Re: [DUC] EVENT: Educational introduction about Yiddish and

[Michelle in Nevada <5alive31@CHARTER.NET>]

B"H

Thank you, Rick!!! 

Here is a cut-and-paste version for those of you who don't have internet
access:

Michelle
---
Reb Meir WAS right!


LSA RESOLUTION ON THE OAKLAND

 "EBONICS" ISSUE
Whereas there has been a great deal of discussion in the media and among the
American public about the l8 December l996 decision of the Oakland School
Board to recognize the language variety spoken by many African American
students and to take it into account in teaching Standard English, the
Linguistic Society of America, as a society of scholars engaged in the
scientific study of language, hereby resolves to make it known that:

 a. The variety known as "Ebonics," "African American Vernacular English"
(AAVE), and "Vernacular Black English" and by other names is systematic and
rule-governed like all natural speech varieties. In fact, all human
linguistic systems--spoken, signed, and written -- are fundamentally
regular. The systematic and expressive nature of the grammar and
pronunciation patterns of the African American vernacular has been
established by numerous scientific studies over the past thirty years.
Characterizations of Ebonics as "slang," "mutant," " lazy," "defective,"
"ungrammatical," or "broken English" are incorrect and demeaning.

 b. The distinction between "languages" and "dialects" is usually made more
on social and political grounds than on purely linguistic ones. For example,
different varieties of Chinese are popularly regarded as "dialects," though
their speakers cannot understand each other, but speakers of Swedish and
Norwegian, which are regarded as separate "languages," generally understand
each other. What is important from a linguistic and educational point of
view is not whether AAVE is called a "language" or a "dialect" but rather
that its systematicity be recognized.

 c. As affirmed in the LSA Statement of Language Rights (June l996), there
are individual and group benefits to maintaining vernacular speech varieties
and there are scientific and human advantages to linguistic diversity. For
those living in the United States there are also benefits in acquiring
Standard English and resources should be made available to all who aspire to
mastery of Standard English. The Oakland School Board's commitment to
helping students master Standard English is commendable.

 d. There is evidence from Sweden, the US, and other countries that speakers
of other varieties can be aided in their learning of the standard variety by
pedagogical approaches which recognize the legitimacy of the other varieties
of a language. From this perspective, the Oakland School Board's decision to
recognize the vernacular of African American students in teaching them
Standard English is linguistically and pedagogically sound.

 Chicago, Illinois 
 January l997 
to top
 
Selected References (books only) 

1.    Baratz, Joan C., and Roger W. Shuy, eds. 1969. Teaching Black Children
to read. Washington, DC: Center or Applied Linguistics.
2.    Baugh, John. 1983. Black street speech: Its history, structure and
survival. Austin: University of Texas Press.
3.    Bloome, David, and J. Lemke, eds. 1995. Special Issue: Africanized
English and Education. Linguistics and Educaton 7.
4.    Burling, Robbins. 1973. English in black and white. New York: Holt.
5.    Butters, Ron. 1989. The death of Black English: Convergence and
divergence in American English. Frankfurt: Peter Lang.
6.    Dandy, Evelyn. 1991. Black communications: Breaking down the barriers.
Chicago: African American Images.
7.    DeStephano, Johanna 1973, ed. Language, society and education: A
profile of Black English. Worthington, OH: Charles A. Jones.
8.    Dillard, J. L. 1972. Black English: Its history and usage in the
United States. New York: Random House.
9.    Fasold, Ralph W., and Roger W. Shuy, eds. 1970. Teaching Standard
English in the inner city. Washington, DC: Center for Applied Linguistics.
10.    Gadsden, V. and D. Wagner , eds. 1995. Literacy among African
American youth. Creskill, NJ: Hampton Press.
11.    Jones, Regina, ed. 1996. Handbook of tests and measurements for Black
populations. Hampton, VA: Cobbs and Henry.
12.    Kochman, Thomas. 1981. Black and white styles in conflict. NY: Holt
Rinehart.
13.    Kochman, Thomas, ed. 1972. Rappin' and stylin' out. Urbana:
University of Illinois Press.
14.    Labov, William 1972. Language in the inner city: Studies in the Black
English verna cular. Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press.
15.    Lippi-Green, Rosina. To appear. English with an accent. London:
Routledge.
16.    Mufwene, Salikoko S., John R. Rickford, Guy Bailey and John Baugh,
eds. To appear. African American English. London: Routledge.
17.    Rickford, John R., and Lisa Green. To appear. African American
Vernacular English. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
18.    Shuy, Roger W., ed. 1965 . Social dialects and language learning.
Champaign, Ill., National Council of Teachers of English.
19.    Simpkins, G., G. Holt, and C. Simpkins. 1977. Bridge: A
cross-cultural reading program. Boston: Houghton Mifflin.
20.    Smitherman, Geneva. 1986. Talkin and testifyin: The language of Black
America. Detroit: Wayne State University Press.
21.    _____ 1994 Black Talk. Boston: Houghton Mifflin.
22.    _____, ed. 1981. Black English and the Education of Black Children
and Youth. Detroit: Center for Black Studies, Wayne State University Press.
23.    Taylor, Hanni U. 1989. Standard English, Black English, and
bidialectalism: A controversy. NY: Peter Lang.
24.    Williams, Robert L. 1975 Ebonics: The true language of Black folks.
St Louis: Institute of Black Studies.
25.    Wolfram, Walt 1969. A linguistic description of Detroit Negro speech.
Washington, DC: Center for Applied Linguistics.
26.    _____ 1991. Dialects and American English. Englewood Cliffs, NJ;
Prentice Hall and Center for Applied Linguistics.
27.    Wolfram, Walter A., and Donna Christian 1989. Dialects and education:
Issues and answers. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice Hall.

