EBONICS BLACK ENGLISH
BY LYNN FINNEY
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Formally known as African-American Vernacular English (AAVE), Ebonics is a dialect of American English spoken by urban working-class African-Americans. It’s a dialect that many people don’t know about, and one that doesn’t get much acknowledgment from those who are aware of its presence. This booklet contains details on how Ebonics came to be and insight into why its status as a legitimate form of communication for the African-American community should be respected and accepted.
Ebonics is
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BLACK ENGLISH BLACK SPEECH BLACK CULTURE BLACK EMPHASIS
OLD SCHOOL
Old school – original; foundational
The term Ebonics (a portmanteau of the words “ebony” and “phonics”) was coined in 1973 by a Black social psychologist named Dr. Robert Williams. He created the term essentially out of frustration with White Americans who would always condemn Ebonics whenever they’d correct African-Americans on their English. Williams’ belief was that Ebonics is a true and legitimate language of AfricanAmericans because it is an inherent trait of the Black experience. Its inception stemmed from the fact that Black slaves had to create their own means of communication because they couldn’t initially pick up the English of their masters.
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In 1996, a controversial decision to allow Ebonics to be used in an academic setting was initiated by the Oakland California School Board. They decided to include Ebonics in the curriculum so that it would benefit the AfricanAmerican students’ education. Arguments in favor of the decision claimed that including Ebonics in their studies would help the students perform better when allowed to speak their primary tongue. Ebonics is now known to be the second most spoken English in America, after what’s simply called Standard American English (SAE). Since 2000, linguists have referred to Ebonics as Black English or
African-American English (AAE). According to Dr. Johanna Rubba, Ph.D., professor of linguistics at California Polytechnic State University, there are two major theories regarding the origin of Ebonics. Dialectal Hypothesis This theory states that the creation of Ebonics was due to the social and geographical separation of AfricanAmericans from other speakers of English. This led to a variation of the English language, a new dialect used primarily but not exclusively, in their communities. Creole Hypothesis According to this theory, the roots of Ebonics go back as far as the slave trade. First, a pidgin, or a grammatically simplified language, developed in West Africa when different tribes with different languages began to cohabit the region. These Africans were then captured and placed on slave ships to be sent to the United States. As prisoners from fairly different linguistic backgrounds, their need to communicate resulted in the development of a creole, or a refined and more naturalized pidgin. Another possibility is that Ebonics came from one or more Caribbean creoles. Within Ebonics and Caribbean creoles, both have a tendency to drop “is” and “are.” This would relate back to Ebonics and the slave trade when many Africans were shuttled through the Caribbean before arriving in the United States. Ultimately, it’s difficult to trace when Ebonics actually began when much of its history is oral and that very little, if any, written records of it exist. Many linguists believe, though, that there is some truth to both the dialectal and creole hypotheses.
Brief Timeline of Ebonics
1960s
1970s
1990s
2000s
Nonstandard Negro English was used to describe the dialect, through a large scale research process.
Ebonics is coined at a conference, held in St. Louis in 1973. Linguist Robert Williams was the first to use the term and later co–authored a book exploring the dialect titled Ebonics: The True Language of Black Folks. Curriculum In 1996, a controversial decision was made by the Oakland California School Board to include Ebonics in the school curriculum so that it would better benefit African-American students. Black English or African American English (AAE) is the variant name of Ebonics as referred to by most linguists.
I’M GAME FO SHO
I’m game – one is prepared to commence a task
The use of Ebonics is often described as “talking Black.” It’s distinguishable by its Black sounds, speech rhythms, voice inflections, gestures, and tonal patterns. Its grammar is also a major
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indicator that sets it apart from SAE. Ebonics doesn’t follow grammatical rules of traditional American English, it instead enforces its own.
Here are a couple examples: I ain’t got none. I ain’t singin’ nothin’. I ain’t eat no food. As you can see, Ebonics wraps negators on either side of the verbs. In SAE this would qualify as a double negative. If you judge “I ain’t got none” as standard English, it’s certainly wrong. An interesting aspect of Ebonic grammar is that, in negative statements, every possible negation should be used: I ain’t tell nobody nothin’ ‘bout no food. Standard American English doesn’t have such a system, but it’s easy enough to grasp. The ability to switch from a “home” dialect to Standard American English, or to code-switch, can occur in spoken or written form. Code-switching is defined as “the use of two or more linguistic varieties in the same conversation or interaction.” The switch between Ebonics and SAE represents an adjustment between dialects. A dialect is “a variety of language used by a specific group of people, and is distinguished from other varieties by its grammar, vocabulary, and pronunciation.” African-Americans use Ebonics as a way to comfortably express themselves and to be in sync with their culture, so they ultimately see no real need to abandon their language for the standard form.
Ebonics is in fact a legitimate dialect, as well as a noteworthy topic of discussion amongst people that have varing views on it. The common negative view is that African-Americans who use it are perceived as uneducated. While they are required to conform to the usage of Standard American English, African-Americans should, nevertheless, be allowed to freely express themselves whether through general speech, writing, poetry, or music. If a Black person decides to speak Ebonics in any setting, he or she should receive no persecution. Ebonics is a pivotal characteristic of the Black culture and this reality deserves the most positive light.
LET’S BOUNCE!
Bounce – to exit a location or situation
CHECK YO’ SELF
Check yo’ self – Monitor what you say or what you do
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What’s
happenin’? What’s been going on?!
Y’all be talkin’ crazy. You all are talking nonsense. 12
steady
She be talkin’.
She keeps talking on and on.
Stop
flexin’. There is no need to be a show off.
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I ‘on know what homie be doin’.
I don’t know what my friend is usually doing.
I ast
you to bring it ovah.
I asked you to bring it over here.
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Man, chill. Sir, you should relax.
Can’t nobody think
tha way
Nobody can think the way he does.
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he do.
Ain’t nobody tronna hear all dat.
No one is interesting in your weak argument.
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I’ on know why dey be trippin’. I don’t know why these people are provoked so easily and behave so dramatically. 20
We finna go. We are about to go.
We be havin’
fun.
We are always having fun.
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I’M OUT I’m out – alternative way of saying “goodbye” or that you are fleeing a particular thing or situation.
Written, designed, and photographed by Lynn Finney Typeset in Gills Sans and Anton. Completed in April 2017.
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