What is Ebonics or African American Vernacular English?
The word Ebonics derives from "Ebony and Phonics" so Ebonics literally means Black English. This term was coined in 1973 by psychologist Robert Williams. Williams grew tired of hearing phrases like "Nonstandard Negro English" and decided to create a term that accurately describes the dialect. Ebonics has become a way for African Americans to express themselves and communicate effectively with others.
Ebonics is continuously frowned upon because of its context. Many people would consider Ebonics as being "Improper English" or "slang" and therefore would classify it as neither a language nor dialect. They believe that it takes away from our culture and dumbs the English language down. Some see it as a poor persons language containing no cultural aspect at all. Others see it as a tribal language that carries a lot of history and culture. In terms of education, one might say it shouldn't be used in schools or society because its not proper English. In a way those critics are correct. Ebonics shouldn't be used in the classroom because English is the language they we are being taught at school, not Ebonics. If I was a student in Northeastern China, I would expect to go to class and speak Mandarin not Gan or Dungan so I don't think students should expect to go to class and speak Ebonics. I do however believe that Ebonics should be spoken freely throughout communities if that's the language that is familiar to cultures. Ebonics has become mainstream and is used within other cultures as well. It has become popular in the Black communities as well as other communities in the United States.
I believe that Ebonics is a dialect of English. I would not consider Ebonics a language because of close relationship with the English language. For example, if I'm speaking English and someone is speaking to me in Ebonics, I will be able to understand if not all then half of what they are saying. This makes Ebonics a dialect. Being able to communicate with someone who is speaking another dialect or language and being able to understand them. These two ways of communicating may have different terms or phrases but they are still interchangeable in a way.
I also believe that Ebonics has developed over the years as a dialect. It started with African slaves not knowing how to speak "proper English" and trying to interpret what their slave owners were saying. The slaves didn't receive the education that the whites did, so they had to create their own means of communication and it became Ebonics. As the language began to develop and spread around, some of the words and phrases were changed. African Americans from all over the United States were speaking Ebonics but in a different way. African Americans from the South are speaking in Ebonics but not the exact dialect as African Americans from the West Coast. All in all the language continues to be used today and is still growing. Just because Ebonics is not a language now doesn't mean it will never be classified as a language.
The word Ebonics derives from "Ebony and Phonics" so Ebonics literally means Black English. This term was coined in 1973 by psychologist Robert Williams. Williams grew tired of hearing phrases like "Nonstandard Negro English" and decided to create a term that accurately describes the dialect. Ebonics has become a way for African Americans to express themselves and communicate effectively with others.
Ebonics is continuously frowned upon because of its context. Many people would consider Ebonics as being "Improper English" or "slang" and therefore would classify it as neither a language nor dialect. They believe that it takes away from our culture and dumbs the English language down. Some see it as a poor persons language containing no cultural aspect at all. Others see it as a tribal language that carries a lot of history and culture. In terms of education, one might say it shouldn't be used in schools or society because its not proper English. In a way those critics are correct. Ebonics shouldn't be used in the classroom because English is the language they we are being taught at school, not Ebonics. If I was a student in Northeastern China, I would expect to go to class and speak Mandarin not Gan or Dungan so I don't think students should expect to go to class and speak Ebonics. I do however believe that Ebonics should be spoken freely throughout communities if that's the language that is familiar to cultures. Ebonics has become mainstream and is used within other cultures as well. It has become popular in the Black communities as well as other communities in the United States.
I believe that Ebonics is a dialect of English. I would not consider Ebonics a language because of close relationship with the English language. For example, if I'm speaking English and someone is speaking to me in Ebonics, I will be able to understand if not all then half of what they are saying. This makes Ebonics a dialect. Being able to communicate with someone who is speaking another dialect or language and being able to understand them. These two ways of communicating may have different terms or phrases but they are still interchangeable in a way.
I also believe that Ebonics has developed over the years as a dialect. It started with African slaves not knowing how to speak "proper English" and trying to interpret what their slave owners were saying. The slaves didn't receive the education that the whites did, so they had to create their own means of communication and it became Ebonics. As the language began to develop and spread around, some of the words and phrases were changed. African Americans from all over the United States were speaking Ebonics but in a different way. African Americans from the South are speaking in Ebonics but not the exact dialect as African Americans from the West Coast. All in all the language continues to be used today and is still growing. Just because Ebonics is not a language now doesn't mean it will never be classified as a language.