singly, BE clearly lowered the ratings ofspeakers, leading to diminished ratings in 7 of the first 10 dimen-sions including intelligence, articulation, aggression, education,and qualifica
This shows that using black English negatively affected perceived competence, while trustworthiness ratings remained relatively stable, highlighting how dialect influences judgment of intelligence and skill but not necessarily honesty or likability.
d. All speakers had midwestern accents,thus controlling for regional speaking differences. The only dis-cernible difference among the speeches was the use of BE and therace of the person giving the speec
This highlights that the study carefully controlled for regional accent, ensuring that differences in participant evaluations were due solely to dialect (BE vs. SAE) and speaker race, strengthening the validity of the findings.
SAE and BE). All of tspeakers were of the same sex (male), were approximately the sameage (18-24), and were judged by focus groups as delivering thespeech at the same level (6.0-7.0 on a 1
This shows the study controlled for external factors like age, gender, and delivery, isolating dialect and race as the key variables affecting participants' perceptions.
Both White and Blackspeakers of standard dialect were deemed competent, whereas bothWhite and Black speakers of substandard dialect were not
This highlights that percieved competence is linked more to dialect than race, showing that substandard speech (like be) can negatively impact evaluations regardless of speakers ethnicity,
d that BE causednegative evaluation ratings on 16 of 20 (80%) scales. However, 3scales yielded no difference and 1, the perceived trustworthiness ofa person, actually improved with the use of BE, prompting Atkinsto note that BE use does not uniformly alter all aspects of personpercepti
This shows that Black English doesn't affect all credibility traits the same way. While it lowers perceived competence, it can raise trustworthiness, proving that dialects influence different judgments in different ways.
that "negative pro-nouncements on Ebonics reveal a serious lack of knowledge aboutthe scientific approach to language analysis and a galling ignoranceabout what Ebonics is and who speaks it" (p
This shows that harsh opinions about Ebonics mainly come from misunderstanding, not facts. It reinforces the idea that bias towards dialect is rooted in ignorance.
ted that although standard American English was pre-ferred by all participants on several key measures (including all measuresof competence), speaker dialect did not alter perceived trustworthiness andlikabili
While people still view Standard American English as more "competent", dialect alone doesnt make a speaker seem less honest or less friendly.
y, linguists and other educators must disseminate knowledgedialects much more broadly than they currently do to combat the unqtioned discrimination that occurs linking language usage to social mobieducational advancement, and pe
This quote emphasizes the argument that society continues to equate certian dialects with intelligence, professionalism, and worth
T] eachers, policy makers, and educationists need to take account of differences inthe form and function of spoken and written language, of the way in which pupils'gender, social class, and ethnic group may affect the way they speak, of the rela-tionship between standard and non-standard varieties of English, and of the socialattitudes toward linguistic diversity. (Cheshire, Edwards, and Whittle, 1993,
This quote highlights that educators must understand how factors like gender, class, and ethnicity shape students speech
"Much of what the American educational systemteaches children about language is factually incorrect; in this it is thorough,consistent, and successful across social and economic boundaries" (Lippi-Green, 1994, p. 167)
This quote shows that many teachers believe they're teaching standard English correctly, but research suggests they often don't understand that the standard actually is.
Something approaching [Standard English], or not departing too widely from it, isoften assumed to be necessary for the serious business of formal education, both inthe social sense of being more fitting, and in the cognitive sense of being morestructurally superior. (Edwards and Westgate, 1
This quote highlights the assumption that standard english is both socially and intellectually superior in school settings.
exism is illegal, discrimition based on speech patterns "is the site on which racism and ethnoctrism are institutionalized" (Lippi-Green
This shows how language becomes a socially acceptable channel for racism and bias.
and society. StandardIdeology, which privileges certain usages and stigmatizes others, adverselyaffects the lives of those who use stigmatized forms (Wi
Shows how Standard Ideology reinforces social inequalities.
egory of SSE. This may expboth how speakers conceptualize language and how they identify, wrelative ease and broad agreement, standard and nonstandard formsgardless of their own
Shows why people can generally agree on what is "standard" or "Nonstandard" english even though everyone speaks with variation.
