African-American English “should not be compared to Standard English,” University of Chicago linguistics chairman Salikoko Mufwene tells the University of Chicago Chronicle (April 2). “It should be compared with other non-standard varieties of English spoken in North America–Appalachian English or Ozark English, for example….It shares so many features with white non-standard forms of English that we should try to understand the connection between these varieties of English, especially because they all developed concurrently.”
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“We will never eliminate the so-called ‘heterosexual presumption,’” Paul Varnell advises readers of Windy City Times (April 9). “If 95 percent of the population is heterosexual, people are going to assume, reasonably enough, that any given person is heterosexual. It need not be hostile; it is simply a safe bet. (In most parts of the U.S. Jews encounter the ‘Christian presumption’ and in most gay enclaves Republicans encounter the ‘Democratic presumption.’)”
Liberals in the closet. Illinoisans polled by Ellen Dran of the Northern Illinois University Center for Governmental Studies are fairly permissive on social issues but think their neighbors aren’t. “For instance, 67 percent favor legalizing marijuana for medicinal uses, but only 29 percent believe that is the majority opinion in the state. Similarly, 56 percent favor allowing doctor assisted suicide for the terminally ill, but only 29 percent believe that the majority of residents share that view” (“Northern Today,” March 30).
