Ebonics: Dialec or Language?

There were many problems surrounding the Ebonics controversy of 1996, but the factor most responsible was the question of whether Ebonics is a dialect or a language. This is most responsible for the controversy because the treatment of a dialect is largely different than the treatment of a language. There are many languages in the world and when examined they are overall treated with a large sense of respect. This can also be proven wrong, though, by seeing countries, like the United States of America disrespect and attempt to dissuade new languages entering the country. The most prevalent example of this is the Spanish language coming from Mexico and other South American countries. When people enter the States speaking the Spanish language and having clear South American traits, they are automatically treated with less respect. This is because they are not conforming to the English language; they are forcing the Americans to conform to their language because we have more education so it will be easier for us. No; they should also have to take classes teaching the basic English language to compromise with the natives of America. If Ebonics became classified as a language there would be a ridiculous addition to the amount of controversy in language in the United States. This would fuel the argument of the non-English speakers to get their language integrated into the U.S. Also, the Ebonics language does not have a large enough difference from English to be classified separately. Yes, there are some major differences in word choice, pronunciation, and structure, but each of the dialects of America has these same alterations. The South has many different words, phrases, and structures of their grammar, but the language is still English; it is classified as the Southern Dialect of English, though.

The reason this conflict of language and dialect is the central idea behind the language controversy is that the people speaking the Ebonics language are of a different race. They are treated differently than the majority of people in America, so they feel they should have the right to call their way of speaking completely separate as well. This is a sensible argument, but they need to be consistent. If they, African Americans, wanted to be treated completely equal they should also treat themselves as equals. Making an excessive controversy because they want a language of their own is supporting the fact they are different than the traditional white race of America. If they would accept their way of speaking as a dialect like the rest of America, the majority of the controversy would settle because a dialect of the English language helps unite America, but keeps the identity of the person safe.

Ebonics Controversy

In the Journal of Black Studies, Ebonics is defined as, “A language (dialect) that is spoken by Black Americans living in low-income communities that has some specific characteristics observed in the phonological and grammatical system” (310). This definition shows the reader what “is really at the heart” of the Ebonics controversy. Is Ebonics a valid language or is it just a dialect. The Oakland Ebonics Controversy of, 1996, was when many people began to ask themselves if Ebonics was truly a language.

A dialect is an accent that one obtains usually from where they are raised. This dialect may affect ones language, but not a language unto itself. This is why the definition above can be misleading. The Journal of Black Studies first puts that it is a language and then adds that it is also a dialect. So which is it?

It sounds similar to English in the fact that it uses the same words and many of the same grammar techniques. English speakers can also usually understand quite readily what a person speaking Ebonics is trying to say. However, Ebonics has techniques that are specifically for this language/dialect. Do these rules make it a language? My answer to this question would be no.

I personally believe that Ebonics is just another dialect. One can still have a dialect, but know the Standard English. Southerners, for example, uses phrases and words that are not used in Standard English, but refrain from using such phrases in places like school. This is because we have been taught when and when not to use our slang or jargons. People who speak with the dialect of Ebonics should be viewed the same way. They should learn what the Standard is, and be able to use it for school or business situations. Just because you might have a different way of saying things does not mean it is a totally different language.

Da Ebonics Controversy

In the 1996 Ebonics controversy in California, the most important problem that was affecting the whole community was the power and the use of government spending. During this difficult time, there were questions raised because of the idea of paying school teachers more money. This would only happen if the teachers would learn the history and aspects of Ebonics. As you would expect, parents of these school children were enraged that school teachers would get paid more just by attempting to learn Ebonics. They were furious because no one knew where this money would come from to fund this action. The money that would have to be paid to the teachers would have most likely been obtained by taxes. One might not know, but the part of California that is in the middle of the Ebonics controversy is relatively lower class and lower middle class. The reason that economics had to do with this controversy is because money is hard to come by in this area. Also, there was a big question, “why do teachers get paid more for just simply trying to speak Ebonics”? Because of all this facts and situations the parents of these children were mad, along with celebrities such as Bill Cosby. I believe that this is the most influential aspect in the whole Ebonics controversy. I believe this because in this particular California community money is a big problem. It is hard to get the money and there is not a large amount of it in the community. The idea of the poor paying more money to teachers is ridiculous, not only are they paying teachers better but also to others to as the taxes would be raised. In conclusion, the most important point to the Ebonics controversy was government funding because of the angry that is had persuaded and issue of money.

