Craig wrote:

    I'm more and more uncomfortable these days with the notion that
dialects are OK, but not "acceptable" in public discourse.  I don't
think that's at all true (public writing is far more interesting than
that) or desirable.  Effective writers draw on all their language
resources. And when mainstream writers do that, they enrich all our
lives.
   

This is a digression from the main points being discussed.  What Craig said
above rang a chord in my head, though, and it might be worth noting.  My
husband is a high school administrator (assistant principal) in an urban
setting.  He is also very touchy about using SWE - he actually corrects my
English, and more often than not, he's right!

That said, he has also taught himself the varying dialects in his student
population.  He uses multiple dialects in his work as a way to enforce, and
reinforce, his own points.  In short, he knows when to speak, and how to
speak, in a variety of situations and to the greatest effect.

This is something I admire in him, and a point which I think it would be
good to note.  Having the rules, and operating within them, greatly enhances
one's ability to communicate - and that does mean knowing when to speak
which dialect.

I am certain that my husband is not the only one who practices this.  I just
wanted to digress a moment and suggest that, as Craig mentions, not only do
effective writers draw on their language resources, so do effective people
in general terms.  

-patty

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