Session – CLD09: ‘Bilingualism and Cultural/Linguistic Professionalism in NBASLH’

by Linda Redmond Taylor, M.A., CCC-SLP-L, lindaredtaylor@aol.com

During NBASLH’s 45th Anniversary Convention, this presenter addressed a full house of attendees. However, Her sensitivematerial planned lecture session turned into a rap session, where the attendees lost all inhibitions and engaged in conversations that were uncomfortable, but necessary.

Many questioned the plight of

Blacks, where a lack of an Afrocentric understanding and acceptance of the origin and historical development of the language of Blacks (who are the descendants of enslaved West and Niger-Congo/Bantu Africans in diaspora in America) has, seemingly, resulted in the chaotic failure of Blacks to gain proficiency in the use, reading and writing of English in the classroom. However, many of the attendees appeared to leave the session with a newfound pride/ respect for the “home language” of most American Blacks.

The session’s takeaways included:

1. Empirical evidence shows that English is a German-based language that uses, mainly, Latin and French words, . . .;

2. Empirical evidence shows, further, that most Blacks in America speak a primary language that is not Englishbased, but is African-based, created out of necessity by enslaved West, Niger/Congo and Bantu Africans: They, ingeniously, put the English language’s words/lexicon that they heard “on top of” their African grammar through relexification, . . .;

3. Ebonics was never intended to be propagated as a mere synonym for Black English or African American English, but an antonym; and

4. Black SLPs who speak this Africanbased tongue as a primary language are bilingual, having learned English as a second language; once they, as the professionals they are, recognize/ accept their own cultural/linguistic heritage, they will, in turn, be more willing and able to advocate for the equal service/educational rights of Blacks, as, even the Founding Fathers and Visionaries of NBASLH at its inception sought.

Note: Ebonics (two words combined to make one, Ebony [Black] + phonics [sounds]} is the term that many people call the language of Blacks, thanks to the one who coined the term in 1973, Dr. Robert L. Williams, psychologist. This session was dedicated to his memory. There is, presently, a recognized need to name the language a more acceptable term, one that, still, however, rejects the premise that the English language is its foundation, ‘cause aine no rule-governed way that Ebonics is English’: No time! No place! Nowhere! No WAY!! However, "It's time to make a change, and NBASLH is the organization that [should] do it!"