Wolfram, Walter A. and Clarke, Nona, eds. 1971. Black-White speech
relationships. Washington: Center for Applied Linguistics.
 
From: Rick Parkany <rparkany@BORG.COM>
Subject: Re: [DUC] EVENT: Educational introduction about Yiddish and


While we're still rampin' up the ebonics deabte, again, here is a resolution
from the LSA (Linguistic Society of America) on the topic, as understood by
the
illiterati and linguists...   ;-} rap.

Linguistic Society of America
http://www.lsadc.org/web2/resolutionsfr.htm

> Hey, Michelle and the rest of us (muzzletoff):  here is something that ought
to
> pique our interest in this business of repressed peoples cuturally *jiving*
an
> Oppressor's Lingo in order to self-identify and relieve the sting of the
> lash...
>
> Just got it from Karen Ellis' DUC.
>
> You Folks really must tune into her list (see end of post)--otherwise you
have
> to wait for the good stuff from me...   ;-} rap.
>
> From the Diversity University coLaboratory (DUC list):
> > Henry Sapoznik in the (NPR) News
> >
> >
> > The Washington Post Sunday March 17, 2002 Section G had a nice long article
> > entitled "The Yiddish Is Coming! On NPR, A Radio Revival" about Henry
> > Sapoznik's work. You have to pay to read it.
> >
> >
> > On NPR All Things Considered last night there was a 9 minute feature with a
> > very educational introduction about Yiddish and Yiddish culture:
> >
> >
> > http://www.npr.org/ramfiles/atc/20020318.atc.ram
> >
> >
> > That kicks of a 10 part series on NPR ATC on Tuesday evenings that begins
> > tonight (3/19). This is going to be great radio listening! Tune in. Or if
> > you miss it, go to www.NPR.org and you can catch up on the series.
> >
> > http://www.yiddishradioproject.org/tour/
> >
> >
> > The following excerpt is from the web page:
> >
> >
> > "This spring, the golden age of Yiddish radio will be celebrated in a
series
> > of live shows touring the country to accompany the Yiddish Radio Project
> > series from NPR. Henry Sapoznik is the master of ceremonies for this
> > multi-media spectacular honoring the forgotten pioneers of Yiddish radio.
> > With huge archival photos projected behind him, Henry leads a tour through
> > the most magical recesses of his archival Yiddish radio collection and
> > shares his choicest clips. For the show, these precious audio remnants-not
> > heard publicly in over half a century-are presented with simultaneous
> > English translations projected on a movie screen.
> >
> >
> > Sharing the stage with Mr. Sapoznik is the Yiddish Radio All-Star Band,
> > featuring the last of the living klezmer legends who inspired the recent
> > revival of the old-world musical form. Their repertoire ranges from
> > traditional klezmer to the Yiddish-Swing style popular on Yiddish radio in
> > the 1930s and 40s."
> >
> >
> > Terry Liu
> >
> >
> > <>~~~~~<>~~~~~<>~~~~~<>~~~~~<>~~~~~<>~~~~~<>~~~~~<>
> > Internal and External Redistribution of this email
> > is encouraged but requires this box is published.
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> > New York Times, USA Today, MSNBC Hot Site Pick Awards
> > <>~~~~~<>~~~~~<>~~~~~<>~~~~~<>~~~~~<>~~~~~<>~~~~~<>
> >
> --
"Dein Wachstum sei feste und lache vor Lust!
Deines Herzens Trefflichkeit
Hat dir selbst das Feld bereit',
Auf dem du bluehen musst." JS Bach: Bauern Kantata
Richard A. Parkany: SUNY@Albany
Prometheus Educational Services
http://www.borg.com/~rparkany/
Upper Hudson & Mohawk Valleys; New York State, USA


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