Preview

A three pages essay on ebonics

Good Essays
Open Document
Open Document
1089 Words
Grammar
Grammar
Plagiarism
Plagiarism
Writing
Writing
Score
Score
A three pages essay on ebonics
EBONICS AND THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE

In December of 1996 a national controversy erupted when the Oakland school district suggested that "ebonics," which is also known as Black English, was a genetically based second language. Since Oakland California's decision to allow the teaching of ebonics in its school system, ebonics has become a national issue and has sparked a heated debate form coast to coast. A large part of the ebonics controversy is the fact that many of today's students do not get a good enough grasps of standard written and spoken English to compete successfully in the job market later. In this essay, I will discuss the issue of whether ebonics should be considered a second language.

The argument of ebonics advocates is that their unique programs will permit black children to excel at what critics of ebonics say they want black children to learn: regular English. This brings the comparison of regular English and ebonics into view. The English language is fluid, it is constantly expanding and contracting as new words and meanings are added while others become archaic. In Robert MacNeil's essay, English Belongs to Everybody he wrote, "as people evolve and do new things, their language will evolve too. They will find new ways to describe these things and their changed perspective will give them new ways of talking about old things." English is no longer the primary language of Americans and the British. Increasingly, it is a national language taught with other languages as diverse and multilingual as south Africa, Japan, and India. The term international language is increasingly becoming a replacement for standard English. So what is ebonics?

Ebonics is derived from the words "ebony" and "phonics," when they were put together, ebonics was born. It is considered "black dialect." It is to my understanding that ebonics is slang. Because when I looked the word slang up in the dictionary, the definition was: the nonstandard vocabulary of a given culture,

You May Also Find These Documents Helpful

  • Good Essays

    In “Should Writers use They Own English? ”, by Vershawn Ashanti Young, he argues that there is not simply one standard english but infact there are many languages and dialects that compose the english language. He goes on to provide the solution that there should be more than one dialect or language acceptable in writing (111). Additionally, he argues with Cultural Critic Stanley Fish that standard language ideology creates race inequality between minorities and caucasians because of the inability for minorities to easily master written and spoken standard english (113).…

    • 335 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    In, “Nobody Mean More to Me than You and the Future Life of Willie Jordan”, June Jordan discusses the language of blacks In America, referred to as “Black English”. Using “Black English” as an example, Jordan is able to highlight the subjugation and disregarding of this minority group within the United States. She believes that blacks in America are considered inferior. Using her time with her college class, Jordan, utilizes a topic of great importance to her students to endorse cognizance to the issue.…

    • 516 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    English is the standard language of America. In the essay "Nobody Mean More to Me than You and the Future Life of Willie Jordan" by June Jordan, Jordan proves that Black English represents African American's identity, and how the language should be taught in schools.…

    • 276 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Good Essays

    Leslie Savan’s Essay

    • 810 Words
    • 4 Pages

    Through out Savan's essay she talks about the originality and roots of where and how the black language was created. Savan explains that allot of black words we hear now days came from times around and within American slavery. Many African American slaves used words that would mean the opposite of the actual meaning of the word. African American slaves came up with these words to talk in front of their “Massa”(Savan 373) without him knowing what they were saying. “Most of this language was never recorded”(Savan 377), but allot of these words would emerge in American media one way or another. It is very important to realize that these words were a way of communicating for slaves without being whipped, beat or even killed. Slaves never used such words to become famous or rich.…

    • 810 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Cosby's Ebonics

    • 1036 Words
    • 5 Pages

    In 1996, the Oakland School District proposed the inclusion of what is known as "Ebonics" into its curriculum. Ebonics, or Black language, has been referred to in various ways over the years: "African American Vernacular English," "Pan-African Communication Behaviors," "African Language Systems," or "West and Niger-Congo African Language Systems." By any name, Ebonics, when studied over the years, has been proven to be a real language with its own phonology, syntax, morphology, sentence patterns, and double interpretations of words. The pattern that Ebonics speakers in the United States speak is highly similar to the patterns seen in both the Caribbean Creole and the West African languages. No one would have thought that comedian Bill Cosby would have an opinion on this subject, but as I read through essay I realized the logic and validity behind his paper.…

    • 1036 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    References: American Psychological Association (http://www.apa.org/) Czubaj, C. (1995). English as a second language--are educators doing a disservice to students? Education, 116(1), 109. Retrieved from EBSCOhost. Greenhouse, L. (1996). Supreme Court to Review Law Making State Employees Speak English. New York Times News Service. Available:http://www.latino.com/news/0325sup.html Hellegaard, J. (1996). Official-English Laws Boost Discrimination, Says UF Law Professor. Macmillan, C., & Tatalovich, R. (2003). Judicial Activism vs. Restraint: The Role of the Highest Courts if Official Language Policy in Canada and the United States. American Review of Canadian Studies, 33(2), 239. Retrieved from EBSCOhost. Major, R.. (2010). First language attrition in foreign accent perception. The International Journal of Bilingualism, 14(2), 163-183,275. Retrieved March 7, 2011, from Research Library. (Document ID: 2072928711). Mount, S. (2010). Constitutional topic: due process. Retrieved February 23, 2011 from http://www.usconstitution.net/consttop_duep.html "The Constitution of the United States," Article 1, Section 8, Clause 5. "The Constitution of the United States," Amendment 5. http://www.us-english.org/…

