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VIEWPOINT
White-black speech difference is a subject that we ignore
BY PETER HUSTON For The Sunday Gazette

    Sen. Harry Reid’s comments about our light-skinned, African-American president with “no Negro dialect” has been on my mind. Reactions trouble me.
    A m e r i c a ,
    and with it
    the Capital
    Region, has a
    societal problem so great we can’t even talk about it, literally. There’s no words. See, we all know that although some black people (African-Americans? Persons of Color?) speak English differently than the mainstream media (Proper English? American English? Correct English?); their style of speech is definitely not called “Negro dialect.”
    It has no name because it must not be talked about. If you must speak about it, you might try “Black English,” “Standard Black English” or even, if you wish people to giggle, “Ebonics,” yet we all know these terms are awkward and don’t feel right. (Perhaps “Street Slang”? “Ghetto”? Surely not “Jive.” But these ignore the black folks from the rural South, “country ebons,” who speak differently, too.)
    It’s somewhere beyond the classic “elephant in the living room” (to borrow the Alcoholics Anonymous term for a problem no one will face.) The terminology is not even there.
    Let me suggest that in the past 50 years, America has progressed on race issues. We have a black president, and who would not like Bill Cosby for a neighbor? But remember they speak the version of English in which this newspaper is written. We still have a long way to go with “speech issues.”
EMPLOYMENT PATTERNS
    I have noticed that at good-paying jobs in the Capital Region, the number of black folks is less than at low-paying jobs. And in environments where race is mixed, the dark-skinned, non-standard speakers are always at the bottom. Why? Don’t ask. It’s in poor taste to acknowledge it. ..................>>>>......................>>>>..............http://www.dailygazette.net/De.....r03101&AppName=1

there are dialects all over the country based on who settled there and what was picked up.....however...pure english should be the standard ALONG
with latin....and certainly NOT for religious reasons(although it does help) but to keep the nation TOGETHER....we have become lazy and accept
what ever comes along.......the most important thing in a civilization is it's ability to communicate amongst itself......we dont understand our legal beagals
that we vote into office and they pretend they dont understand the rest of the populace.......

however it is EVERYONE'S responsibility to pay attention and research and be informed.......and the ability to discern takes practice---ALOT of practice

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‘Proper English’ op-ed revealed author’s racism

    What an interesting Opinion piece by Peter Huston in the Jan. 24 Gazette (“White-black speech differences is a subject that we ignore”). When I say interesting, of course, what I mean is amazingly racist.
    Now I’m sure Mr. Huston feels he has his bases covered by pointing out that we would all love to live next door to Bill Cosby, and that we have Mr. Obama for our president; so of course he can’t be racist, as he recognizes these prominent black people. Well, Huston, we have a problem.
    Sadly, he is under the belief that the inability to speak “proper English” belongs solely to the blacks of America. Apparently Mr. Huston, who goes on to call this speech everything from ebonics to ghetto-speak, has never actually been to the “ghetto.”
    Allow me to educate him on the defi - nition of ghetto. The ghetto was originally a quarter of a city in which Jews were forced to live, an idea originating in Italy. It has since come to mean any area of the city where a minority lives. Mr. Huston, please note the lack of any of the following words: black, Negro, African-American, colored person, or any of the other colorful terms in your piece. If you’d actually been to a ghetto, you’d see they are not merely populated by blacks — you might even take off the race-colored glasses long enough to notice the white people there!
    In addition to Mr. Huston’s selective vision, he apparently suffers from selective hearing, as he has apparently never heard the number of white people who cannot properly use the English language.
    If Mr. Huston would like to know the solution to the “speech difference” problem, I would suggest he take a hard look in the mirror, and he may recognize that his own racist assertions are quite an affront to the English language, too.

    SEAN MEARNS
    Glenville

http://www.dailygazette.net/De.....r00903&AppName=1

Proper English, both oral and written, used to be taught in our schools, what happened.

We didn't pay the teacher enough to get shot at in the Ghetto!  

Teachers are certified by the state that they graduated from college and passed a state test so why can't they teach proper English to their students?

Hey Giantsfan.....being that you said that you were in the army.....where are you stationed? And I'd like to say 'thank you'!!

Me too! Thanks.

Quoted from Shadow

Proper English, both oral and written, used to be taught in our schools, what happened.

What happened?     2 en 2 be 5

How 'bout - fiteen 'n fiteen be turdy!

or

'Ho da door open'.

or

'Ho don, I be comin''

or

'Who dat'?

Great teachers....great enlish.....you've opened our creative minds mc!

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All Americans should speak proper English

    Re Jan. 24 op-ed article, “White-black speech differences is a subject that we ignore”: This article interested me greatly because it raises the question, for which I’ve never had an answer: Why do some blacks talk like that?
    I spent much of my career working in minority neighborhoods, and often was the token white in the workplace. The difference seemed pretty clear: Those who were educated, and cared about themselves and others, spoke in correct English, i.e. proper pronunciation, proper grammar. It isn’t an accent, as it is in neighborhoods all over our country.
    If you want to be part of mainstream America, step up to the plate and speak correctly. And I don’t mean “like me”; I mean like most of America and other English-speaking civilizations. Why are we so reticent to “say it like it is,” no pun intended.
    I would like to hear the opinion of a successful black person on this topic.

    PEG MCDONALD
    Fort Plain

http://www.dailygazette.net/De.....r00907&AppName=1

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Nothing racist about columnist’s question

    The Jan. 29 response by Sean Mearns [“Proper English’ op-ed revealed author’s racism”] to Peter Huston’s Jan. 24 op-ed, [“White-black speech differences is a subject that we ignore”] was rude, insulting and out of line! Mr. Huston’s opinion had nothing to do with racism and everything to do with speaking English correctly.
    People in other countries, especially India and Asia, learned the language as it should be spoken, having been taught properly in the first place, as in English-as-a-second-language. Before sending this letter, I checked with a few other people, and they agreed: Peter Huston was absolutely correct. There seems to be a movement among certain activists, people looking for a fi ght any time there is mention of non-Caucasian speech. Think Harry Reid recently.
    Unfortunately, grammar is not taught in local schools anymore and probably not elsewhere. I was informed by a grandchild when he was in high school (Burnt Hills) that the only grammar he encountered was when taking a foreign language. Local newscasters on TV or radio make grammatical errors such as “between you and I” or “to you and I.” Ever hear of objective case? Object of a preposition? If you left out the other person, would you say to/from/ by I? Obviously, it should be me.
    The problem does not end with spoken English. I find that the only error-free writers at the Gazette are Carl Strock and Dan DiNicola, and often headlines are a challenge to comprehend.
    Does the state mandate so much other work that no time is left by grades 7 to 10 for English and writing, the tools a person needs to communicate throughout a lifetime?
    As for Mr. Huston, I wish more teachers had his capabilities, knowledge and interest in our students. Perhaps then there would be hope for the survival of the English language as spoken by Peter Jennings, Walter Cronkite, Tom Brokaw and other notable newscasters.

    GLORIA BLUM
    Glenville

http://www.dailygazette.net/De.....r00703&AppName=1

I am forever grateful for ' Black English '  which is where " American music ' comes from. There would have been no Elvis or Rock and Roll.  

I'm only going to say this because everyone are using the terms...

'black english' will get you pants on the ground and the likes of the Jets/Sharks

'white english' will get you the KKK and the Archie Bunker

I just want English taught rightcorrectly with Latin background......is that so hard to ask for from the public schools....no wonder our kids have to take a
crap load of pre-reqs.....shame shame shame.......