Dialect and Reading: A Review of Alternative Solutions

Abstract

During the sixties and on into the seventies an increasing number of books and articles in professional education literature have dealt with various aspects of the cause and cure of the educational problems of the disadvantaged child. Much of the literature generated by this concern for the disadvantaged has dealt with language. The earlier writers (e.g., Bereiter & Engelmann, 1966; Deutsch, 1965, 1967; Hess & Shipman, 1965; John, 1963) presented a language deficit point of view: they believed that the lack of appropriate early language stimulation resulted in immature or deficient speech patterns. These deficient speech patterns were felt to stunt cognitive development of disadvan­ taged children to the point that they were unable to respond adequately to the intellectual demands of the classroom. More recent writers (e.g., Baratz & Shuy, 1969; Cohen & Cooper, 1972) have pointed out that the language of the disadvantaged child is not deficient, but merely different from the language of the classroom. Those who support the language difference point of view contend that it is the educators' nonacceptance of the language and culture of these children that has led to their poor academic performance. This paper presents the relationship of a particular linguistic variety, Black English, to the reading achievement of black children. A great deal has been written in recent years concern­ ing the language difference of black children and its effects on academic performance. Although there have been instances of resistance in the black community (Wolfram, 1970), a growing