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BOOK REVIEW               BAIRD


which to cover the presumed shameful nakedness of their supposedly dubious ethnic identity. With a slightly shifted emphasis (marred somewhat by infelicitous terminology) Dillard remarks:

Some of the best studies of Black language and culture have been vitiated by the preconception that the Negro's customs must be the white man's castoffs.

Dillard has provided a detailed description of the structure of American Afro-English, and constantly compares the features which distinguished American Afro-English from Standard American English with those of its Caribbean and African counterparts. For his information Dillard has consulted many sources, and these are listed in an excellent bibliography. Not only has he had recourse to the work of such commentators as H. L. Mencken, Lavan I. McDavid, Jr. (of whom he makes some strong criticisms), Melville J. Herskovits and William Labov (of whom he approves), but he has also—and this is significant—given due attention and recognition to the researches of Afro-American scholars such as Lorenzo D. Turner, Beryl L. Bailey and William A. Stewart. To Stewart, indeed, on whom he leans quite heavily, Dillard has dedicated the present work.

A controversial chapter in Black English is that entitled "Black English and Education." Dillard argues:

Obviously it would not be lowering the standards of an anthropology department to accept a brilliant paper in Spanish by a South American student, nor would the English Department term papers go down if really good critical papers in foreign languages were produced—if they could be read by the professors....In the same manner, although most teachers would need to acquire some linguistic sophistication and some knowledge of Negro Non-Standard English before they would be capable of evaluating really good papers in that dialect, the use of the student's native dialect could easily result in upgrading rather than a lowering of standards.

This is a dangerous overstated opinion. It is one thing to demonstrate the distinctive character of American Afro-English and to urge its proper appreciation as an Afro-American vehicle of communication and a worthy cultural artifact. It is another thing, entirely—in a country where now a well-educated, well-groomed

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