ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

       Nothing exists in isolation. We who help create our environment are, in fact, a product of that environment It is impossible for any person to know or fully understand all the forces that help shape attitudes and scholarship. And so it is with the development of this book. Past comments and suggestions of others, now probably buried within my subconscious, may have been forces that helped create this book. To those who helped, but who are not acknowledged, my subconscious and I apologize. However, a number of persons who contributed much to the development of this book can be acknowledged. They have given valuable time and assistance over a long period of time, and deserve special credit.
      The advice, assistance, and encouragement of Drs. Norman H. Dohn and Karlen Mooradian, both of whom are very close personal friends, are deeply appreciated. Their backgrounds as leading journalists and mass communications scholars, and their active participation in my scholarly development, enabled me to understand and develop new concepts about the nature of our profession.
      During the past few years, primarily because of the influence of Dr. Gilbert D. Schneider, I developed an interest in linguistics, especially in language and culture studies. Dr. Schneider spent countless hours helping me understand relationships not only between journalism and linguistics, but between man and his world. As one of the leading authorities in West African languages, Dr. Schneider helped draw together important comparisons between the West African languages and American Black English. He, like Drs. Dohn and Mooradian, presented me with new challenges and new insights into a complex phenomenon.
      I have also benefited from discussions with Dr. Richard W. Bailey, Hugh Culbertson, Ian Hancock, Ralph Izard, John C. Merrill, Ernie Smith, John H. Timmis III, and Colston Westbrook.
      Throughout my research I was assisted and encouraged by Vivian M. Laughrey. Her conscientious sensitivity to detail was most helpful.
      I am especially thankful to librarians James R. Housel, Barbara Flynn, Gary Friedman, Bertha Makow, Vicki Myers, Kay Pearlman, Diane Perry, Ed Templeton, and Leonard Wheeler at the Ontario (California) City Library; and to librarians at Ohio University, Ohio State University, Temple University, and the Claremont colleges.
       I also extend my appreciation to Leone Stein, director of the University of Massachusetts Press, who served as my editor; Dr. Carroll E. Reed, consulting editor; Carol G. Schoen, copyeditor; Mary Mendell, design and production manager; and Ralph Kaplan, sales and marketing director.
       To my parents, Milton and Helen Brasch, I can only express deepest appreciation for helping to provide an intellectual and social environment that allowed the development and completion of the work.
       Finally, several publishers and authors have permitted me to take small sections from their works to illustrate certain aspects of this study; they are acknowledged here and in footnotes with my appreciation for their assistance.

Selections from Black English
Acknowledgments
Introduction