Re: Grammar

Alberto Moreira wrote:
> 
> Said  Holger Dansk <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> :
> 
> 
> >It's hard to understand why, in a public school, when a negro says "foh"
> >for the number 4, the teacher, evidently, doesn't say, "That's not the
> >proper pronunciation of 4.  It's pronounced four to rhyme with "law" or
> >the aw in awful."
> 
> But it doesn't. Everyone around here knows that 4 is pronounced
> "foah". Only an ignorant or a stranger would pronounce it otherwise.
> 
I believe about half of English dialects the world over are non-rhotic,
'r' dropping. This includes, of course, the originally affected Boston
accent. A lot of people find the extreme Boston accent irritating and
you'll notice that the guys on "Cartalk" on NPR have moderated theirs. 

There is no reason why blacks can't retain mild features of their chosen
or native accent in standard speech to preserve identity (or whatever)
while at the same time keeping close enough to standard to be easily
understood. I think you'll find this is largely the case among blacks
who are educated just as it is among other groups. It is interesting
that Americans often have such a dim view of dialect apparently even
when used out of earshot.

-- 
"Throw me that lipstick, darling, I wanna redo my stigmata."
+-Jennifer Saunders, "Absolutely Fabulous"