The Madison, Wisconsin, Capital Times, May 27, 1995:

You turn a "th" sound on the beginning of a word into a "d" sound.

"The" becomes "duh."

That's one of the rules of Black English Vernacular that Eyvonne Crawford-Gray shared Friday with fourth- and fifth-grade students at Lincoln Elementary School.

The kids seemed to enjoy the presentation.

Another rule: "r" on the end of a word becomes silent.

"What does 'door' become?" Crawford-Gray asked.

"Doe," responded the children from Jeffrey Maas' open classroom.

The students first met Crawford-Gray when she was running for a seat on the Madison School Board....

Crawford-Gray told the students that Black English Vernacular is a separate language because it has its own rules and patterns.

Some of the children responded as she explained the rules. "That's how we talk at home," said one.

"That is something to be proud of," Crawford-Gray said. "You speak two languages."

†