The interaction between what might be called 'informal spoken standardEnglish' and nonstandard English is complicated and the borderline be-tween them not at all clear" (Cheshire and Milroy, 1993, p. 7)
This shows Standard Spoken English is nearly impossible because real-life speech blends forms and shifts depending on context.
Standard Ideology "stresses the impor-tance and superiority of the standard, 'literate' or 'unaccented' variety ofEnglish" (Wiley and Lukes, 1991, p. 514).
This explains that what people view as "correct" English isnt based on actual linguistic facts but on a belief system. It influences institutions and public opinion, shaping how society treats different dialects even when there's no real justification
eadily. Most people agreethat no two people speak exactly the same, so even among "educatedspeakers" variety exists. Yet they believe in the existence of SSE, even while"[t] he process of standardisation (strictly defined) is based on the idea ofaiming, by any means possible, at un
This highlights a key contradiction. Society believes in a single standard of spoken English even though real-world speech varies widely.
What prescriptivists seem to overlook is that specific prescriptivechoices are largely based on personal preferences without linguistic orsocial justificati
This is an important point showing that many "rules" of Standard English aren't grounded in real linguistic evidence. It supports the argument that enforcing a strict spoken standard isnt the right way.
h. For example, they view individual variation as negative or unaccept-able, that is, one form or the other must be incorrect. Variation, however,reflects appropriate style and register shifts and produces innovation inour standards over time. So the very aspect of spoken la
Everything changes overtime, even language. This is why enforcing a rigid "spoken standard" is unrealistic
oom. Most educators may believe, however, that the SWthat they teach equates to the SSE that they speak. Thus, this SWE is thform for which they inevitably hold their students responsible in botspeech and wri
Teachers assume their own speech matches the "standard", which causes unfair expectations for students speech and writing
We believe Standard Ideology helps explain this privileging of SSE. Mil-roy and Milroy (1991) demonstrate how Standard Ideology justifies dis-criminatory practices in the schools, the workplace,
This supports the concept of linguistic discrimination and explains how one dialect becomes valued over others in society
kplace. Stigmatized forms are primarily affiliatedwith lower socioeconomic status, groups with the least political power andrecou
This shows how language is tied to power and class. Not intelligence.
) review of the literature demonstrates that formal writing is also"more structurally complex and elaborate" with "longer sentences, . . . lesspersonally involved ... and more detached and abstract ... [and] charac-terized by a higher concentration of new information th
Clear evidence that writing and speech function differently and should not be compared equally.
g hasexisted for several thousand years and, due to its permanent nature, hasbeen available for study during that time. We know comparatively littleabout spoken language; the studies that exist are recent and incomplete.
This explains why people assume writing rules apply to speech. Writing has a long recorded history, speech doesnt.
Within their dialects, individuals also control a range of styles, called alinguistic repertoire, whose use varies depending on their interlocutor andthe situatio
People shift the way they talk depending on audience and setting.
ach country eventually ele-vates one dialect to become the standard
Standard English is not natural or neutral, its chosen socially and politically
Language is an abstract, mental system largely shared by its native speakerThe speakers themselves produce various dialects of a given language. Tclaim is not based on Chomskian notions of language innateness or copetence and performance. Rather, we are referring to the type/tokedistinction, comparable to the distinction between a phoneme andallophones. Language is the type. Each instantiation of a languagetoken of it. A token invariably occurs in a given dialect or, more correctlyan idiolect. We actively reject the popular misconception that allows "tdominant groups [to] succeed in attributing the status of language to thown variety while ascribing the status of dialect t
The authors compare language vs dialect using the type/token distinction to argue that all spoken versions are valid tokens of a language.
s from it. Fourth, Standard English is the languagthe classroom. This assumption has never been systematically tested in the liteture by examining the language that teachers use. Nor is it clear that teachbelieve they do or should impose an idealized spoken form
The authors highlight that researchers have never actually studied whether teachers talk in Standard English.
lief. Third, Standard English is the language of the workplaceessential for social mobility. While we do not refute this assumption, we do explothe discrimination that stem
The authors accept that this has truth in society, but point out that it leads to discrimination.
h. First, spoken English equates to written English. Substantial evidendemonstrates that this equation is both misle
The authors are pointing out the first major misconception. People treat their speech and writing like they're the same, but research shows they differ significantly