. I chose this topic because I feel that there is still some thoughts that SE is more superior and that AAVE should be eliminated. I feel very strongly about this topic because before this class I had no knowledge of AAVE. I knew that ebonics wasn't/ isn't accepted everywhere but I didn't know that there have been so much going on about it, for example, the SRTOL document. I feel this topic will be a good continuation on proving that AAVE has not changed over time like most things do.
The 4 genres I would like to choose from are Imaginative Writing, School Writing, Personal/ Private Writing, and Visual Pieces. I plan on my audience being the general public, no one in specific. I plan on having an electronic handbook for those interested to bring light to those that were in the dark like I was before this class. I plan to use a poem but if I cannot find one to support my idea to its fullest I plan to use a song with lyrics. In the area of School writing I plan to use scholarly articles that i've read throughout the class and possibly one from project 3. For Personal / Private I plan to use 2 recipes and compare/ contrast the together and show that the can both be understood no matter which dialect is chosen. Last but not least, I plan to use a college of photos to help protray this theme.
My own ignorance guided me to this theme. If I hadn't been informed about AAVE and the effects that is has had on the world thoughout time I would still be in the dark. I want to bring everyone that was just like me to the light, give them something to think about and also allow them to be able to make their own choice on whether, in their mind, SE is the most important of all or not.
Conference on College Composition and Communication. “Students’ Right to Their Own Language”. College Composition and Communication. Spec. issue of CCC 25.3 (1974):1-32.
Canagarajah, Suresh . "Safe Houses in the Contact Zone: Coping Strategies of African-American Students in the Academy." College Composition and Communication 48(1997): 173-196.
Monday, April 13, 2009
Saturday, March 28, 2009
Annotated Bibliograpy
Whitney, Jessica. "Five Easy Pieces: Steps toward Integrating AAVE into the Classroom." The English Journal. 94. 5 (2005): 64-69. Voice of Democracy. 27 March 2009.
Aimed at an educational audience, Whitney talks about different strategies to embrace AAVE versus eliminating it completely and replacing it with Standard English. Whitney discusses using outside sources to help teachers and students understand AAVE and SE and their differences.
Wilson, Marilyn. "The Changing Discourse of Language Study." The English Journal. 90.4 (2001): 31-36. 27 March 2009.
A qualitative study done to show different aspects of language and looking more in depth of the negative attitudes of AAVE but positive attitudes towards SE. Also, why this occurs. Argues that teachers should not only learn the basics of writing and composition but also how to handle different dialects and the different attitudes toward them.
Wheeler, Rebecca. "Teaching English in the World: Code-Switch to Teach Standard English." The English Journal. 94.5 (2005): 108-112. National Council of Teachers of English. 27 March 2009. Qualitative data taken by a middle school teacher to better understand where her class was having trouble with SE and how to fix the errors of their culture. "They aren't making SE errors they are using AAL correctly." The teacher should look at the situation from the outside to have a better understanding of the inside.
Young, Gary. "Speaking My Mind: Shame on Whom?." The English Journal. 90.4 (2001): 20-22. National Council of Teachers of English. 27 March 2009. Oppositely argues that SE is Superior and is MORE important for the teacher to be teaching SE rather than use both their home language and SE. The author agrees that there should be a positive attitude toward AAVE and the speakers because then the students will have a better look on it also.
Aimed at an educational audience, Whitney talks about different strategies to embrace AAVE versus eliminating it completely and replacing it with Standard English. Whitney discusses using outside sources to help teachers and students understand AAVE and SE and their differences.
Wilson, Marilyn. "The Changing Discourse of Language Study." The English Journal. 90.4 (2001): 31-36. 27 March 2009.
A qualitative study done to show different aspects of language and looking more in depth of the negative attitudes of AAVE but positive attitudes towards SE. Also, why this occurs. Argues that teachers should not only learn the basics of writing and composition but also how to handle different dialects and the different attitudes toward them.
Wheeler, Rebecca. "Teaching English in the World: Code-Switch to Teach Standard English." The English Journal. 94.5 (2005): 108-112. National Council of Teachers of English. 27 March 2009. Qualitative data taken by a middle school teacher to better understand where her class was having trouble with SE and how to fix the errors of their culture. "They aren't making SE errors they are using AAL correctly." The teacher should look at the situation from the outside to have a better understanding of the inside.
Young, Gary. "Speaking My Mind: Shame on Whom?." The English Journal. 90.4 (2001): 20-22. National Council of Teachers of English. 27 March 2009. Oppositely argues that SE is Superior and is MORE important for the teacher to be teaching SE rather than use both their home language and SE. The author agrees that there should be a positive attitude toward AAVE and the speakers because then the students will have a better look on it also.
