AAE
≠
slang
ungrammatical
street talk
broken English
a language is a dialect with an army and a navy
(Max Weinreich)
> AAE is a non-standard variety of E
Ebonics controversy

1973: first appearance of the term “Ebonics”
“the linguistic and paralinguistic features which on
a concentric continuum represent the
communicative competence of West African,
Caribbean, and United States slave
descendants of African origins”
> Ebonics referred to the ancestral and cultural
roots of African Americans
1996, Oakland School Board's
resolution
> to recognize Ebonics as the "primary language
of African American children"
> to prevent academic failure
the popular media were enraged!
African American educational task force involved
in SEP programs:
the teachers' ignorance and negative attitudes
toward AAE constitute a barrier
Original resolution


“studies demonstrate that African American
students...possess and utilize a language
described as...'Ebonics', or 'Pan-African
Communication Behaviours' or 'African
Language Systems'”
“these studies have also demonstrated that
African Language Systems are genetically
based and not a dialect of English”
> “African Language Systems have origins in
West and Niger-Congo languages and are not
merely dialects of English” (revised resolution)
Yelling from the media!

Students can't be taught in Black English!

Black English is not a 'valid' language!
(A shop-girl needs a better English than a
duchess... G.B.Shaw, Pygmalion)
Humor with racist subtext...
1) 11 rules on how to speak Ebonics
Disregard verb tense in your sentences: “I know it
good shit when she tell me”
2) Ebonics Olympic Games
"100-yard dash chased by police dog"
"Bitch slapping (number of bruises inflicted on
wife or girlfriend)"
More serious commentators

“try getting a job by listing your language as
Ebonics”
LSA on the controversy





AAE= Language spoken at home by the
majority of students (LOTE)
Systematic and rule-governed
There are individual and group benefits to
acknowledging and maintaining vernacular
speech varieties
There are scientific and human advantages to
linguistic diversity
There are benefits in acquiring Standard
English


The Oakland School Board's commitment to
helping students master Standard English is
commendable
Speakers of other varieties can be aided in their
learning of a standard variety by pedagogical
approaches which recognize the legitimacy of
other varieties
Why did a minor decision about language by the
school board of a small Western city create
such an outcry?