Extra Credit Forshizzle.

Out of all of the problems with the Oakland Ebonics Controversy of 1996, I personally think the route of the problem had to do with the linguistic validity of Ebonics. By this I mean that many standard English speakers seemed to look down on Ebonics and consider it a lowly language. The reason they believed it to be lowly was because many of the grammatical rules almost make it sound incomplete or unintelligent. Also, many standard speakers who have racist roots look down upon the black society who speak Ebonics. Through typing, I’ve realized that racism is an even deeper context in regards to the linguistic validity of Ebonics.

What makes people think one way or the other on a language; and yes, i said language. I don’t believe it is simply just a dialect, but through all of these controversies has developed into a language that can’t be understood by someone who doesn’t speak it. Many of the speakers of this language are African Americans, often ones who live in “the hood” of their city, and don’t have much of an education, wear baggy clothes, and in general are looked down on. Living in the south my entire life, I’ve seen first hand the racism that still exists, and can definitely understand how that racism could effect the opinions on Ebonics.

The reason I think this sparked problems more than anything else is the underlying hatred involved. I don’t think the average person would care about Ebonics being taught in school if it had to do with government spending. Also, to the average American, I just don’t think there’s enough time in the day for someone to worry about whether or not Ebonics is a language or a dialect. It just doesn’t really matter.

ebonics blog

Major controversies rose from the Oakland Ebonics Controversy in 1996. These included teaching techniques, governmental funding, the linguistic validity of Ebonics, the question of whether Ebonics is a dialect or a language and questions of racism in education.
The question of whether Ebonics is a dialect or a language is most central to the controversy as some people simply could not comprehend the idea that Ebonics was another language. They argued that most of its components in the dimensions of grammar and pronunciation are widely shared with English, either with standard American English, or with Southern White English, or with vernacular dialects of English around the world. This means that Ebonics is simply another dialect of English as it can be in the most part, easily understood by English speakers unlike German, Italian, Chinese, etc can.
On the other hand many people supported the Oakland School Board by calling Ebonics another language. They said that it possesses its own grammar elements and rules, which make it just like any other language.
Teaching techniques and governmental funding are closely intertwined in this controversy if Ebonics were to be accepted as another language. Additional funding would have to be provided for the training of teachers in Ebonics, as they would have to learn the ins and outs of it.
Racism in education also sprouts out from the question of whether Ebonics is a language or a dialect. People argued that it was just another way of segregating the black population and that it is another way of saying how the black race is different.
In conclusion I believe the policy to teach Ebonics as a separate language at Oakland was central to people’s arguments about Oakland’s educational proposals as it produced more arguments about other issues, which inflated the controversy even more. People ignored what was firstly just a new way of improving educational standards in the area and condemned it instead. Reverend Jesse Jackson said, "I understand the attempt to reach out to these children, but this is an unacceptable surrender, border-lining on disgrace." The majority of people’s views mirrored Jacksons which eventually led to the fall of the proposal.

Debate Groups!

Group 1



Amber

Camden

Carol

Devin

Matt P.



Group 2



Dane

Cameron

Cayla

Ryan



Group 3



Sara

Tom

Taylor

Jack





Group 4



Matt W.

Merry

Caleb

Justin

Extra Credit Blog: The Ebonics Controversy

Dear All,

This week, you may choose to do this blog for extra credit. Each blog you write is worth about 2% of your grade. Therefore, an "A" on this blog will give you an additional 2% on your overall course grade. And "A-/B+" will get you 1.5. A "B" will get you 1%. A "C" will get you 0.5%. Anything lower than that... well, I'm not going to read it, because y'all are better writers than that!

You have a choice between two questions:

1. Choose a resolution from the Oakland Policy Statement (Baugh, pages 312-313). I recommend 2, 7, 9,12, or 13. Discuss whether you think that resolution is a good educational policy for students whose heritage language is Ebonics. Discuss, also, whether the changes that the educators made (the text in bold) weakened or improved the resolution.

