Document Type

Article

Publication Date

2005

Publication Title

Ohio Journal of English Language Arts

Volume

45

Issue

1

Pages

21-28

Abstract

(First paragraph) In elementary school my favorite teachers taught me that the language used in my home was incorrect, incoherent, and inappropriate. My second grade teacher Ms. Hull, a tall, thin, dark-skinned woman, stands out among the others. I can still see her hovering over us. “Was!” Ms. Hull shouted, “not wuz. Your tongue is lazy.” “You be what?” she’d ask in disgust with one hand on her hip. When this happened, I was sure to get yelled at and lectured. To avoid such humiliation, I quickly learned to, as we said in my neighborhood, “talk proper.” Shame nagged at me. The way I talked was wrong; I was wrong; and so were my family and friends.

Comments

© Ohio Council of Teachers of English Language Arts, Ohio Journal of English Language Arts

Included with the written permission of the publisher.

ORCID

0000-0002-2326-3984 (Hinton-Johnson)

Original Publication Citation

Hinton-Johnson, K. (2005). Language use and the oral tradition in AAYA (African American young adult) literature. Ohio Journal of English Language Arts, 45(1), 21-28.

Share

COinS