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People think of black English as ungrammatical, but it bears the same relationship to standard English as contemporary Hebrew does to ancient Hebrew.
John Mcwhorter
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Interpretation

What this quote means

Black English is a legitimate dialect, similar in evolution to how Hebrew has changed over time.

In this quote, John McWhorter argues that black English, often dismissed as ungrammatical, should be recognized as a legitimate and evolving dialect. He compares its development to that of contemporary Hebrew, which has transformed from ancient forms but still retains its roots, suggesting that all languages and dialects evolve in complexity and structure over time.

Themes

Black EnglishDialectLanguageEducationLinguisticsEvolution

In practice

Example use cases

In a lecture on linguistic diversity, you might say: 'As John McWhorter pointed out, black English is as legitimate as any other dialect, similar to the evolution of Hebrew.'

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