People think of black English as ungrammatical, but it bears the same relationship to standard English as contemporary Hebrew does to ancient Hebrew.
John McwhorterRead
People banging away on their smartphones are fluently using a code separate from the one they use in actual writing, but a code it is, to which linguists are currently devoting articles.
Interpretation
What this quote means
The quote highlights the distinct language and communication style that people use while texting and engaging on smartphones, which differs from formal writing.
John McWhorter emphasizes that the way individuals communicate on smartphones has developed its own set of linguistic rules and codes. This evolution reflects the unique nature of digital communication, as it diverges from traditional writing standards, prompting linguists to study this new form of language as a legitimate linguistic phenomenon.
Themes
TextingCommunicationDigital LanguageSmartphonesLinguistics
In practice
Example use cases
In a discussion on modern communication, you could quote McWhorter to illustrate how texting has created its own language.
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It would be good if teachers could genuinely understand that black English is not mistakes, it's just different English, and that what you want to do is add an additional dialect to black students' repertoire rather than teaching them out of what's thought of as a bad habit, like sloppy posture or chewing with your mouth open.
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