DW3b
African American Vernacular has been an ongoing topic for centuries. We just can not see to come to an understanding about how to incorporate the usage of AAVE into the everyday classroom. My linguist have presented ideas to what they feel might bring us closer to doing just that, incorporating AAVE into the classroom and using it to help teachers of students that use the dialect to use it as an advantage. Five Easy Pieces: Steps toward Integrating AAVE into the Classroom, written by Jessica Whitney, discusses how to effectively get the students involved with learning Standard English without eliminating their home language. Whitney extensively explains 5 key steps that teachers should go through or follow to make teaching SE easier for them while at the same time making it easier to learn.
*Step One: Teacher, Educate Thyself
In this section Whitney presents the idea of the teachers learning more about AAVE and having a better understanding of the language. She states that most teachers' downfall is "ignorance." Ignorance leads to judgements of on dialect or language being more superior to the other and it's definitely not AAVE. "Working with a student’s home language, instead of against it, is crucial to ensuring students’ academic success"(Whitney 65).
*Step Two: Incorporate Multiculturalism into the Classroom
Here Whitney discusses presenting "non mainstream varieties" such as rap lyrics and fictional articles. With doing this she quotes Kim Brian Lovejoy with his ideas and how he effectively does this in his class. He suggest having the students bring in their own example of non mainstream varieties and that they present these things to the class for a class discussion. This draws the students in more because everyone has a piece of the project to incorporate. She goes on to talk more about how Lovejoy presents this to his class and his ideas about this exercise. "Multicultural texts can connect people of diverse backgrounds and can be used as a starting
point for deeper examination and discussion of our experiences. Students can draw on class discussions to reflect on appropriate uses of home language and school language, as Lovejoy detailed"(Whitney 66).
*Step Three: Create a Learning Environment Rich in Oral Language
"Children acquire language through practicing the skills of speaking and listening"(Whitney 67). Step three talks about not only teaching students to write in SE but also having them speak out loud and making them feel comfortable to do so. By doing this they can listen and hear the differences in the way that they and others speak. "'Allowing children’s home language to serve legitimate functions within the classroom, allowing their home experiences or street experiences into the classroom ‘could be a starting point for crucial and truly enriching discussions’ of relationships among language, knowledge, culture, identity, politics” (Gilyard, qtd. in Sorace 76)"(Whitney 67). She also talks about how the students will be able to go home and translate something in SE to their family in their own dialect.
*Step Four: Encourage and Demonstrate Code-Switching in the Classroom
In this piece she explains the positive side of code-switching and why it is a good skill to obtain.
"When teachers work with students to contrast the differences between non-Standard English
such as AAVE and Standard English, students are less likely to use features of AAVE in
their writing"(Whitney 67). She explains the importance of teaching the students to be able to distinguish the differences between their home language, AAVE, and SE.
*Step Five: Allow Students to Write like Real Writers
Here she talks about teaching the students to have a purpose for writing and to know who they are writing for, specific audiences. They should know when something is or isn't appropriate. The teacher should allow students to write and speak in AAVe when appropriate. Whitney is basically saying that knowing your audience is the main idea for AAVe writers because when they do they will understand how to correctly revise their work to make it more appropriate.
All of the main ideas were summed up in the steps. I believe that this piece effectively discusses scholarship of AAVE because it is a layout for teachers of AAVE users. It explains effective tips to help engage the speaker into wanting to learn SE and to give both the teacher and the student of the opposite dialects. In this reading Whitney makes an argument that teachers shouldn't be afraid to teach students of other dialects other than SE. She pushes the idea that AAVE can easily be Incorporated into the classroom setting and be used as an advantage.
*Step One: Teacher, Educate Thyself
In this section Whitney presents the idea of the teachers learning more about AAVE and having a better understanding of the language. She states that most teachers' downfall is "ignorance." Ignorance leads to judgements of on dialect or language being more superior to the other and it's definitely not AAVE. "Working with a student’s home language, instead of against it, is crucial to ensuring students’ academic success"(Whitney 65).
*Step Two: Incorporate Multiculturalism into the Classroom
Here Whitney discusses presenting "non mainstream varieties" such as rap lyrics and fictional articles. With doing this she quotes Kim Brian Lovejoy with his ideas and how he effectively does this in his class. He suggest having the students bring in their own example of non mainstream varieties and that they present these things to the class for a class discussion. This draws the students in more because everyone has a piece of the project to incorporate. She goes on to talk more about how Lovejoy presents this to his class and his ideas about this exercise. "Multicultural texts can connect people of diverse backgrounds and can be used as a starting
point for deeper examination and discussion of our experiences. Students can draw on class discussions to reflect on appropriate uses of home language and school language, as Lovejoy detailed"(Whitney 66).
