ABSTRACT
Children developing varieties of American English invariably produce structures that are identical to those in Standard American English, and structures that are maximally different from them, and complete and realistic descriptions of the varieties include all of the properties. Information about developmental patterns is crucial in establishing accurate descriptions of language use by children growing up in speech communities in which varieties of non-mainstream American English are the norm. When descriptive lists are used for purposes other than as a reference to the stark differences between the standard variety and non-standard varieties, then there is a risk of substituting the lists for the linguistic systems, but they are not good substitutes for linguistic systems. In order to get the information, linguists have to move beyond lists of differences from the standard to methods of analyzing datasets for systematic language use.
