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African American Language Summary

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African American Language Summary
In her speech, “African-American English: From the Hood to the Amen Corner,” Geneva Smitherman, English professor and Director of the African American Language and Literacy Program at Michigan State University, uses her research and personal experience on African-American English to illustrate the value of language itself, and more specifically the different dialects and variations that serve as proof of the adaptable nature of human communication. Professor Smitherman traces several traits of African-American English back to the beginning of America, revealing them to be valuable pieces of history that are currently treated as a defect to be stamped out. She states that instead of the current policy of treating cultural and geographical
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