This statement provides the resolution on language, affirming students’ right to “their own patterns and varieties of language — the dialects of their nurture or whatever dialects in which they find their own identity and style” that was first adopted in 1974 by the Conference on College Composition and Communication. The statement also includes as explanation of research on dialects and usage that supports the resolution, and a bibliography that gives sources of some of the ideas presented in the background statement; besides offering those interested in the subject of language some suggested references for further reading. The publication of this controversial statement climaxed two years of work, by dedicated members of CCCC, toward a position statement on a major problem confronting teachers of composition and communication: how to respond to the variety in their students’ dialects.