A2 Final

Hippler 1 Lisamarie Hippler English 105 Barbara Gill Mayberry 21 October 2008 A False Language “Language reveals the private identity and connects one with, or divorces one from the larger public, or communal identity”. “It is the most vivid and crucial key to identify”. These words from James Baldwin are powerful statements about the importance of language in society, but in the United States were there is a standard English language, do we see this? It is evident to one growing up in the United States during the 21st century that you are surrounded by many different cultures with their rituals, and their languages. It is common for people in everyday life people to express their culture’s traditions and their heritage proudly in the way they dress or speak. Ebonics is one such cultural “language” in use in the United States. When discussing the topic of language, controversy is not usually a word associated with the subject, but not so, when it comes to Ebonics. In particular, some ask, is Ebonics really a language? When the Oakland School Board adopted the resolution on Ebonics to teach African-American students with the use of Ebonics, it recognized Ebonics as a separate language, the children that speak Ebonics as bilingual, with Ebonics being their primary language, and that these children were in a way different from the Euro-American speaking population, Although Ebonics may be in wide use in the Oakland school population, many believe that Ebonics is a “false language”, using it in schools is controversial, political, and it may cause more harm than good when used in teaching.

Hippler 2 Since many Americans use Ebonics, some feel that it should be classified as being its own language. One might argue that Ebonics is slang but “Ebonics is not slang. Slang refers just to a small set of new and usually short-lived words in the vocabulary of a dialect or language”( Rickford 723). Others have shared this opinion, and the notion that Ebonics is not slang, has led to many studies on the subject and whether people of different ethnicities who are not surrounded by this vernacular in their every day life will be able to understand this vernacular. For example, John Rickford conducted an experiment where he asked 25 whites and 25 African-Americans if they understood a sentence in Ebonics. He found that 23 AfricanAmericans understood the sentence and only 8 whites correctly understood the sentence presented to them (Rickford 725). This being said, one can see that not all are capable of understanding Ebonics similar to how it would be in the comprehension of any foreign language. It can be said that by teaching in a language that children are familiar to, it should increase their understanding on the subject and increase their learning abilities, however, it can also be said that “ Although Ebonics may prove valuable in teaching under performing black children Standard English, implementing Ebonics programs probably shouldn’t be confused with bilingualism” (Troutt 721). A language must follow particular grammatical rules, which Ebonics is lacking causing one to think that it is not a language but a dialect people speak and should not be promoted and accepted in the use of school programs among children and youths. Ebonics is “the informal speech of many African-Americans” that live within the United States. It “simplifies consonant clusters at the ends of words and doesn’t use linking verbs like “is” and “are””(Rickford 723, 727). Most do not know whether it is a separate language from English or a subset dialect many call “lazy English,” “bastardized English.” “poor grammar,” and “ fractured slang”(Rickford 723). Although Ebonics has its own format and tenses should it

Hippler 3 be considered a separate language from English? This vernacular did not spring up over night, but arose over time. When African slaves were first brought to the United States they did not speak or understand the English language. Their native tongue came from the Niger-Congo. When slaves started to understand and learn English they incorporated many distinctive features from their African roots. “ As West African slaves acquired English, they restructured it according to the patterns of Niger-Congo languages”(Rickford 727). Although this speech pattern is used mainly by African-Americans, not every person of this race speaks Ebonics. “Some Ebonics features are shared with other vernacular varieties of English, especially Southern white dialects, many of which have been influenced by the heavy concentration of African-Americans in the south”(Rickford 726). Ebonics is not spoken by only one ethnicity, it is also used by many southerners that tend to be from a lower working class, not your typical blue collar middle class citizens. Because Ebonics is popular among the lower classes in the south, when a person speaks Ebonics people often think that person is ignorant and has a low education level. Over the years teachers in the Oakland school district noticed that their AfricanAmerican students who spoke Ebonics at home and were struggling with learning standard English in a timely manner. Due to such a wide and common use of Ebonics in the local area, the Oakland school board purposed that Ebonics was the “primary language” of [their] AfricanAmerican students”(Rickford 723). In December of 1996 the Oakland unified school district of education passed a resolution stating that it was acceptable to teach African-American children Standard English through the use of Ebonics. The teachers’ felt that is was vital to attend to the learning abilities of their student in the hopes that these Ebonics programs would help children learn the state required material. Since it was found that Ebonics was the primary language of

Hippler 4 students, “the Federal Bilingual Education Act mandated that local educational agencies “build their capacities to establish, implement, and sustain programs of instruction for children and youth of limited English proficiency”(Ebonics resolution). Because of this law all Oakland schools began to use programs designed to use Ebonics in the classroom to help students further their education on Standard English. Even though many people speak Ebonics, viewing it as a second language is difficult. If one speaks Ebonics they are most likely still able to understand a person speaking Standard English and vise versa. The accuracy of a person who speaks standard English to completely understand a person speaking Ebonics does not occur as often, but can still be done, therefore Ebonics should not be considered a language, but a dialect developed among a society to express their individuality. For example both Cantonese and Mandarin are dialects derived from the Chinese and are not considered separate languages (Rickford 725). “Most linguists agree that Ebonics is more of a dialect of English than a separate language, because it shares many words and other features with other informal varieties of American English” (Rickford 725). Since English and Ebonics are not separate languages there is no need to teach lessons surrounded by Ebonics in elementary schools. By allowing teachers to teach by means of Ebonics it assures children that there is nothing wrong with the way they speak when “ the problem is that its public acceptance might throw into question claims of ownership to intelligence and belonging” (Troutt 718). Not only is teaching with Ebonics promoting its use among African American students it is also promoting the use of an improper vernacular among the other children who did not previously speak Ebonics. Although this may have been acceptable in previous years, today people want to be taken seriously and professionally, and with promoting the use of Ebonics, “speakers who

Hippler 5 cannot shift to Standard English are less likely to do well in school and on the job front” (Rickford 729). While teachers feel that they are helping students with their education of Standard English they are promoting the use of Ebonics and instead creating more harm for the children’s education in the long run. Treating Ebonics and a second language in school programs cause teachers to lower their standards of grading and the material each student should understand and be able to use in and outside of the classroom. If teachers lower their grading standards when children move on to higher levels of educational classes they are expected to know and be able to use certain material. When the children are unable to perform the tasks of most students it causes the student to be further behind than the others and may affect their learning because they are struggling more than others and become frustrated which would cause their grades to suffer severely. Ebonics, in my opinion, and that of many others, is a “false language”. Using it as a teaching tool may look like a beneficial thing to do, but it the long run, it does more harm that good. In today’s world of globalization, more and more people outside of the United States are turning to English as a standard language for business, and communication and are learning to use it correctly and effectively. In our own country, we should be the most effective in teaching and using it as our own standard language.

Hippler 6 Works Cited “Full Text of ‘Ebonics’ Resolution Adopted By Oakland Board.” Edcucational Cyberplayground. 19 Jan 1997. 12 Oct 2008 . Rickford, John. “Suite for Ebony and Phonics.” Everything’s an Argument.3Ed. Stephanie Carpenter. Bedford/ St. Martin’s, MA: Boston, 2004. 723-729. Troutt, David D. “Defining Who We Are in Society.” Everything’s an Argument.3Ed. Stephanie Carpenter. Bedford/ St. Martin’s, MA: Boston, 2004. 718-722.