    • 1624 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Good Essays

    In her speech, “African-American English: From the Hood to the Amen Corner,” Geneva Smitherman, English professor and Director of the African American Language and Literacy Program at Michigan State University, uses her research and personal experience on African-American English to illustrate the value of language itself, and more specifically the different dialects and variations that serve as proof of the adaptable nature of human communication. Professor Smitherman traces several traits of African-American English back to the beginning of America, revealing them to be valuable pieces of history that are currently treated as a defect to be stamped out. She states that instead of the current policy of treating cultural and geographical…

    • 303 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Ebonics Debate

    • 1041 Words
    • 5 Pages

    It is clear there are many issues in our school system that must be addressed. However the use of Ebonics, African American Vernacular English, in the English curriculum is not one of the solutions. Using Ebonics as part of our kids’ curriculum is not only unfair to the forty percent of kids who are not African American, but it also does injustice to all the students by not focusing on teaching them Standard English, which is used in higher education and by most employers.…

    • 1041 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    It has always been a subject of debate whether children whose native language is African American Vernacular English (AAVE) should use their own language, or Standard American English (SAE) at schools. The stereotypical view of most white Americans is that Black English is something less adequate, less precise, or less grammatical. They usually do not accept either the pronunciation or the syntax of this language. Nevertheless, it is true that black people who refuse to use SAE are in a far worse social situation than the AAVE speaking others. Therefore, education has to take the responsibility to solve this significant problem. Nonetheless, the question is still open. Is it a good way to correct Ebonics, or teachers should accept the use of it in primary classrooms?…

    • 1146 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Best Essays

    Wgu Glt 4 Task 4

    • 2421 Words
    • 10 Pages

    Ebonics is also known as Black English. It is believed that the language was formed in the south during the slave trades. There is also an element of the Caribbean in the language. One of the strongest differences in Ebonics and Standard English is the “th” sound. In Ebonics, these consonant sounds as “d”. Them is dem, they sound like dey. The other main difference is that “I” and “e” maintain similar sounds (Perry, 1996)…

    • 2421 Words
    • 10 Pages
    Best Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    Communication What?

    • 1411 Words
    • 6 Pages

    Tannen, Munoz, and Tan wrote personal essays explaining the impact of language in their lives. Problems arising from lack of communication are happening now more than ever, and these three authors state three completely different ways about how language is affecting their own lives as well as others. Though the three authors come from different backgrounds and share different stories, all the problems written by these authors can be traced back to a simple lack of communication. All of communication errors discussed prove to be unfair to one side or the other.…

    • 1411 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Better Essays

    The issue of English language learners (ELL) and their rights to an education has been a major topic of debate for many years. Should ELL students be taught in their first language? Will they learn English, or should they be put into English speaking classes? That has been the topic of discussion amongst educators. Which method is better for the student? The arguments continue and many states and school districts have made a decision on what to do. One state in particular had a serious ELL problem, so California took action. In 1998, California implemented a program called Proposition 227.…

    • 2357 Words
    • 10 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Better Essays

    Today, English language learners (ELLs) are the “fastest growing group of students” in the United States, making up approximately 11% of the student body and totaling over 5.3 million (Echevarria, Short, & Vogt, 2013, p. 3, para. 1). These numbers only include students who are enrolled in language programs. The increase of a non-English speakers is due to a rise in immigration. Though most ELL students were born in America, they may come from a non-English speaking household (Echevarria et al, 2013).…

    • 1033 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    After reading “Mother Tongue” by Amy Tan, it was rigorous for Asian Americans learning the English language. The article discusses the different languages of English that Tan had learned and frequently used throughout her life. Then the difficulties that she had learning in school because English wasn’t her best subject. Additionally, were issues that follow along her, due to the way Amy’s mother spoke English. English as a second language for Tan was very difficult, but through her mistakes, she succeeded. When she became a writer, it got easier after she realized the variety of languages she had already spoke throughout her lifetime. She constantly used diverse languages with multiple people and had absolutely no idea she was. It became easier for Amy to differentiate and correct herself. Tan’s life was hard for her to become the aspiring writer she wanted to be. As an Asian American, to succeed in something that no one believed she could was foolish. And even though English wasn’t Amy’s first language, in the long run it changed her understanding of the English language. Tan’s purpose was to show us how language can separate, unite, or isolate those who don’t speak perfect English. Literacy should have no limitations on how people view other people.…

    • 307 Words
    • 1 Page
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Good Essays

    Word Fleek Analysis

    • 702 Words
    • 3 Pages

    What happen to the days when people spoke and you didn’t have to type it up on Google to find out what they are saying to you? I understand and speak Ebonics myself, but my nieces, nephew, and my children’s generation had taken it to a whole new level of words that are not even in the English dictionary. They toke two completely different words combine together only to form a whole new word. Not like when I was growing up where we took the words and just change its meaning and sometime played on the spelling of the word.…

    • 702 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays