Ebonics: Language in Black Community Research Paper

The word ‘Ebonics’ is generally used as the language of Africans. It is also considered as a language system which has the characteristic of some speech communities in America. The word literally means ‘black speech’ and it is derived from two distinct words, namely, ‘ebony’ which means black and ‘phonics’ which means sounds. Term ‘Ebonics’ was coined by a group of African scholars, who supported the studies of first African American speech communities in 1973. On a broad level, the word ‘Ebonics’ reveals the language of all people of African ancestry. The members of Black America are known as the Black communities. Actually they are the citizens of Africa and they have reached America as slaves. The emergence of the English language in Black community is the result of a complex developmental history. The widespread verbal intercommunication in early culture of English speaking Negroes led to the formation of a language with identity. The emergence of English among the Black community happened in the time of slavery.

Severe communication problems had affected slave trade. Slaves from various nations spoke different languages and a common acceptable language was essential for communication. The web article entitled Black English: Its History and Its Role in the Education of Our Children gives relevant information about the origin of common language in Black community. The article says: “Africans from different nations spoke different languages and could not communicate with each other, and thus were incapable of uniting to overthrow the ship’s crew.” (Black English: Its History and Its Role in the Education of Our Children). That time the only single language that all black people had in common was English. Gradually the black people in both America and Africa were forced to use English because there was no other way to communicate with the slave masters and other slaves also. The new African-English language became the language of native black people and it was filled by borrowing from various languages for solving vocabulary problems. In short, the English language by black community is a blending of West African languages and English. There are two major theories about the origin of Ebonics. First one is called ‘didactical hypotheses’.

It states Ebonics is a dialect of English which formed the result of social and cultural transformations. Another group of people argue that it evolved out of pidgin languages. Johanna Rubba, Professor of Linguistics in California Polytechnic State University says: “Ebonics evolved out of a pidgin language that developed in West Africa as a result of the slave trade and commercial trade between Africans and Europeans during the 16th-19th centuries.” (Rubba). This argument is known as ‘Creole hypothesis. (Creole means a language originated from pidgin). Deliberate mixing of African language into several tribal languages helps the formation of Ebonics. But Ebonics is considered as part of African American discussion about the social issues such as slavery, abolition, civil rights and Africentricy. The searching of enslaved African Americans for a means of communication and a developed literally scrape, led the emergence of a new language system. Ebonics emerged as the status of a symbol of the Angry Black community during the blood-spattered race riots in 1919. During the end of 1960s Ebonics established a considerable status among the linguists. If the events of American history are analyzed, one can see that the language of African Americans was influenced by the native language of educated white people especially Englishmen.

There are many arguments for and against Ebonics. Ebonics is a marker of ethnic identity and also a symbol of youth culture like rap. Many people think of Ebonics as a broken language. One important issue is that all linguists seem to agree with the fact that Ebonics “is structural and rule-governed”. Working class speakers often see Ebonics as a marker of African American identity as it originated for the African American slaves. There are people who are outraged by the proposal of teaching Ebonics as a second language in school. They claim the teaching of Ebonics will make their students the followers of a defective language and culture. At the same time, there are also supporters on the other side to make it clear that it is not a bad thing. The debate that fuelled on 18, 1996 in Oakland in California that, the Oakland school board declared its 28000 students did not speak Standard English but a distinctive language spoken by American blacks. (Parham). Another argument in favor of Ebonics is that teaching Ebonics in school will be helpful to narrow the gap between teachers and black American students. In order to improve the betterment of the language of the black students, many methods have been implemented. Most of the linguistics believes that it is unnecessary to criticize teaching of Ebonics because; it is not an inferior language. Linguists argue that it should not be attacked. Ebonics has a phonology, grammar and syntax system. It makes discrimination when one language is made inferior to the other.

Should Ebonics be regarded as a language, is a matter of dispute among the linguists for many years. As it is a language of the migrated slaves of America, it has been had a tremendous influence on the Black the people of America and their claim for its official status have the lineage of many years. Studies are going on Ebonics to determine whether Ebonics is treated as a language, and most of the linguists would characterize Ebonics as the dialect of English. “Some (usually strong believers in the Creole hypothesis) claim that, due to its pidgin and Creole origins, it is a separate language. All linguists, however, agree that Ebonics cannot correctly be called ‘bad English’, ‘slang’, ‘street talk’, or any of the other labels that suggest that it is deficient or not a full-fledged linguistic system.” (Rubba). So, it is inferred that there is something that still makes the controversy.

Linguist find out that Ebonics has the grammatical complexity and other features of what is called ‘standard language’, ‘proper English’ or ‘correct English’. In order to identify languages of dialectical variations as well as the similarities, generally linguists depend on the criteria called mutual intelligibility. To make it clear, they bring the example of two persons who speak two different languages. If those two people are capable of recognizing what the other says, the linguists regard them as persons of the same dialectical environment. With respect to Standard English and Ebonics one can easily identify this similarity that strengthens the claim of the Black Americans for Ebonics. Then the pronunciation, grammar, and word stock of these languages are evaluated to identify the similarity. These types of studies are capable of revealing the fact that Russian and Chinese are two different languages though two persons speak them so fluently.

The claim that Ebonics is a language is to be compared with the theory of language or what makes a language. According to Prof. Peter L. Patrick “A language is a coherent system of signs – a grammar of elements and rules – which is used in a regular way for purposes of communication, and also for social symbolic purposes (such as making clear to listeners a speaker’s identity, how they feel about themselves and others, and how they perceive a situation).” (Patrick). He continues to say that Ebonics fulfils most of these propositions and can be regarded as a language with all the features of other languages. The professor substantiates his argument by telling that most of the languages of the world have dialectical variations and Ebonics is the dialectical variation of what is called ‘Standard English’. He identifies that the grammar, lexicon, and pronunciation in both English and Ebonics are almost the same, though there are some differences. Above all, one can see that Ebonics has its own distinctive features and functions.

One of its main features that he finds is that it symbolizes community and cultural values for its speakers that no other dialect of English in the world can convey. (Patrick). Another issue related with Ebonics is whether the people of the other linguistic community use the language. When considering the issue, one has to see the other backgrounds like the funding for the language and the actions of the government to promote the language. After analyzing the different factors with regard to Ebonics, one can understand that Ebonics is a language which has all the features of Standard English and is possible to be included in the dialects of Standard English. Ebonics had its origin from the migrated African slaves of America and was capable of influencing even the American natives. Though there are arguments in favor and against this language, one can assume that sooner or later it may come to the forefront of the languages.

Works Cited

Black English: Its History and Its Role in the Education of Our Children: History and Development of Black English. Yahoo Geocities. 1996. 2 may. 2009. Web.

Parham, Asha. Ebonics: Pro’s and Cons of the Argument. 1997. Web.

Patrick, Peter L. Answer to Some Questions About “Ebonics”: Why “Ebonics” is a Language. 2007. Web.

Patrick, Peter L. Answer to Some Questions About “Ebonics. 2007. Web.

Rubba, Johanna. Ebonics Q& A: Where does it come from?. 1997. Web.

Rubba, Johanna. Ebonics Q& A: Is it ‘Bad English’, ‘slang’, ‘dialect’, ‘Language’, or What?. 1997. Web.