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ebonics. Ebonics means 'black speech' (a blend of the words ebony 'black' and phonics
'sounds'). ... These distinctive Ebonics pronunciations are all logical. ...
Ebonics. The Origin of Ebonics What if all of America spoke in Ebonics? ... Ebonics
has been branded as a poor form of Standard English. ...
Cosby's Ebonics. Cosby on Ebonics In 1996, the Oakland School District proposed
the inclusion of what is known as "Ebonics" into its curriculum. ...
Is Ebonics a Language? ... If one is able to classify Ebonics as a language, then why
not classify Gullah, and “proper” English as separate languages as well? ...
Ebonics 2. Ebonics The other day I was talking on the subject of Ebonics. I feel
Ebonics should be a language. ... Ebonics will be victorious in academics. ...
Submitted by moamelia on April 15, 2005
Category: English
Words: 1060 | Pages: 5
Views: 1137
Popularity Rank: 4,263
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Ebonics means 'black speech' (a blend of the words ebony 'black' and phonics 'sounds'). The phrase was created in 1973 by a group of black scholars who disliked the negative connotations of terms like 'Nonstandard Negro English' that had been coined in the 1960s when the first modern large-scale linguistic studies of African American speech communities began. However, the term Ebonics never caught on amongst linguists, much less among the general public. That all changed with the 'Ebonics' controversy of December 1996 when the Oakland (CA) School Board recognized it as the 'primary' language of its majority African American students and resolved to take it into account in teaching them standard or academic English.
Clearly there is a problem with these children that may be addressed by looking at language. The role that Ebonics may play in changing the above statistics is a practical question. Only the completion of a program including Ebonics, and time, will reveal the answer. Whatever the basic agenda in Oakland California, it is important to look at the question of Ebonics from the point of view of doing what is best for children. Acknowledging the strength of Ebonics in no way suggests teaching Ebonics in place of Standard English. Acknowledging the strength of Ebonics can and should serve to ease the teaching of Standard English. Many people see Ebonics as "gutter language", and "slang", and are quite outspoken about it. These beliefs are deeply rooted in society. Resistance to the acknowledgment that Blacks who use Ebonics may be speaking a unique language is very strong, but I believe it is important to challenge the belief that Ebonics is "slang". Some people have stated that the movement to recognize Ebonics is Afro-Centrism at its worst. I would argue that the attempts to squelch Ebonics are Euro-Centrism at its worst and most intense. Ebonics includes non-slang words like ashy (referring to the appearance of dry skin, especially in winter),...
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