Editor's note: One line has been removed to correct an editorial mistake in the original article. Barbara Nykiel-Herbert's comments about symmetry and economy referred to another grammatical feature of black English, not the absence of "is" from "it cold" as the article stated.It cold in here.
It be cold in here.
Which is correct? Linguists on the campus of Youngstown State University say both are right when speaking African American Vernacular English, also known as Ebonics or black English.
While the dialect doesn't have the same status in America as standard English, it follows it's own grammar rules, and has some features that are better than standard.
YSU English professors Steven Brown and Salvatore Attardo wrote the textbook "Understanding Language, Structure, Interaction, and Variation," used at YSU to teach about dialects.
"Even if you don't think you speak a dialect, you do. We all do," Brown said.
His book explains that "it be cold in here" from black English has a slightly different meaning than "it's cold in here," with the "be" signifying ongoing action. "It be cold in here" means "it's always cold in here," but with fewer syllables.
Barbara Nykiel-Herbert, assistant English professor at YSU, said "it is cold in here" in standard has no more meaning than "it cold in here" in black English. When speaking of the past, both dialects use "it was cold" since the verb carries important meaning. Nykiel-Herbert said Russian and Chinese work the same way. In this way, black English is more efficient, she said.
Brown said not everyone whom we would assume to speak a dialect speaks that dialect, and not all black people speak black English.
"I once had a student who was originally from Vietnam who spoke African American English because all his friends in high school did. That's the variety of English he knew," Brown said.
"All dialects, all varieties are a matter of percentages," he said. "That can't be stressed enough."
YSU English instructor Cynthia Vigliotti described some myths of black English. Some call it slang, and say that people are too lazy to speak proper English, Vigliotti said.
Dialects can be social, like black English, or regional. Black English sounds different all over the country.
In the case of Youngstown and the rest of eastern Ohio and western Pennsylvania, Brown said these residents speak a regional variety.
Brown said linguists are more apt to use the term "variety" instead of "dialect" because languages vary according to where people live.
Brown said when he grew up in California, people couldn't say, "The car needs washed." They had to say, "The car needs to be washed."
Vigliotti said speakers use dialects for two social reasons, either to identify with a certain group or to keep people out.
Groups enhance their solidarity by sharing a dialect, according to Brown's book. Vigliotti described word choice as one part of dialect.
"You might have had grandparents who said icebox instead of refrigerator. In Cleveland, it's yens. Down south, it's ya'll. It's a different way to say things."
At college campuses like YSU, where people speaking different language varieties mix, some people say "pop" while others say "soda."
Another factor of dialect is accent, which Brown explained as pronunciation.
Beyond that, grammar rules determine the arrangement of words in sentences, another characteristic that can vary by dialect.
Junior Shaleea Thurston said she first heard of black English in her African studies class, although she is black. She said no one speaks correctly in terms of grammar.
"Nobody speaks proper English, not even professors, so they can kick rocks with that one," she said.
Vigliotti said she doesn't think there is such a thing as improper grammar or English.
"You may not be pronouncing something grammatically correct, just as long as the communication is successful. You get my point and I get yours," she said.
Brown said the question of proper and improper occurs based on situation.
"Using dialect when standard is called for and standard when dialect is called for" is what Brown would call improper English.
Nykiel-Herbert said speaking black English in situations where listeners expect standard is like speaking Swedish to a room where everyone speaks Danish.
The Danes would understand, but might say that the Swedes are speaking bad Danish.
Senior Sara Wise, a white student, also said she didn't know black English was a dialect.
She said she would've categorized it as slang or improper English.
Wise said her family and friends from her hometown in Bellville make comments about how she talks and wonders if black English is how she's being taught to speak in Youngstown.
"My dad corrects me all the time. I usually say, 'Oh, whatever Dad. I know the correct way; I know the difference.' If I wanted to say it correctly I would have," she said.
Brown said some people may say black English is incorrect grammar because it is not standard English. He categorized it into two parts.
"There's standard written English, which we tend not to speak, and standard spoken English, which we use in public, but probably not with our friends," he said.
Junior Lisa Jones, a black student, didn't know about black English as a dialect, but said there is a time and a place for it.
A job interview is not the place, but while hanging out with friends it's OK.
Sometimes, talk show hosts Oprah Winfrey and Tyra Banks switch back and forth between standard spoken English and black English.
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