Re the Sunday Times piece,
 
was this an editorial written by the paper, or an opinion submitted by a
reader or other person?
 
I can't believe the Times would be so ignorant of linguistic reality as
to publish such nonsense! Black English _can_ be as eloquent as
Shakespeare, if you relax your negative attitudes towards it long enough
to appreciate its particular system. 'Your blues ain't like mine' is
getting there. There are some passages of 'The Color Purple' that are
very moving, and very artful, in 'Ebonics'.
 
People should stop slamming something they have never even given a chance
to prove itself in the privileged realms that standard English has
enjoyed for centuries.
 
Oh, and what about Shakespeare's use of various dialects in his great plays??
 
Johanna
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Johanna Rubba   Assistant Professor, Linguistics              ~
English Department, California Polytechnic State University   ~
San Luis Obispo, CA 93407                                     ~
Tel. (805)-756-2184  E-mail: [log in to unmask]      ~
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