Date:  Thu, 20 Nov 1997 08:47:48 CST
From:  Ellen Johnson <Ellen.Johnson[AT SYMBOL GOES HERE]WKU.EDU>
Subject: vernacular

   I want to return to something Jeutonne said a few days ago.

   >>>I object to the use of "vernacular" in the term, an objection that
   I have had since the early 1980s.
   Until we consistently use "vernacular" with other terms, such as
   Southern dialect, Northern dialect, Yiddish English, Chicano
   English, etc., we make, in my opinion, an unfortunate distinction for
   African American English. Enough of this soap boax topic.
   >>>

   I am working on a paper on what sociolinguists mean by "vernacular"
   and the value they attach to it. My hypothesis is that although we
   often give a style-based definition of the term, we operationalize it
   as a class-based construct. So I am asking, What does "vernacular"
   mean to you?"

   And while I'm at it, is everyone here comfortable with the claim that
   the vernacular shows less internal variation than more formal/middle
   class varieties?

   Ellen
   ellen.johnson[AT SYMBOL GOES HERE]wku.edu
   http://www.wku.edu/~ejohnson