Preview

Ebonics Categorizing African-American Language

Good Essays
Open Document
Open Document
173 Words
Grammar
Grammar
Plagiarism
Plagiarism
Writing
Writing
Score
Score
Ebonics Categorizing African-American Language
To be honest I find It a little offensive and discriminatory to categorize the African-American language as being a language of its own. Why not call it informal language instead of categorizing it as African-American language or Ebonics? I do not hear this language coming only from African-Americans, but I also hear it from Latinos. I do not have a problem with teaching children the standard English, but I think that Ebonics is profiling the African-American culture. The teacher’s technique when working on translating Ebonics into standard English is a good way to teach students how to use standard English; however, it should not be categorized as African-American language. It should be categorized as an incorrect use of English. Of course,

You May Also Find These Documents Helpful

  • Good Essays

    In order for the students to be perceived, they knew that White English would need to be used as it established aptitude. So by saying, that this “English” is the only proper English, you are rejecting all others, and all races. I’ve come to an agreement, with Jordan that one accepted form of English rejects the races as well, but it is the norm. To learn and focus on Black English would be denying the students their chances of being taken seriously as it is the only accepted language. Overall, if Black English were to be accepted, it would be the turning…

    • 516 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    James Baldwin, in his essay "If Black English Isn't a Language, Then Tell Me What Is?," wants readers to understand that, even if a language has a different "dialect" from its "common" form, it is still a valid language. The language in dispute here being "Black English". Baldwin presents various arguments to solidify his points. Baldwin touches upon the point how a language "evolves" to form different versions of the same language. He cites the example of how a "Frenchman in Paris" would have an abstruse time comprehending what a man from Marseilles or Quebec is saying.…

    • 196 Words
    • 1 Page
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Good Essays

    In this paper, my main goal is to provide an ‘argument mapping’ of Jane H. Hill’s article ‘Language, Race, and White Public Space.’ Firstly, I will present what I believe to be the articles main argument as well as linking it to the different pieces of evidence provided. I will then explain how these claims are interrelated into a larger argument structure. Throughout my paper, I will define the various terms provided to make her main argument clearer. In my understanding, there are two strong ethnographic facts with four supporting ethnographic facts and two weak ethnographic facts.…

    • 839 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    Barbara Jeanne Fields main point seems to be that race could be non existant in our every day life if we all cooperate to eliminate the term from our culture. She claims, that "race" is just an ideology that we create and re- create as a society. There are passages where fields mentions that "race" is not biological. By this she means that there is no way that race is in our genes, therefore being no way for "race" to be handed down from generation to generation. She claims that we have the key to what social vocabulary we give the power to in the future. (social vocabulary: ideology: "RACE")…

    • 339 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Good Essays

    | Most of the people I know including myself waste so much food. Reading this section of the book made me realize how hard they had it and how hard I was to find food especially if you didn’t have money. I personally feel so ungrateful because I can’t eat fruit if it’s bruised but here are these people eating almost spoiled tomatoes.…

    • 2229 Words
    • 9 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    The rhetorical approach when dealing with the African American Culture the best way is through pathos. This culture should be dealt with through the feelings of emotion so audiences can come to feel and understand the historical past that is so important to African…

    • 312 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    English is the standard language of America. In the essay "Nobody Mean More to Me than You and the Future Life of Willie Jordan" by June Jordan, Jordan proves that Black English represents African American's identity, and how the language should be taught in schools.…

    • 276 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Good Essays

    Tuesdays/Thursdays, 9:40-11:00 a.m. Ernest Everett Just [Biology Building] Auditorium2 Greg Carr, Ph.D., JD, Associate Professor3 Office: Founder’s Library, Room 3194 [202.806.7243 (direct office); gcarr@howard.edu; Twitter: @AfricanaCarr5 Office Hours: Tuesdays, 5-7 p.m.; Thursdays, 5-7 p.m.; Also by Appointment…

    • 8563 Words
    • 35 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    In today’s African American community, many speak and use a different form of “standard” English. Ebonics is a form of English that was established by the early US slaves in search of a reliable means of communication. During slavery, there were laws which mandated that any person caught teaching a slave to read or write could be fined and/or put in jail. This left them to fend for themselves and create their own form of communication. As time has progressed, the Black slag, known as Ebonics, is recognized by many as a less sophisticated form of English. From a linguistics stand point, the use of this slang leads to a negative reflection on the people within the African American culture. And it should be noted, this can be said for any culture within a society’s norms for language. The use of Ebonics merely handicaps the African American society and limits their success and respectability among the educated world due to its negative connotations and…

    • 1307 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Better Essays

    “They call me Rain. I have long forgotten my real name as I was very young when they came into my village and took me. I can’t remember much from my life before being a slave girl, but my masters have told me I am from a small village in West Africa.”…

    • 1608 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    Dr. Williams and a group of Black scholars first coined the terms Ebonics in 1973 when referring to the language spoken by African slaves and their descendants. Ebonics, which is derived from the word ebony, which means black, and phonetics, which means sound, was adopted as the new term for Black English and African-American Vernacular English. Mary Rhodes Hoover states, "Many who condemn Ebonics refer to it as "bad grammar," "lazy pronunciation," or "slang." However, linguist Dell Hymes notes that, viewed sociolinguistically, language is much more than characteristics such as grammar or pronunciation (phonology). In fact Ebonics/African-American Language has a number of other characteristics, including semantics, notation, favored genres,…

    • 4689 Words
    • 19 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Good Essays

    This proposed study will be relevant for a myriad of reasons. This study will examine the consequences of the marginalization of African American and other minority informal elder caregivers within formal eldercare services and healthcare environments and its effects their mental and physical health. Mohr and Purdie-Vaughns (2015) state this behavior is intersectional invisibility. The authors describe this conduct as a failure of some people to fully view individuals that have intersecting identities as members of their groups.…

    • 260 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    2 Live Crew, Decoded

    • 887 Words
    • 4 Pages

    “For centuries, African Americans have been forced to develop coded ways of communicating to protect them from danger.”(Gates 523) In the past, different cultures developed ways to communicate altered just so others who do not recognize the culture wouldn’t understand. In the past African Americans have created things like songs, chants, and even movements to communicate with each other. Slaves used to sing songs and even use moss off of trees to find their way to freedom; they were known for being resourceful and using what they had.…

    • 887 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    African-American Studies

    • 1946 Words
    • 8 Pages

    The aspect of African-American Studies is key to the lives of African-Americans and those involved with the welfare of the race. African-American Studies is the systematic and critical study of the multidimensional aspects of Black thought and practice in their current and historical unfolding (Karenga, 21). African-American Studies exposes students to the experiences of African-American people and others of African descent. It allows the promotion and sharing of the African-American culture. However, the concept of African-American Studies, like many other studies that focus on a specific group, gender, and/or creed, poses problems. Therefore, African-American Studies must overcome the obstacles in order to improve the state of being for African-Americans.…

    • 1946 Words
    • 8 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Good Essays

    Ebonics Debate

    • 1041 Words
    • 5 Pages

    It is clear there are many issues in our school system that must be addressed. However the use of Ebonics, African American Vernacular English, in the English curriculum is not one of the solutions. Using Ebonics as part of our kids’ curriculum is not only unfair to the forty percent of kids who are not African American, but it also does injustice to all the students by not focusing on teaching them Standard English, which is used in higher education and by most employers.…

    • 1041 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Good Essays