By extending the notion of metroethnicity, this paper proposes the notion of metrolingualism, creative linguistic practices across borders of culture, history and politics. Metrolingualism gives us a way to move beyond current terms such as "multilingualism" and "multiculturalism". It is a product of modern and often urban interaction, describing…

Background/Context: Although progress has been made since members of the Conference on College Composition and Communication passed the Students' Right to Their Own Language resolution (1974), there still remains a demand to examine youth perceptions of language. Such examinations can help teachers and researchers improve curricular choices, honor…

The study used a qualitative approach to examine the development of metacognitive awareness strategies among student writers. The purposes of the study were to determine the indices of metacognitive awareness strategies used by students, the role of preservice teachers, and the relevance of instructional strategies. Participants were preservice…

Chapters in this book include the following: "Dickens as Sociolinguist: Dialect in 'David Copperfield'" (Patricia Poussa); "Contemporary Irish Writing and a Model of Speech Realism (John M. Kirk); "Dialect and Accent in Jim Cartwright's Play "Road" as Seen Through Erving Goffman's Theory on Footing" (Marion Fields); "The Representation of…

This article focuses on the particular challenges, choices, and celebrations relevant to teaching in an urban setting. The speech of African American students is described as rich and reflective of the African American oral tradition. The article also discusses the meaning, rules and the evolution of African American English.

The recent discussions about the teaching of Black English, known as Ebonics, in the Oakland (California) school district have highlighted concerns about the right way to educate African American children. The authors of essays in this collection offer background history that explores the race and power dynamics surrounding the development of…

This paper explores how one facet of the process by which ideology about linguistic variation originates and circulates. It analyzes an archive consisting of newspaper articles from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, about Pittsburgh speech, the earliest of which is from 1910. The articles began appearing regularly during the 1950s-60s. First, the paper…

This paper offers a brief but comprehensive overview of various issues pertaining to the use and origins of Black English. The purpose of the paper is to help educators understand Black English and celebrate this dialect in class while facilitating the acquisition of Standard English. It holds that Ebonics is a dialect of English with its own set…

Commentary based on Frank Riessman's book "The Inner-City Child." Concludes that whatever is done to build on the strengths that inner-city children bring to school will be done by individual school people who find the personal and professional strength to do it. (Author/IRT)

A description and analysis of the various functions of black language as an integral part of the collective experience and identity of American blacks. (EH)

A discussion and clarification of various forms and levels of Black English is provided together with a conjugation of the verb "to be" outlining the levels of meanings as used by most divergent black speakers. (EH)

An analysis of the communication process focusing on approaches to eliminating barriers to communication between teachers and inner-city students. An addendum lists instructional materials that are aimed at facilitating this process. (EH)

Traces the history of the speech of New Yorkers, compares the speech of New Yorkers with the speech of those living elsewhere in America, and discusses the low prestige of New York City pronunciation. (DD)

Asserts that all Asian-American writers create out of, and despite their awareness of a double-terror, the knowledge (empirically derived from generations of betrayal) that language can be a trap and the equally bitter realization that the only alternative is ignominous silence; and notes that Asian American literature reaches some level of…

This article examines the language needs of culturally different clients from a Black perspective, discusses the problems of languages-in-contact, and presents specific ways for teachers to improve the language competencies of Black students. (Author/HMV)