2. As we've discovered, there were a lot of controversies within the Oakland Ebonics Controversy of 1996. People were debating:

Teaching techniques
Governmental funding
The linguistic validity of Ebonics
The question of whether Ebonics is a dialect or a language
Questions of racism in education

Which of these issues do you think is most central to -- is really at the heart of -- the Ebonics Controversy? Discuss why that issue is more important than the others.

Blog Notes :) AAE

AAE (African American English) there is no consensus as to exactly how is developed
Theories-
· When slaves we transported from Africa to America, they developed Pidgin (a simplified version of a language used for communication between those without a common language… developing into Creole which children acquired in their homes through their parents use
· Gullah = language used on the Islands of South Carolina and Georgia
· Slaves worked with servants those who spoke non-mainstream varieties of English
· Language development could have been based on factors such as# of slaves, servants, crops being grown, role overseers played
In search of better job and living conditions, African Americans began migrating (Great Migration) they sought out to settle in their own little communities, and some were forced to through racism
· AAE is a valuable resource and an important aspect of a group Identity
Features (Overview)
· Copula Absence: “They Hungry” “She Going” the forms of “to be” are omitted from standard
o But “am, as, and were” remain
· Habitual be: “We be playing basketball” “she be working late” using to be un-conjugated to signal a habitual or regular occurrence
· “s” following 3rd person – “I jump, you jump, we jump, she jumps”
· Double negatives “We don’t know nothing bout nobody” (also found used by white appalachin speakers and in Shakespeare)
· Stereotypically – replacing the these, with, and birthday with “d”, “t”, or “f” replacing “th” so (dese, wit, and birfday)
· “G-Dropping” at the end of –ing words “fishing and fighting” become “fishin’, and fighten’)
· Dropping of second or third contants

NOTES ON AAE

Two types of development:

A- First Theory- Slaves of different language backgrounds brought to the U.S. from Africa developed a "Pidgin".

Pidgin- simplified version of language used for communication between people or groups who do not have common language.

The Pidgin used by the African Americans developed into a "creole" which children acquired in their homes through the use of the "creole" by their parents.

*Gullah- Language used on the Islands of South Carolina and Georgia ( resembles the language slaves used on plantations)

B- Second Theory- AAE was learned by slaves who worked alongside indentured servants who spoke non-mainstream types of English.




Spread of AAE

The migration of African Americans from the late 1800's -1970's is responsible for the spread of AAE in the U.S.

African Americans looking to find better jobs and living conditions in Chicago, Philadelphia, and other large cities.

Naturally the African Americans settled in Communities. These communities were kept within geographical areas due to Racism.

AAE was/is a valuable resource and a form of group identity.

Features:

Copula Absense: "They Hungry"
Omits forms of "to be" from the Standard-

However, the words "am, was, and were" are never left out


Habitual Be: "We be playing basketball after school"

Use of the un-conjugated form of the verb "to be" to signal a habitual or regular occuring action
Only refers to regularly occuring or habitual actions


3rd peroson singular-"s" deletion: "He jump high"
Omitting "s" with verbs

Double Negatives: "Aint nobody can beat me"

- Used by WHITE Appalachian speakers; also found in Shakespeare and Chaucer


Pronounciation Features:

The replacing of "b/t/f" for "th"----Birfday
Dropping of "g's" in "ing"

Dropping of second or third consonants

Friday's Assignment: Read and Prepare!

Dear All,

This Friday we will have a short quiz in class based on some readings that will prepare us for next week. I am asking you to read, and take notes on, some background information on African American English. If you want to post your notes to the blog and discuss the reading through this medium, feel free! The reading can be found at this website:

http://www.pbs.org/speak/education/curriculum/high/aae/#background

Read the following subsections under "Background Information": "Brief History of AAE," "Features of AAE: A Brief Overview," "Grammatical Features," and "Pronunciation Features." You do not have to read about the Ann Arbor Decision.

This is not a long reading, and some of the information should look familiar. But we'll be talking about the Ebonics Debate thoroughly next week, and I want you each to have a good idea of what kind of dialect/language we are discussing.

