Smitherman

Before You Read

In high school, I read many books where the narrator spoke in a dialect. At first it was difficult to understand, but after reading it for a wile you pick up on the dialect and it eventually becomes easy to understand.

Summary

In Geneva Smitherman's "God Don't Never Change", she discusses how black english is taught in the classroom. One key point she discusses is dialect and how it affects how we understand the reading. We see Smitherman's points through specific examples from literature that are included in her article. The audience of this article can be both students and teachers. Students can learn how to understand and read dialect from this article, and teachers can learn about how to properly introduce and help students with dilates in books. 

Synthesis

Smitherman's article can be connected to Wardle because oh his discussion of language. Both of these articles also talk about identity and acceptance. This article can also be compared to Gee because of his discussion on conflicting discourses. Lastly, Smitherman can be compared to Swales because they both talk about discourse community. Swales also tells us how to be a member of a discourse community which can also relate back to Smitherman's article. 

Dialectical Notebook

Response	Quotation
This quote shows how the typical schoolroom only focus on what is right and wrong in grammar.	“A quick look at the tradition of schoolroom grammars and the undergirding ideology of early English grammarians reveals that the current ‘national mania for correctness’ has been around a long time.” (pg. 189)
I like this quote because I believe in what it is saying, but it also shows us how the author herself uses a dialect in her own writing.	“So Americans, lacking a fixed place in society, don’t know where they be in terms of social and personal identity.” (Pg. 190)
I like this quote because it emphasizes how teachers should change how grammar is being taught.	“Now, my advice to teachers is to overlook these matters of sheer mechanical ‘correctness’ and get on one with the educational business at hand.” (pg. 192)
I like this quote because it is very strong and says a lot about language and the culture that we live in.	“Because, you see, the plain and simple fact is that language does not exist in a vacuum but in the socio-cultural reality.” (pg. 193)

QD 7

Mastery of a dominant discourse can sometimes be a risk for disenfranchised individuals because they are afraid of being over powered and forgotten. These disenfranchised individuals do not have much power and fear a dominant discourse. 

Thoughts

I liked Smitherman's article because it was interesting to learn about dialect. Growing up, I have read many books with a dialect and sometimes could not understand them. I think this is a very important topic especially with teaching it in the classroom.