*Step Three: Create a Learning Environment Rich in Oral Language
"Children acquire language through practicing the skills of speaking and listening"(Whitney 67). Step three talks about not only teaching students to write in SE but also having them speak out loud and making them feel comfortable to do so. By doing this they can listen and hear the differences in the way that they and others speak. "'Allowing children’s home language to serve legitimate functions within the classroom, allowing their home experiences or street experiences into the classroom ‘could be a starting point for crucial and truly enriching discussions’ of relationships among language, knowledge, culture, identity, politics” (Gilyard, qtd. in Sorace 76)"(Whitney 67). She also talks about how the students will be able to go home and translate something in SE to their family in their own dialect.
*Step Four: Encourage and Demonstrate Code-Switching in the Classroom
In this piece she explains the positive side of code-switching and why it is a good skill to obtain.
"When teachers work with students to contrast the differences between non-Standard English
such as AAVE and Standard English, students are less likely to use features of AAVE in
their writing"(Whitney 67). She explains the importance of teaching the students to be able to distinguish the differences between their home language, AAVE, and SE.
*Step Five: Allow Students to Write like Real Writers
Here she talks about teaching the students to have a purpose for writing and to know who they are writing for, specific audiences. They should know when something is or isn't appropriate. The teacher should allow students to write and speak in AAVe when appropriate. Whitney is basically saying that knowing your audience is the main idea for AAVe writers because when they do they will understand how to correctly revise their work to make it more appropriate.
All of the main ideas were summed up in the steps. I believe that this piece effectively discusses scholarship of AAVE because it is a layout for teachers of AAVE users. It explains effective tips to help engage the speaker into wanting to learn SE and to give both the teacher and the student of the opposite dialects. In this reading Whitney makes an argument that teachers shouldn't be afraid to teach students of other dialects other than SE. She pushes the idea that AAVE can easily be Incorporated into the classroom setting and be used as an advantage.
Tuesday, March 17, 2009
DW3a
The reading I chose to look at more closely is A Perspective on Teaching Black Dialect Speaking Students to Write in Standard English by Judith Nembhard. In this reading Nembhard is pushing the idea teachers sometimes look at Black Dialect users mistakes in writing as just small "surface errors" instead of seeing them for what they really are, errors. They are sometimes overlooked and the student isn't penalized for it because the teachers think "oh that's just the way they write." She quotes other linguist stating that " children without standard American English are handicapped directly"(Nembhard 434) Nembhard and others feel this way because they feel that it essential to know standard English and even if Black dialect is the dialect of choice knowing standard English will get you places in life. She states that some schools force young students to "disown" their native tongue and speak and understand standard English. According to James Sledd, a linguist quoted by Nembhard, students are expected to take on standard English as their second language. Sledd feels this is wrong and wants the "majority" race to not be prejudice. He states that the "differences between dialects are unlikely to hurt anybody much"(Nembhard 435)
Nembhard goes on to say that the students shouldn't be stripped of their native language but yet, given a reason to WANT to learn standard English. Help them understand that it is much needed and that they will go places knowing it and being able to write and speak it. She talks about the fact that students should be made aware of the possibilities and opportunities that come with the knowledge of standard English. Nembhard goes on to say that the teachers should not look over the simple grammar errors or the often placed -ed and -s or double the double negatives. Students should take responsibility and if they are not earning good grades the teachers should not be afraid to fail them. Towards the end Nembhard gives suggestions on how to help and student that uses Black Dialect learn to write in standard English.
* The teacher should demonstrate confidence in the students potential to learn.
*The teacher should have high expectations for the students success and not lower them because they feel the students can't meet them.
*The distinctions between the students oral speech and standard English should be made and clearly explained.
*The writing assignments should be graded fairly but at the same time thoroughly. (No errors should be looked over)
*The students should be required to write in class so that help can be given when needed.
*Students should be provided with out-of-class support when needed. (tutors)
*Teachers should give the grade deserved even if it is a failing grade when warranted.
This article discusses scholarships of AAVE in comp. studies by Nembhard stating her thoughts on how AAVE is perceived by teachers. She talks about P. A Ramey's quote "they're so different, therefore I can't teach them" and say she agrees with that statement. She talks about how teachers would teach writing to non-black students.
"take a positive approach, rightly emphasizing the importance of clear communication. Whereas the teachers of Irish or Jewish students with linguistic differences approach the task of teaching the standard forms with some disagree of equanimity, teachers of black dialect speakers oftentimes 'cringe in disbelief and disgust' and may try to 'forego as a wasted effort any attempt to teach language.'"
In this passage Nembhard discusses her perspective of how teachers feel about having to teach writing to students with black-dialect. They aren't enthused at all and it's not what they want to do.