Southern Slang

For some reason, after I read all of these websites I was laughing. I think it is because whether they were trying to or not the authors were poking fun at the “Southern American English.” Wikipedia does not treat the South as a monolith because it states, “contrary to popular belief, there is no single "Southern accent". Instead, there are a number of sub-regional dialects found across the Southern United States which are collectively known as Southern American English.” But this was not the case with the others as they seemed to say that the South is the South and we all speak with a southern slang. A Glossary of Southern Accents defines a lot of “southern” words which for some reason I have never heard. I grew up in the city but I have been to some pretty country places, like deep into Alabama and have not heard people talk that way. Unless some of these words are only spoken on a certain farm or region in the South, I don’t know where they come from. I am sure that the Northerners liked to read this website and glossary of words because they were probably laughing at it the whole time saying, “I could see those rednecks talking like that.” Northerners think it is easy to pick a Southerner out of a crowd just by the way they talk or dress. This is stated by Rosina Lippi-Green in “Hillbillies, Rednecks, and Southern Belles” when she says, “If white southerners are not distinguishable by other ethnic markers, by characteristic physical features, or religion, language is one simple and effective way of distinguishing between self and other.” In my opinion that stands true for Northerners too, because when they speak their voice is very loud and their accent almost sounds rude. But when we southerners speak, almost everything we say sounds sincere because of our accent. Now which accent would you rather have?

Wikipedia- "Southern American English"

Wikipedia classifies Southern dialect as Southern American English. It shows many aspects of what is thought to be a southern dialect by those who are not within the region. It gives examples of how words are pronounced differently in the south, to examples of how sometimes there is a completely different vocabulary for words in the south. It clearly demonstrates how the South has the most distinguishable dialect from other regions of the country because of the different degrees of spoken accent in the South. A “southern accent” is what the south is predominately known for through the United States of America. This specific article does not utilize the concept of “strategy of condescention” as mentioned in the reading. This source does not classify the south as monolith as it  respectfully states the following:

However, contrary to popular belief, there is no single "Southern accent". Instead, there are a number of sub-regional dialects found across the Southern United States which are collectively known as Southern American English. Still, these different varieties often share commonalities of accent and idiom easily distinguishable from that spoken in other regions of the United States and identify it as being "Southern", particularly to other Americans.

As a true southerner I believe that Wikipedia is overall a fairly accurate summary and description of what the “true” southern dialect would be if it was trying to be described to someone who had not grown up in the south. Personally, I was appreciative of the fact that this web site did not give a negative view of southern dialect. Rosina Lippi-Green demonstrated the negative stereotypical view of southern dialect: “One of the primary characteristics of the stereotypical southerner is ignorance” (210). The South should not be automatically judged and criticized for its unique dialect. Yes, many people in the south seem to have a language of their own. It makes them who they are ,and shows where their roots are grounded. It is ignorant to form opinions of others based upon the judgment of how they speak. Until you have personally grown up in the south you will never be capable of enjoying and cherishing the richness in southern heritage. 

Apparent Influences in Southern Dialects

The South is treated as a “monolith” in the first web site listed with its “hillbilly music”, “rebel flag”, and “syntax”. Most visitors would probably have a grin on their face as I did when scrolling through the list of “southern sayings” such as; “A fish out of water”, “As hard-headed as a mule”, and “Barking up the wrong tree”. The descriptive dialect of the south does indeed separate itself from many of the other states in that respect. The third web site utilized a “strategy of condescension” as Dr. Goodward, while intelligent and well versed uses regional dialects of the south to demonstrate that it is not improper English being used but a variation of grammar used. “This is a tactic whereby an empowered individual [Dr. Goodward]…appropriates [preserves a record of] the subordinated language…” (Lippi-Green, 208). He does not disrespect the south with the use of the southern dialect, although he is educated and articulate he wants to preserve a part of his heritage. The forth website “Wikipedia” explains the evolution of “Southern American English” being born from our ancestors who immigrated to the region between the 17 and 18 hundreds. Those immigrants were Protestants from Ireland, France, England, and Scotland. Interestingly enough, those who migrating to other territories seemed to pick up each other’s dialect and “mesh” them together creating our regional differences in “Southern Twang”. When we “southerners” are made to feel a little lower than an intellectual because of our accent we need to realize that it is nothing more than being narrow minded. As the Author Lippi-Green writes: “Clearly it is difficult for northerners and mainstream language speakers to take seriously the idea that [we] the south could be content…” (214). Therefore, our accents reflect our culture and environment we were exposed to while forming our language skills between the ages of 2 and 6. Unless we take action to “lose” our accent it will always remain with us as a testament to our heritage, culture, and background not our intelligence or lack thereof.

