Black English is simpler than standard English in some ways; for example, it often gets by with just 'be' and drops 'am,' 'is,' and 'are.' That's because black English arose when adult African slaves learned the language. — John McWhorter Copy Share Image
The contribution of West African languages to Ebonics is absolutely infinitesimal. What it actually is is a very interesting hybrid of regional dialects of Great Britain that slaves in America were exposed to because they often worked alongside the indentured… — John McWhorter Copy Share Image
“Modern Our Father, who is in heaven, blessed be your name. Give us our daily bread today. All three of these languages were rich,… — John McWhorter Copy Share Image
As far as I'm concerned, and this is a big theme of mine, I'm not interested in white people loving me. It's an unrealistic… — John McWhorter Copy Share Image
“[I] would argue that native-born blacks are so vastly less "African" than actual Africans that calling ourselves 'African American' is not only illogical but… — John McWhorter Copy Share Image
People banging away on their smartphones are fluently using a code separate from the one they use in actual writing, but a code it… — John McWhorter Copy Share Image
“The difference between educated people and uneducated people is that educated people have been opened up to the notion that you can disagree without… — John McWhorter Copy Share Image
Most languages spoken by a few thousand people are so complicated they make your head swim; a Siberian yak herder's language is much more… — John McWhorter Copy Share Image
“Poetry that tames language into tight structures and yet manages to move us comes off as a feat, paralleling ballet or athletic talent in… — John McWhorter Copy Share Image
“The late twentieth century has been the locus of a new lurch on English’s time line in America, where oratorical, poetic, and compositional craft… — John McWhorter Copy Share Image
Rap and spoken word have reawakened the country to poetry in itself. Texting and Twitter encourage creative uses of casual language, in ways I… — John McWhorter Copy Share Image
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… — John McWhorter Copy Share Image
![“[I] would argue that native-born blacks are so vastly less "African" than actual Africans that calling ourselves 'African American' is not only illogical but almost disrespectful to African immigrants. Here are people who were born in Africa, speak African languages, eat African food, dance in…” quote by John McWhorter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/img-quotes/b22/john-mcwhorter-25821_africa_i-would-argue-that-native-born-blacks-ar_791611.jpg)
