Research of Ebonics Languages

1 Research of Ebonics Languages Ebonics language in education remains one of the most controversial topics in American history. Although used by almost 13.4 percent of its population (United States Census Bureau, 2021), Ebonics is not recognized as a distinct language. Failure to recognize it as an independent language has stifled efforts to ensure equity in education access, career progression, and protection from law enforcement agency crime profiling. This paper aims to examine litigation on Ebonics language and its effects in the education sector.

The origin of Ebonics language precedes the name itself since the name was coined in 1973 by Robert Williams, an African American psychologist. Williams termed the African American English Version Ebonics since ebony means black and phonics refers to sound (Williams, 1975). Consequently, Williams (1975) found it necessary to coin the term Ebonics to avoid the negative connotation associated with Black English as nonstandard English.

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2 The origin of the Ebonics language is traced back to the slave trade that occurred between West Africa and the United States. According to Harris and Schroeder (2013), the Ebonics language has its origin in West Africa and the Caribbean. This is reflected in William’s (1975) explanation of Ebonics as the language of the black people deeply enshrined in their culture globally. Although some scholars have defined Ebonics language as African American English, Williams (1975) is of the opinion that shows that it encompasses all languages of the Black people.

Failure to incorporate Ebonics language, mainly referred to as African American English in elementary learning institutions, has led to various litigations. The Ann Arbor case is one of the lawsuits that significantly influenced the debate about the legitimacy and use of Ebonics in learning institutions (Harris & Schroeder, 2013). The petition was filed by school parents of African American English-speaking children. The parents complained of the unfair procedures used by the school to evaluate their children and place them in remedial education or special education. According to the parents, the procedures failed to consider the cultural background of their children influencing their language. In addition, they argued that Black English was a separate language with its syntax rules (Harris & Schroeder, 2013).

On the other hand, the school board contended that English spoken by African Americans derived its origin from Standard English hence not a distinct language; and it could not be held responsible for its effects on pupils’ academic achievement (Harris & Schroeder, 2013). The court found the school in gross abuse of the language barrier clause of 1974. Although studies had shown that Ebonics language did not significantly affect students' academic achievement, the court found a direct relationship between school's failure to consider children's language background and poor academic achievement.

3 However, the court’s finding departs from existing scholarly work that aims to link Ebonics language and student academic achievement. The court ruling detaches from these studies as it does not imply that Ebonics Language may affect student educational attainment but focuses on teaching pedagogy (Harris & Schroeder, 2013). First, the court stated that it was within the school's mandate to find ways of overcoming any language barriers that may arise due to pupils’ cultural backgrounds. Therefore, the court instructed the school to develop protocols that would help it identify children who spoke Ebonics language. Second, the court required the school to train its teachers to help African American students transition from African American English to Standard American English (Harris & Schroeder, 2013).

This ruling led to a change in thinking in the theory and practice of cognitive skills. In theory, there was a shift from the deficit theory of language to the difference theory of language (Harris & Schroeder, 2013). The deficit theory associated parenting practice, race, and social class as determinants of language proficiency and development. This view helped reinforce the opinion that children from Ebonics language-speaking families had low literacy ability.

Consequently, they needed special education classes, and the instructors could not influence their performance (Harris & Schroeder, 2013).

On the contrary, the difference theory argues that differences in parenting practice, social status, and race do not translate into deficient learners' cognitive skills. Furthermore, it opposes deficit theory by postulating that learners' ability to comprehend a subject depends more on teaching methodology than their cultural background and language. In practice, scholars acknowledged the need for further research examining the relationship between Ebonics and language competence and proficiency. Indeed, many books were written in the 20th century on

4 the topic, helping to shape the debate and continuing reforms in teaching pedagogy of literacy skills.

Another litigation was in 1996 when Oakland School Board directed the schools’ management to instruct learners in their own Ebonics Language to legitimize it and maintain its richness (Sung & Allen-Handy, 2019). The directive was guided by the fact that 53 percent of students in Oaklands schools were African Americans and had the lowest mean grade compared to other races. The directive also required schools to help African American children transition from Ebonics to standard American English. The directive was widely opposed forcing the board to revise it in 1997, relaxing its stance on the legitimacy of Ebonics as a distinct language but rather focusing on helping Ebonics speakers’ transition to Standard English.

There have been few changes in the legitimacy and recognition of Ebonics languages as a distinct language (Sung & Allen-Handy, 2019). Ebonics language is currently referred to as African American Vernacular English, and it is held as a dialect of English rather than an independent language. The debate that was elicited by the Oakland resolution and the Ann Arbor School case still abound. Ebonics speakers are easy targets of police arrests and find it difficult to progress in their careers unless their switch to Standard American English. Sung and AllenHandy (2019) further explain that speaking in Ebonics languages is associated with a low intelligence quotient. Many elementary schools lack an elaborate plan for helping Ebonics language speakers transition to recognized American English.

Conclusively, Ebonics language should be celebrated, given its prominent place in world history. The existence of Ebonics language is a stern reminder of the slave trade that had reduced human beings to commodities of trade. Ignoring the origin of this language might easily lead to a repeat of the events that led to its growth. This paper has shown that Ebonics languages are still

5 regarded with contempt and have become a source of social discrimination and marginalization of its speakers. It thus, concludes that the debate surrounding the use of Ebonics in education should be considered in terms of the academic achievement of Black Americans and considering other social challenges such as discrimination they encounter every day for being associated with the language.

6 References Harris, Y.R. & Schroeder, V.M (2013). Language deficits or differences: What we know about African American Vernacular English in the 21st century. International Education Studies, 6(4):194-204 http://dx.doi.org/10.5539/ies.v6n4p194 Sung, K.K., & Allen-Handy, A. (2019). Contradictory origins and racializing legacy of the 1968 Bilingual Education Act: Urban schooling, anti-blackness, and Oakland's 1996 Black English language education resolution. U. Md. LJ Race, Religion, Gender & Class, 19, 44.

United States Census Bureau (2021). Quick facts: United States. https://www.census.gov/quickfacts/fact/table/US/PST045221 Williams, R. (1975). Ebonics: The true language of Black folks. Institute of Black Studies.