Northern ignorance

Prior to coming to the United States, the character Cletus from the Simpsons show is how I perceived southern Americans to be like. I could only base this judgement on my lack of exposure to southern Americans. Ayers argues that Northerners also base their judgement of southerners on similar experiences by saying, “One of the primary characteristics of the stereotypical southerner is ignorance, but it is a specific kind of ignorance – one disassociated from education and literacy” (210). These perceptions promote the idea that southern dialect is inferior to other English dialects.
The Glossary of Quaint Southernisms rejects this idea by saying that “southern dialect is simply a variation of grammar spoken in that particular region, the southern tier of the US states.” This statement points out that even though southern grammar may sound strange and inadequate to the North, it is equally effective as any other dialect of English.
The definition of Southern American English on Wikipedia shows that it is the largest accent group in the United States. This means that it could easily be seen as the standard that others should conform to. This shows Southern Americans do not use their numerical advantage to discriminate other dialects.
In conclusion I believe that the Glossary of Quaint Southernisms helps to quash Northern perceptions of Southern language. It shows great respect for the dialect as it gives definitions of southern expressions and shows how they are just another variation of the English language; like British English, Australian English, etc, are. This shows that it is only pure ignorance which halts Southern English from being seen in the light as it should be; just as good as any other dialect. The Wikipedia definition also makes me warm to southerners more as it shows that they do not waste their time in discriminating other dialects; they are simply happy with using their own perfect dialect.

The South, Hell Yeah!

The Southern dialect is one that has been criticized and belittled by many, and has many false-beliefs attached to it. After reading the selected articles, it is in my belief that these particular ones chosen are not condescending toward the dialect. They seem to, besides the neutral wikipedia article, be supportive, and in many ways prideful, of the culture.

I found much of what was written on the websites humorous, because the writers almost seemed to embrace the stereotypes that southerners lack a formal education. The two websites serve as an encyclopedia of many terms that are used mostly only in the south, such as “afore” and “well, I’ll be.” Along with the encyclopedia, Ron Collins’ website goes as far to give “them northerners” a few tips for when they come to the south, which I find hilarious.

That funny thing about all of the stereotypes, is that though they aren’t completely true to ALL southerners, bits and pieces apply to the majority of us who live down here. In Lippi Green’s “Hillbillies, Rednecks, and Bells” multiple polls are taken involving the stereotypes, and they prove them correct. For example, Southerners answered that one of the most important things in the south is “Walmart.” That’s a stereotype that holds very true.

I really enjoyed reading these articles, they were very humorous and held true to the south. In my opinion, the creators of the different articles supported the south, and I love it!

There is more than one southern accent, right?

Many people who have not lived in or visited the south believe that southerners have one generic accent. However, anyone who has spent any amount of time in “the south” knows that accents vary from region to region. The website with the “Yankee Test” did a very good job showing that the south has more than one accent. The test gives results like “way down south in the land of cotton,” “Atlantic Seaboard and southeastern U.S.,” “Louisiana and Texas,” and “Carolinas to Indiana.”This demonstrates that accents vary in the regions throughout the south. This is historically accurate because the different southern regions were settled and colonized by different nationalities. Louisiana has a strong Spanish, French, Native American, and African influence, while parts of coastal Georgia and South Carolina have a stronger English influence so the accents there sound more refined than the more coarse accents in Alabama and Mississippi. While the “Yankee Test” showed respect for the many different southern accents,”Southernese,” another article from the same website, does not. The “Southernese” article is accompanied by a dictionary that assigns definitions to words that are spelled like they would sound if they were spoken with an accent usually heard in rural Georgia, Alabama, or Tennessee and no other variation of a southern accent. This lack of acknowledgement of different accents shows that the author is viewing the south as a monolith, which explains the result that, “northerners remain very unaware of what differentiates one southern variety of English from another, thus producing the one-size-fits-all accent when trying to “sound southern” (Lippi-Green, 203).” This idea that all southerners have a cookie-cutter accent is what has contributed to the uncertainty that southerners feel when speaking to people who seem to have no accent since that cookie-cutter accent usually entails that the speaker is slow and dumb-witted. This one website promotes the idea that not all southern accents are alike with the “Yankee Test” article and then turns around and gives the impression that there is only one southern accent with the “Southernese” article.