I believe that this reading effectively make an argument about AAVE because in it Nembhard talks about AAVE being just another language and that teachers and the school district shouldn't require the students to completely disown their home dialect and to simply fully explain to them why they should want to learn standard English. The teachers shouldn't look over the students mistakes and at the same time they shouldn't be afraid to fail the students if their grades permit it.
Nembhard goes on to say that the students shouldn't be stripped of their native language but yet, given a reason to WANT to learn standard English. Help them understand that it is much needed and that they will go places knowing it and being able to write and speak it. She talks about the fact that students should be made aware of the possibilities and opportunities that come with the knowledge of standard English. Nembhard goes on to say that the teachers should not look over the simple grammar errors or the often placed -ed and -s or double the double negatives. Students should take responsibility and if they are not earning good grades the teachers should not be afraid to fail them. Towards the end Nembhard gives suggestions on how to help and student that uses Black Dialect learn to write in standard English.
* The teacher should demonstrate confidence in the students potential to learn.
*The teacher should have high expectations for the students success and not lower them because they feel the students can't meet them.
*The distinctions between the students oral speech and standard English should be made and clearly explained.
*The writing assignments should be graded fairly but at the same time thoroughly. (No errors should be looked over)
*The students should be required to write in class so that help can be given when needed.
*Students should be provided with out-of-class support when needed. (tutors)
*Teachers should give the grade deserved even if it is a failing grade when warranted.
This article discusses scholarships of AAVE in comp. studies by Nembhard stating her thoughts on how AAVE is perceived by teachers. She talks about P. A Ramey's quote "they're so different, therefore I can't teach them" and say she agrees with that statement. She talks about how teachers would teach writing to non-black students.
"take a positive approach, rightly emphasizing the importance of clear communication. Whereas the teachers of Irish or Jewish students with linguistic differences approach the task of teaching the standard forms with some disagree of equanimity, teachers of black dialect speakers oftentimes 'cringe in disbelief and disgust' and may try to 'forego as a wasted effort any attempt to teach language.'"
In this passage Nembhard discusses her perspective of how teachers feel about having to teach writing to students with black-dialect. They aren't enthused at all and it's not what they want to do.
I believe that this reading effectively make an argument about AAVE because in it Nembhard talks about AAVE being just another language and that teachers and the school district shouldn't require the students to completely disown their home dialect and to simply fully explain to them why they should want to learn standard English. The teachers shouldn't look over the students mistakes and at the same time they shouldn't be afraid to fail the students if their grades permit it.
Sunday, March 1, 2009
IAR 2
I chose to do my IAR on Taking Black Technology Use Seriously: African American Discursive Traditions in the Digital Underground writteen by Adam Banks because i feel it was the easiest to understand and to realate to. It talks about things on Blackplanet.com that I see alot on Facebook everyday.
What is invention? (What activities did the writer have to engage in to create the text?)
What is invention? (What activities did the writer have to engage in to create the text?)
- Research African American Vernacular English(AAVE)
- Research how it is used in digital spaces
- Quote other linguist (Smitherman, Rickfords)
- Research on "The Underground of AA culture"
- Discuss a website that appropriate AAVE(i.e. blackplanet.com)
What is being invented? (What ideas, practices, arguments, etc. are created by the text?)
- Blackplant.com and other sites like it serve as "underground" networks
- The internet allows people (mainly those that use AAVE)to freely express who they are with out much worry of what people will think because there are millions of others doing the same.
- The internet was supposed to eliminate race and culture separation but that never really happened thus the "digital devide"
What is being arranged? (What is being put in relation to what?)
- The internets purpose --> AA
- AA --> The "underground"
- The "underground" --> AAVE use
- AAVE use --> digital divide
- Digital divide --> AA suspected use of the internet
- AA suspected use of the internet --> Purpose of BP(blackplanet.com)
- BP --> Breakdown of BP (discursive feat.)
- Breakdown of BP (discursive feat.) --> Rhetorical feat.
What is arrangement? (How are things being put in relation to one another?)
- General -->Specific (internet --> BP)
- Examples --> explanation
What is being revised? (What is the writer trying to change (e.g. what ideas, practices, etc.))?
- Eliminate the digital divide
- Eliminate the stereotype (assume all users are white)
- Accept the use as AAVE just the same as SE
What is revision? (What strategies are engaged specifically to help the writer achieve the revisions?)
- Quote other linguist
- Examples of real life situations (library's blocks)
- Thoroughly discuss an AAVE appropriated website (BP)
- Solutions to make the Digital Divide less intense
Sunday, February 22, 2009
DW2b
After serching and searching, i finally chose to use myspace as one of my sites to analys. In Knadler's E-racing, he states "online communication is valued because it allows for the hidden or repressed self out (Knadler 239). He also states "the user's sense of self is freed from social and discursive constraints"(Knadler 239). In this quote he is saying that with online communication comes the luxury of being who you want to be but not always exactly who you are. A person online can be whomever they decide to be at that moment. Just the same as a 30yr. old male posing to be a 14yr. old girl. Although this aspect of the internet isnt right, it happens.
