The study of non-standard dialects is a part of the history of a language but also involves their capacity to express complex ideas and strong emotions.  The quantitative analysis of linguistic structure can correct unjust views of linguistic limitations as well as fundamental matters of linguistic identity.

The presentation will examine the contention of educational psychologists that African-American English lacks the logical structure necessary for the acquisition of Standard written English and the use of linguistic arguments to reject this position in federal court. In a second federal court case, quantitative evidence from dialect geography was decisive in rejecting the prosecution of a workman for a series of telephoned bomb threats.