[RH]

As an undergraduate I majored in English and wrote a pretty hefty paper on the origins and use of Ebonics by African Americans. I think it is accepted because it is a part of African-American culture and is a means of expression. I think many people are misinformed about the political aspects of the debate surrounding Ebonics. The primary misconception is that African Americans want Ebonics accepted as a primary language in school, or even to be taught. In reality, I believe most advocates of Ebonics want African-American children to not be punished or castigated for using it. That doesn’t mean standard English should be forsaken. It simply means that if a child answers a question using Ebonics, that child should not be embarrassed or punished for speaking non-standard English. Similarly, a student who speaks French as their native tongue is not called stupid by their teacher when they slip in a French phrase during class.

Critics of this approach argue that Ebonics is nothing more than ‘broken English,’ but that is untrue. Ebonics has a uniform structure, and it is easy to tell when someone is speaking incorrect Ebonics. A white person imitating Ebonics might say, ‘I ain’t be got nothin’.’ Any person familiar with Ebonics would know this is ‘incorrect’ (‘I ain’t got nothin’ is correct). The long and short of it is that advocates want this language acknowledged – not taught – for the larger purpose of making black students feel that our culture is legitimate and worthwhile.

User Detail :  

Name : RH, Gender : M, Sexual Orientation : Straight, Race : Black/African American, Religion : Agnostic, Age : 27, City : Syracuse, State : NY, Country : United States, Occupation : Law student, Education level : Over 4 Years of College, Social class : Middle class, 

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