Myspace.com is a networking site that allows people to converse through text with other people they are and aren't familiar with. A person with a Myspace account can chose to put millions of pictures of themselves and their frinds on their page and they also have the choice to put none at all up. A person with an account can chose to put their real name one their page or they can make an alias which allows them at that moment to be themselves or someone else. Most people put things that they are afraid to say in a face to face situation on a web page.
As I began to look around on Myspace and browse thrugh my friends list but i then decided to use my own Myspace page to prove this point. My alias is "Beautiful" and most people know that this isn't the name I was given at birth but because I am allowed to make a name I do so. When reading my page, youll see that I have an introduction that goes as follows:
"Hey, my name is Chelly Baby. I think im cool peoples jus misunderstood sometimes. I've been very happy lately but I do get irritated very easily. I take things personal sometimes and I laugh at the dumbest stuff like 2 hours later. Im one of those girls that haves fun in a room all by herself but I love to be around the ppl I love. I'm not the easiest person to get along with but those that matter stick around and those that dnt...give up easily but IDC. I LOVE MY FRIENDS TO DEATH... "
You can see that I allow myself to be who I really am. I explain what type of person I feel I am whether it's good or bad. I don't hold back because the paople that know me already know these quailites of me and the others that don't have a heads up on what they could possibly be getting them selves into by becoming my friend. Although I dont use total AAVE it is being appropriated in this text. My grammar is horrible and could be better. I dont use forms of "be" the wrong way but the use of "cool peoples" is not standard english. Going back to Knadler's article, myspace has allowed me to be who I really am or even be a character at times. My picture sometimes confuse paople. Because I've dyed my hair blonde and my skin color is a very light color, i sometime get asked "are you white?" or "what you mixed wit?" I"'m not fully white, I'm also black but because in the picture my hair is straightened instead of the natural curls I sometimes where this confuses people. Pictures also sometimes allow you to be just out of the norm. You don't even have to have a picture up on networking site like Myspace or Facebook but becasue I wanted one up Iput one on their.
The internet allows people to be themselve or whomever they would like to be. It gives people the feeling of freedom, the feeling of being able to say what you want without being FORCED to face criticism. I say forced because there is a such thing as a "friend request" on these sites. This gives a person the choice to block their page and let people be shut out of their world/space.
Myspace.com is a networking site that allows people to converse through text with other people they are and aren't familiar with. A person with a Myspace account can chose to put millions of pictures of themselves and their frinds on their page and they also have the choice to put none at all up. A person with an account can chose to put their real name one their page or they can make an alias which allows them at that moment to be themselves or someone else. Most people put things that they are afraid to say in a face to face situation on a web page.
As I began to look around on Myspace and browse thrugh my friends list but i then decided to use my own Myspace page to prove this point. My alias is "Beautiful" and most people know that this isn't the name I was given at birth but because I am allowed to make a name I do so. When reading my page, youll see that I have an introduction that goes as follows:
"Hey, my name is Chelly Baby. I think im cool peoples jus misunderstood sometimes. I've been very happy lately but I do get irritated very easily. I take things personal sometimes and I laugh at the dumbest stuff like 2 hours later. Im one of those girls that haves fun in a room all by herself but I love to be around the ppl I love. I'm not the easiest person to get along with but those that matter stick around and those that dnt...give up easily but IDC. I LOVE MY FRIENDS TO DEATH... "
You can see that I allow myself to be who I really am. I explain what type of person I feel I am whether it's good or bad. I don't hold back because the paople that know me already know these quailites of me and the others that don't have a heads up on what they could possibly be getting them selves into by becoming my friend. Although I dont use total AAVE it is being appropriated in this text. My grammar is horrible and could be better. I dont use forms of "be" the wrong way but the use of "cool peoples" is not standard english. Going back to Knadler's article, myspace has allowed me to be who I really am or even be a character at times. My picture sometimes confuse paople. Because I've dyed my hair blonde and my skin color is a very light color, i sometime get asked "are you white?" or "what you mixed wit?" I"'m not fully white, I'm also black but because in the picture my hair is straightened instead of the natural curls I sometimes where this confuses people. Pictures also sometimes allow you to be just out of the norm. You don't even have to have a picture up on networking site like Myspace or Facebook but becasue I wanted one up Iput one on their.
The internet allows people to be themselve or whomever they would like to be. It gives people the feeling of freedom, the feeling of being able to say what you want without being FORCED to face criticism. I say forced because there is a such thing as a "friend request" on these sites. This gives a person the choice to block their page and let people be shut out of their world/space.
