[Amber]

Did it offend you when “Ebonics” was presented to schools as a class for African-American students?

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Name : Amber, Gender : F, Sexual Orientation : Straight, Race : White/Caucasian, Age : 16, City : California City, State : CA, Country : United States, Occupation : High school student, Education level : Less than High School Diploma, Social class : Middle class, 

[Tony]

I DO NO THINK THAT BLACK PEOPLE WHO DO NOT TAKE THE OPPORTUNITY TO LEARN PROPER ENGLISH, SHOULD BE EXCUSED BY TRYING TO USE THE ANSWER OF SPEAKING EBONICS. IT IS A JOKE, AND AN EXCUSE FOR BLACK CHILDREN TO CONTINUE TO LEARN AND USE BROKEN ENGLISH. EBONICS IS SLANG, AND SHOULD STAY A SLANG LANGUAGE. ANYTIME YOU SPEND 12 YEARS LEARNING HOW TO DO ANYTHING, YOU SHOULD BE or BECOME GOOD AT IT. SO THERE IS NO EXCUSE FOR ANYONE TO SPEND 12 YEARS IN SCHOOL, AND CAN’T SPEAK ENGLISH PROPERLY. THERE IS NO EXCUSE!! EVEN IF YOU SAY ENGLISH IS NOT YOUR NATURAL LANGUAGE, THEN LEARN YOUR NATURAL LANGUAGE, AND SPEAK IT WELL. THERE ARE PEOPLE WHO ARE ONLY SECOND GENERATION AMERICANS, AND THEIR PARENTS SPEAK BROKEN ENGLISH, YET THEIR KIDS SPEAK ENGLISH BETTER THAN BLACK FOLKS WHO HAVE BEEN IN AMERICA FOR OVER 100 YEARS. ENGLISH IS THE ONE LANGUAGE THE WORLD LEARNS TO SPEAK AS A SECOND LANGUAGE. AS AN AMERICAN IT SHOULD BE LEARNED AS OUR FIRST LANGUAGE….NOT EBONICS or SLANG. SLANG IS A USES OF ENGLISH THAT UNITE A COMMON GROUP BY THE USE OF IT, WHICH IS USUALLY A WAY TO BE COOL, HIP, and WITH IT…(SLANG MEANING). THE FIRST WAY A PERSON CAN GATHER A FIRST IMPRESSION OF YOU IS YOUR ABILITY TO SPEAK. A PERSON WHO CAN SPEAK WELL IS CONCLUDED TO BE INTELLIGENT, EDUCATED, AND CAN VERBALLY EXPRESS THEMSELVES. GOOD VERBAL SKILL WILL PUT YOU AHEAD IN THE JOB MARKET, AND IS THE KEY TO A LOT OF THINGS IN LIFE. PEOLE WHO SPEAK PROPER ENGLISH, ARE USUALLY TRUSTED MORE, ESPECIALLY IN BUSINESS. BLACK PEOPLE HAVE TO LEARN THAT GOOD VERBAL SKILLS, and SPEAKING PROPER ENGLISH, IS NOT A SIGN OF SELLING OUT, TURNING WHITE, or BEING AN UNCLE TOM. SPEAKING PROPER ENGLISH IS A PLUS, NOT A MINUS …. AND EBONICS IS AN INSULT, TO ALL BLACK FOLKS, FOR IT IS SAYING YOU ARE NOT INTELLIGENT ENOUGH TO LEARN PROPER ENGLISH. EBONICS IS JUST A BUNCH OF, ‘ CRAP.’ tonyfromroselawn3@zoomtown.com CINCINNATI, OHIO U.S.A.

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Name : Tony, Gender : M, Sexual Orientation : Straight, Race : Black/African American, Religion : Baptist, Age : 45, City : CINCINNATI, State : OH, Country : United States, Occupation : MANUF 'G, Education level : 4 Years of College, Social class : Upper middle class, 

[Nancy]

I think some clarification of Ebonics is necessary – since the media created a real frenzy around the issue. The Oakland School System used the argument that black speech could be considered a foreign language in order to get federal money set aside for teaching English as a second-language. The program, as I understand it, was taught to teachers, not students, as a way for them to better understand their students and help them transition to ‘standard’ English.

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Name : Nancy, Gender : F, Sexual Orientation : Straight, Race : White/Caucasian, Age : 32, City : Berkeley, State : CA, Country : United States, Education level : Over 4 Years of College, Social class : Middle class, 

[Bonnie23136]

I am amazed that people use ‘Ebonics’ to label the language supposedly used by African Americans. What language were they using before this term became in vogue in Oakland, CA? Black English has been around since people of African descent, especially in the South, have been in this country trying to use the language of the dominant culture. Keep in mind that Africans spoke their native languages upon their arrivals and had to learn English as adults. What they heard spoken by many whites wasn’t exactly the King’s English or standard English. Therefore, the mixture of the language included rules of the natives’ language meshed with their understanding of the rules of the dominant culture’s language. Interestingly enough, the mixing persisted among Africans in the South and has followed them down through the years. What we have now is a modern form of that pidgin – mixed language – that has been studied by researchers for years. Black English, a.k.a. Ebonics, is not new. I should add that not only African Americans speak ‘Ebonics.’ Listen to any speaker whose native language is something other than standard English. They speak a form of a mixed language, too. Ever heard of Spanglish? I was not offended when the Oakland schools came up with the term ‘Ebonics.’ I was rather amused at the thought, and a naive one I’d say, that people could create a language by creating a term. Does that elevate it to official status now? I think not. And for the record, ‘Ebonics’ was never presented in the classrooms.

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Name : Bonnie23136, Gender : F, City : Indianapolis, State : IN, Country : United States, 

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