March 11, 2002
From the desk of Mindles H. Dreck:Fresh Air From John McWhorter
Terry Gross interviewed John McWhorter, Berkeley professor and critic of a "cult of victimology", on today's Fresh Air.
He defends "ebonics" on its own merits, disputing arguments that it should enjoy some sacred status merely because of the culture from which it came. It's interesting that McWhorter has drawn so much criticism for ascribing intrinsic value to this dialect without making the proper obeisance to external circumstances that accompanied its development. He argues that ebonic constructions can express certain subtleties that are lacking in so-called "standard english".
I find myself attracted to his more positivist view that a contemporary dialect such as ebonics should be viewed as a linguistic innovation.
There is also an interesting discussion of race and stigmas associated with studying hard or being smart, i.e. the "nerd" stigma vs. the "being white" stigma. He actually leads this discussion into an argument for vouchers.
When I was in high school, the "being white" stigma was attached with the label "oreo" (black on the outside, soft and white on the inside). One of my best friends from high school is a British and American-raised Nigerian (now a TV reporter for CNN), and he fought the "oreo" label quite a bit. Unfortunately, many white students adopted the term.
Just add that to the many things I don't miss about high school.
Posted by Mindles H. Dreck at March 11, 2002 09:55 PM | Technorati inbound links