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What is Ebonics? Is it a language or not? Ebonics, referred to as black English, is a language with clearly evident African American roots. It has been found that, when learning English, African-Americans adapted the language using some of the structure and rules of their own native tongue. This Black English has carried on through slavery and then freedom for hundreds of years. Though often incorrectly defined as a language, it really is a nonstandard dialect spoken in many homes in the inner cities of America.
Ebonics is not a separate language, but a slightly different form of another language which is English. Ebonics is vastly different from a real foreign language such as Japanese, Italian, or Russian. Japanese, for example, has a completely different alphabet, sentence structure, words, and sounds than English; while Ebonics basically uses the same alphabet, words and sounds as English. The only difference between Ebonics and English is that some pronunciations of words, spelling, and grammar are Ebonics is a dialect.
People from all over the United States speak the same language, English, but different dialects, compare the New York to the Chicagoan, or compare Southerners way of speaking to Bostonian's. Ultimately, Ebonics speaking individuals can understand English speaking individuals and vice versa. In the United States, many people of different ethnic groups have a language or dialect spoken at home which was passed down through the generations. Ebonics is one of these dialects. The teaching of Ebonics which was intended to reach out to black students, actually holds black youth back. Educators say that others who have perfected standard English will have the competitive edge over Ebonics speaking black students.
In the real world, companies will preferably hire individuals who have mastered the standard language of society. For example, two applicants are equally qualified for a specific job, but one speaks perfect English, while the other speaks Ebonics or any other form of nonstandard English. Who will get the job? The answer is simple. The applicant who speaks perfect English will be hired because the person's means of communication is much more valued and effective in American society. Ebonics, if needed, just as a teaching tool to help instruct the student in standard English.
First, the teacher must realize that a student's dialect does not suggest anything profound about his or her intellect, and also given the proper motivation, anyone has the ability to alter or add to a dialect without a considerable amount of effort. If Ebonics can be used effectively in helping a child learn standard English easier and faster then it should be used. But, if Ebonics only hinders the process of learning standard English, then it should be put aside and more effective means should be applied. Modern technology has eradicated many of our regional and local dialects. People move around more, which makes for a blending of accents and vocabularies. Television, radio and the movies have all done their part to equalize the language.
As a consequence, we have lost dialects that will never return, such as the way English was spoken around the turn of the century. But despite centuries of active effort, Ebonics has not faded away, and it does not appear likely that it will. Bibliography:
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Research essay sample on Standard English Black English
