Ebonics Essay -- essays papers

Ebonics Ebonics, which stands for Ebony + Phonics is a new term that Linguistics use to describe Black Dialect or Black English or many of the other names that it has been given for more than 350 years. Ebonics is a "language" that is a combination of "proper English" and a combination of African languages. This combination pattern was formed on how certain words are pronounced such as, this and that, would be pronounced dis and dat in Ebonics. In most Ebonics words with the "Th." sound has an "D" sound. These are just some of the many patterns that were created when Africans were forced to learn the English language. History states that around 1619, during the slave trade, ships collected slaves not just from one nation but from many nations. Some Africans spoke different languages like Ibo, Yoruba and Hausa. They were then separated from each other and had to travel with people whom the could not understand. Captain William Smith (A slave ship owner) wrote, â€Å"There will be no more likelihood of their succeeding in a plot†(lee, 1994,msn). The slaves then had to learn English so that they could have some form of communication with their masters. Their native language and English would be combined and they would speak African-English pidgin. As the slaves began to learn how to communicate with each other, their words would merge into one common word that they could all understand. This is one of the ways that the language became mixed with English. When the African slaves had children they talked to them in African English pidgin. The slaves taught the children both languages so that they could communicate with the slave owners and to other slaves. As each generation went on the Africans began to speak bette... ...tion to generation. Ebonics has improved from the early 1600's to now but some of the improper English still stands today. Bibliography: Fisher, Julene E "Don't Be a Geek; Learn How Black English Has Enriched The Language" The Salt Lake Tribune www.MSN.com Internet (1996) Lee, Felicia R "Lingering Conflict in the Schools: Black Dialect vs. Standard Speech," The New York Times www.MSN.com Internet (1994) Lewis, Brian C. " Black English: Its History and Its Role in the Education Of Our Children" The Three Twelve Group www.MSN.com Internet (1996) North Carolina Discovers, The Origin of Black Folk Music Snow Camp Historical Drama Society (1994) Smitherman, Geneva, "Talkin and Testifyin†: The Language Of Black America. Detroit; Wayne State University (1986) Stoller, Paul ed. Black American English. New York; Dell Publishing (1975) www.MSN.com