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Full-Text Articles in African American Studies
Should Writers Use They Own English, Vershawn A. Young
Should Writers Use They Own English, Vershawn A. Young
Vershawn A Young
This paper argues against critic Stanley Fish's assertion that students should not use dialect in academic writing.
Nah, We Straight: An Argument Against Code-Switching, Vershawn A. Young
Nah, We Straight: An Argument Against Code-Switching, Vershawn A. Young
Vershawn A Young
Although linguists have traditionally viewed code-switching as the simultaneous use of two language varieties in a single context, scholars and teachers of English have appropriated the term to argue for teaching minority students to monitor their languages and dialects according to context. For advocates of code-switching, teaching students to distinguish between “home language” and “school language” offers a solution to the tug-of-war between standard and nonstandard Englishes. This paper argues that this kind of code-switching may actually facilitate the illiteracy and academic failure that educators seek to eliminate and can promote resistance to Standard English rather than encouraging its use