Saturday, February 14, 2009
DW2a
The website I've decided to use and analyze is www. bet.com. BET is a cable network that plays music videos,healthier lifestyles, and news about celecretites and about what's going on with life today to keep the young African Americans up-to-date (mainly A. A news). This website discuss the "EX-Mayor" of Detroit and what he's doing with himself after incarceration . The title of the article is "Ex-Detroit Mayor Gets New Gig in Texas" but the promotional headline on the link to get to the article says "BALLIN' AGAIN!" This article talks about Kwame Kilpatrick being released from jail less than a week ago for perjury and he is said to already have a "gig" set up for him in Texas, where he and his family currently resides. His position with the job or any further information has not yet been revealed but this is all in the making.
"The announcement might have been in the works for months, though. According to Oakland County Executive, L. Brooks Patterson, back in October, Compuware Chairman Peter Karmanos told him he was going to make the job offer to Kilpatrick"(Barber). “I haven’t heard any details about what the job is. But I walked away from the conversations admiring Peter’s loyalty,” Patterson told the paper. “It wasn’t my place to question his decision" (Barber).
Although this article, to me, seems to be in only standard English it is on a African American targeted website. The headline is written in AAVE to get their targeted audience to become more interested. I believe this is smart because although the audience they are initially targeting is of AA decent they are not writing in total AAVE on the website. They are making it where anyone of any decent can go on the website and read if they choose to do so. On the website, the writers often use standard English because it is more accepted but watching the TV network , it's a totally different thing. The host and VJ's do not do the same while speaking on camera. The often say "cuz"or "bro" referring to a friend or a guest. This works because of what we discussed for the previous paper, code-switching. I'm sure that if a Caucasian guest were to come on a show, the host would continue to be themselves just a little more controlled.
The website shows a good examples of appropriation because when they feel they need to do something to get a certain audiences, they just do it!
"The announcement might have been in the works for months, though. According to Oakland County Executive, L. Brooks Patterson, back in October, Compuware Chairman Peter Karmanos told him he was going to make the job offer to Kilpatrick"(Barber). “I haven’t heard any details about what the job is. But I walked away from the conversations admiring Peter’s loyalty,” Patterson told the paper. “It wasn’t my place to question his decision" (Barber).
Although this article, to me, seems to be in only standard English it is on a African American targeted website. The headline is written in AAVE to get their targeted audience to become more interested. I believe this is smart because although the audience they are initially targeting is of AA decent they are not writing in total AAVE on the website. They are making it where anyone of any decent can go on the website and read if they choose to do so. On the website, the writers often use standard English because it is more accepted but watching the TV network , it's a totally different thing. The host and VJ's do not do the same while speaking on camera. The often say "cuz"or "bro" referring to a friend or a guest. This works because of what we discussed for the previous paper, code-switching. I'm sure that if a Caucasian guest were to come on a show, the host would continue to be themselves just a little more controlled.
The website shows a good examples of appropriation because when they feel they need to do something to get a certain audiences, they just do it!
Sunday, February 1, 2009
DW1b (frustration)
"You may have dark skin, but you must not sound Black. You can wear a yarmulke if it is important to you as a Jew, but lose the accent. Maybe you come from Ukraine, but can't you speak real English? If you didn't sound so corn-pone, people would take you seriously. You're the best salesperson we've got but must you sound so gay on the phone?" - Leah A. Zuidema
In this quote from "Myth Education" people that come from a certain background or show certain traits from their heritage are all expected to speak or present themselves a totally different way from what they are accustomed to. They are expected to be able to fit in so perfectly. This is similar to my to my literacy narritive because in it I talk about the different ways people are expected to speak and how the y are judged and what might be said if the don't do what's expected of them.
I feel that I don't speak too bad but at the same time my dialect could be better. I present myself as the person I am expected to be when needed. In the text above, people are automatically supposed to be accustomed to this way of life, they are expected to be able to fit in and speak "Standard English" like most Americans are taught in school, but where does these expectations come from? Are they generated from our peers or greater authority? Who's to say that "Standard English" is the only way to be perceived as an intelligent individual? No one in particular can say that "Black English" is the "wrong" way to speak but because one person or even a group of people said that people have to use a certain dialect or use proper grammar when in pressing situations like a classroom of a job interview, then we just "go with the flow." Why don't we challenge these things? Is it because we're scared or is it because we feel it's right.
As I stated before I feel my verbal dialect isn't too bed but yet when I'm in a class room or a situation where I feel the need to impress someone I try to sharpen it up a little. I can remember as a child, having to be around seven or eight up until about the age of sixteen,my uncle would correct me. Every single time, it never failed. As soon as words like "pushin" or "happenin" or anything that was supposed to have an "ing" on the end would leave my lips, he would quickly repeat the word the way others intend it to be. This got to the point that I started correcting myself eve if I wasn't in his presence, it just became a good habit. My writing is where I lack these skills, and because I went to a school that didn't press the issue of learning proper grammar skills and actually knowing what the difference between an adverb an a verb is, I'm ignorant in that area. I know different things like when to use "do not" instead of "don't and when to add an "ing" to the ending of my words, but because I've become so accustomed to writing on Facebook or using text messages I tend to wring professional papers or applications using the same format. As I begin to catch these mistakes I soon realize that these bad habits need to change. The problem isn't lying so much with my verbal communication but with my written.
In this quote from "Myth Education" people that come from a certain background or show certain traits from their heritage are all expected to speak or present themselves a totally different way from what they are accustomed to. They are expected to be able to fit in so perfectly. This is similar to my to my literacy narritive because in it I talk about the different ways people are expected to speak and how the y are judged and what might be said if the don't do what's expected of them.
I feel that I don't speak too bad but at the same time my dialect could be better. I present myself as the person I am expected to be when needed. In the text above, people are automatically supposed to be accustomed to this way of life, they are expected to be able to fit in and speak "Standard English" like most Americans are taught in school, but where does these expectations come from? Are they generated from our peers or greater authority? Who's to say that "Standard English" is the only way to be perceived as an intelligent individual? No one in particular can say that "Black English" is the "wrong" way to speak but because one person or even a group of people said that people have to use a certain dialect or use proper grammar when in pressing situations like a classroom of a job interview, then we just "go with the flow." Why don't we challenge these things? Is it because we're scared or is it because we feel it's right.
As I stated before I feel my verbal dialect isn't too bed but yet when I'm in a class room or a situation where I feel the need to impress someone I try to sharpen it up a little. I can remember as a child, having to be around seven or eight up until about the age of sixteen,my uncle would correct me. Every single time, it never failed. As soon as words like "pushin" or "happenin" or anything that was supposed to have an "ing" on the end would leave my lips, he would quickly repeat the word the way others intend it to be. This got to the point that I started correcting myself eve if I wasn't in his presence, it just became a good habit. My writing is where I lack these skills, and because I went to a school that didn't press the issue of learning proper grammar skills and actually knowing what the difference between an adverb an a verb is, I'm ignorant in that area. I know different things like when to use "do not" instead of "don't and when to add an "ing" to the ending of my words, but because I've become so accustomed to writing on Facebook or using text messages I tend to wring professional papers or applications using the same format. As I begin to catch these mistakes I soon realize that these bad habits need to change. The problem isn't lying so much with my verbal communication but with my written.
Tuesday, January 27, 2009
DW-1a
When I'm with my friends I'm a little lazy with the way I talk. There isn't much pronunciation and most of my words usually run together, but being in a professional environment like work or school causes me to change everything. Well, everything about the way I speak that is. When I'm around my friends or peers I feel more comfortable to be just a 19 yr. old young lady rather than sounding like a 30 yr. old woman. There's nothing wrong with sounding that way because it's the correct way to speak but I want to feel comfortable. I know that when I'm with my friends they won't criticize the way I'm speaking because they're doing the exact same thing.
When I'm at school I feel like I have to show that I'm intelligent or that I have some type of smarts about me. I feel like when you sound uneducated then people tend to think of you that way an they may even think "what is a girl like her doing here, she can't even speak right." So, I begin to separate my words, for instance, instead of saying "won't" I sometimes say "will not." I also try to finish my words, so instead of asking "where you goin" I ask "where are you going." This makes me feel like I fit in with the crowd although like I stated it just isn't who I am, but I do what I feel like I have to do.
I have three jobs and they are all in different atmostpheres. I am a server at a resturant, I work at a hospital as a patient sitter, and I work on campus at Sparty's. With being in these different environments I am able be who I am today and who I might become one day. When I'm older I might just grow out of the laziness and speak and use my word the way I am supposed to, better yet, the way others feel I should. When I'm at the restaurant I can alternate my grammar use. I don't necessarily have be so proper or so prefect with me speech. I do have to pronounce my words more clearly than I would at home but not as much as I feel like I should in class, because the people that come in sometimes speak the way I do at home on a regular or maybe they just feel comfortable and feel like they don't have to speak so studious at dinner.
When I am at the hospital I try to be the best I can be because there are a lot of doctors and very important people around. I try to use Standard English an use what I was taught in grade school. Now, because I work on campus at Sparty's I can speak with comfort. The customer are usually around my age and they might even feel the same way I do about the whole "Standard English" situation so there isn't much pressure to be more than what I want to be at that exact moment.
Writing is a little different for me. I've become so accustomed to being lazy and not saying or spelling my words out all the time, that I sometimes find myself abbreviating my words in my papers for class. This is not a good thing. When I'm on networking sites or even text messing different people. I find myself saying "wanna" instead of "want to," I use the sayings "um" and "like" way more than a normal person should. This affects me more than a person would think. I believe they way I read and write affects the way I speak in a big way. I even spell "omg" as to say "oh my goodness" or "bff" for "best friend" verbally.
I'm not "dumb" or "unintelligent" because of the words I choose to use in my everyday speech but this world is a crazy place to be and there are people that will push you out or label you because of the grammar you decide to use at a certain time or place. That's why the saying "there's a time and place for everything" never fails. I try to make my decisions wisely- whether I'm at home, work, school or even when I'm text messaging or emailing a friend or a professor. This could be important, I'm glad I'm only 19 yrs old.
When I'm at school I feel like I have to show that I'm intelligent or that I have some type of smarts about me. I feel like when you sound uneducated then people tend to think of you that way an they may even think "what is a girl like her doing here, she can't even speak right." So, I begin to separate my words, for instance, instead of saying "won't" I sometimes say "will not." I also try to finish my words, so instead of asking "where you goin" I ask "where are you going." This makes me feel like I fit in with the crowd although like I stated it just isn't who I am, but I do what I feel like I have to do.
I have three jobs and they are all in different atmostpheres. I am a server at a resturant, I work at a hospital as a patient sitter, and I work on campus at Sparty's. With being in these different environments I am able be who I am today and who I might become one day. When I'm older I might just grow out of the laziness and speak and use my word the way I am supposed to, better yet, the way others feel I should. When I'm at the restaurant I can alternate my grammar use. I don't necessarily have be so proper or so prefect with me speech. I do have to pronounce my words more clearly than I would at home but not as much as I feel like I should in class, because the people that come in sometimes speak the way I do at home on a regular or maybe they just feel comfortable and feel like they don't have to speak so studious at dinner.
When I am at the hospital I try to be the best I can be because there are a lot of doctors and very important people around. I try to use Standard English an use what I was taught in grade school. Now, because I work on campus at Sparty's I can speak with comfort. The customer are usually around my age and they might even feel the same way I do about the whole "Standard English" situation so there isn't much pressure to be more than what I want to be at that exact moment.
Writing is a little different for me. I've become so accustomed to being lazy and not saying or spelling my words out all the time, that I sometimes find myself abbreviating my words in my papers for class. This is not a good thing. When I'm on networking sites or even text messing different people. I find myself saying "wanna" instead of "want to," I use the sayings "um" and "like" way more than a normal person should. This affects me more than a person would think. I believe they way I read and write affects the way I speak in a big way. I even spell "omg" as to say "oh my goodness" or "bff" for "best friend" verbally.
I'm not "dumb" or "unintelligent" because of the words I choose to use in my everyday speech but this world is a crazy place to be and there are people that will push you out or label you because of the grammar you decide to use at a certain time or place. That's why the saying "there's a time and place for everything" never fails. I try to make my decisions wisely- whether I'm at home, work, school or even when I'm text messaging or emailing a friend or a professor. This could be important, I'm glad I'm only 19 yrs old.
Sunday, January 25, 2009
IAR "It bees that way sometimes"
What is invention? (What activities did the writer have to engage in to create the text?)
- Discuss the differences between "Black English" an "White/or/American English"
- Discuss how the Black language could possibly face "extinction" in the future
- Give examples on ways Black English is used and the same for White English
What is being invented? (What ideas, practices, arguments, etc. are created by the text?
- Discuss the way certain statements are made in Black English and the way they would be properly stated in White English.
- Specifies the ways the word "be", "been" and other simple words are expressed through the two languages.
- The way the "th" is sometimes omitted an replaced with a "d" an how it'll always be in certain words such as "thought" and "thing"
- Discuss and give examples of the ways that different people speak such as the Mayor and the choir director.
- Discuss the difference on how the words are/ may be interpreted
What is being arranged? (What is being put in relation to what?)
- Black English compared to white
- Black English in the twentieth century to current days
- Differences in language an "style" of language
- From grammer to the way words are pronounced
- The way the pattern works in short poems
What is arrangement? (How are things being put in relation to one another?)
analogy/ or statement/example to application
- things being compared and also contrasted
- examples given
- going from a general aspect to a more specific aspect
What is being revised? (What is the writer trying to change (e.g. what ideas, practices, etc.))?
- The readers outlook on Black english
- The thought the Black english has no form or any kind of rules to follow
- Changing the thought of Black english not being a language and proving that it's just the same as White english
What is revision? (What strategies are engaged specifically to help the writer achieve the revisions?)
- Use of citations
- Use of lifetime examples (real people)
- Use of poems for examples
- Use of Black english styles and white
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