| Author |
Message |
    
Tonya
"Cyniquian" Level Poster
Username: Tonya
Post Number: 281
Registered: 07-2006
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Friday, August 11, 2006 - 08:41 pm: | 
|
Ebonics Advocated in ‘The Land of Fruits and Nuts’
by Jeff Adams
Here’s the latest indicator that the ‘60s were really good to Californians: The San Bernardino Board of Education has established a pilot policy to promote and teach Ebonics to students. For those who don’t know what Ebonics is, it is the term liberals have tacked on what most folks would refer to as ‘Black English,’ or the slang that some blacks use. Interestingly, it is a manner of speaking mostly used by blacks in lower economic ranges, which raises the question of whether this is truly a ‘black thing’ or simply a manner of speaking tied to educational/economic factors. While I thought this whole Ebonics thing had gone to the wayside back in the late 1990s when Oakland, California proved the promotion of Ebonics was a bust, this latest effort is evidence that dumb ideas don’t die when liberal get hold of them.
Now, understand I don’t have a problem with various dialects of the English language. Hey, as a Southerner I know full well we have our own way of talking that often baffles Yankees and other outsiders. Naturally this brings up the question: How come it’s okay to slam ‘Southern English,’ and Southerners find themselves pressured to erase their Southern accents and ways of phrasing things, and yet ‘Black slang’ is promoted by the ‘tolerance and diversity crowd’ on the Left-Coast?
Let’s skip for a moment the hypocrisy of attacking the Southern language while promoting ‘Black English,’ and look at the idiocy of the arguments put forth for promoting Ebonics. A sociology professor at Cal State San Bernardino has been quoted as saying, “Ebonics is a different language; it’s not slang as many believe. For many students Ebonics is their language, and it should be considered a foreign language.”
Huh? Two problems I have with this view. First, what these black folks are speaking is still English, so it isn’t ‘foreign’ based on that fact alone. Second, whatever you want to call it, slang, a dialect, etc., it was ‘formed’ here in America, so again it isn’t ‘foreign.’ In addition, I remember when I played football in college that most of the black guys on the team spoke in this ‘Black English’ fashion in the dorm. However, in class or at our FCA (Fellowship of Christian Athletes) meetings their English was quite good. It was a chosen form of speaking among themselves. I imagine the same is true for the blacks out in California, and most black kids speaking this way aren’t necessarily ‘trapped’ in this ‘language.’
The program being established will provide training for teachers on black culture and customs. Does this mean the black teachers are exempt from this training, or do the education elites arrogantly (and condescendingly) believe that because they have college educations they are too removed from their own ‘black culture’ and therefore need to be reintroduced to it? If I were a black educator, I’d be insulted if they said I had to go through this kind of ‘training.’ The curriculum will include material on the historical, cultural and social impact of blacks on our society. Well, I hope it will include information on people like George Washington Carver, Frederick Douglas, Booker T. Washington and Martin Luther King, Jr. However these famous black men might cause some problems for the advocates of Ebonics. I’ve seen film of MLK Jr., and he was no speaker of Ebonics, and I doubt any of the other men I’ve listed would have embraced promoting Ebonics as the way to grow up speaking. Is this program really about helping these black youth or about holding them down under the guise of helping them?
What is amusingly ironic is I can remember back in the 1980s and 1990s people criticizing how Mark Twain had presented the speaking of blacks in his books ‘The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn’ and ‘The Adventures Tom Sawyer.’ In addition, there has always been lots of criticism of the old ‘Amos and Andy’ radio and TV shows because they ‘stereotyped’ blacks in how they spoke. The negative attitude towards the Amos and Andy characters is to the point it’s as hard to find a copy of those old ‘Amos and Andy’ shows as it is to get a copy of Disney’s movie ‘Song of the South’ (which by the way I have two copies of). Now we have the educational establishment in California promoting speaking like Amos and Andy. What’s up with that?
If this ultimately boils down to the tired old ‘self-esteem’ stuff again, the best way to build self-esteem is to truly challenge students academically. Give them a good foundation in reading, writing, arithmetic and sound history, and let them go out and tackle the world. Nothing builds self-esteem like taking on a challenge, wrestling with it, and succeeding. Keeping someone in their comfort zone ensures mediocrity, not positive self-esteem.
I don’t care if folks hold on to their local dialects, as I have no desire to willingly give up my Southern accent or way of speaking. However, I oppose institutionalizing ‘Black slang’ as a formalized way of speaking that is taught in the classroom. If this is to be done, then schools in the South better start rewriting the textbooks to promote ‘Southern English.’ If the educational establishment rejects teaching Southern English, or at least being tolerant of it, than it should reject any argument that advocates the promotion of Ebonics. Just teach Standard English and let each region hold onto their unique dialects as they please.
The opinions expressed in this column represent those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the opinions, views, or philosophy of TheRealityCheck.org, Inc.
http://www.therealitycheck.org/GuestColumnist/jadams072205.htm
___________
Jeez! Can somebody tell this ignoramus that Ebonics is not Slang!? |
Semperfemme
Veteran Poster
Username: Semperfemme
Post Number: 61
Registered: 07-2006
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Friday, August 11, 2006 - 11:43 pm: |
|
Next thing you know they'll be teaching "Intelligent Design" in science classrooms...
My face is kind of scrunched up because I don't understand the point of this class. I'm trying to see the other side, the logic, but I just can't. It won't be on the SAT, it won't prepare the child for college or even give them a leg up in the corporate or academic fields of the future.
I don't think it should be a requirement. I think maybe a college prep class, a money management class, or a civics class that actually turns children into informed citizens with inquisitive minds would be a wise investment of tax dollars.
I would however approve of it as an elective course at a community college. But if they have an Ebonics class at all, they should couple it with a journey into Engrish and Spanglish.
Irish and Scottish people are prone to butchering sentence structure and pronunciation. I'm all for an adventure into this branch of linguistics, but they can't single out Ebonics like it's the only "lilting poetry" of American grammar.
|
Abm
"Cyniquian" Level Poster
Username: Abm
Post Number: 5937
Registered: 04-2004
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Saturday, August 12, 2006 - 08:48 am: |
|
Tonya,
I'm probably as suspicious of the virtues of including Ebonic within an academic curriculum as most, I suppose. But if the traditional teaching methodology is not working, why not, on a limited and temporarily, try to see whether Ebonic can help? |
Chrishayden
"Cyniquian" Level Poster
Username: Chrishayden
Post Number: 2555
Registered: 03-2004
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Saturday, August 12, 2006 - 10:20 am: |
|
This is probably another damn lie by these eggsuckers.
Think--
Black kids don't need to learn ebonics. They know them.
The classes were to education majors and college kids and teachers who were going to teach in inner city neighborhoods so that they would know what the kids were saying
This is what was objected to. White people don't feel they need to cater to nobody black.
They will, however learn Bosnian so they can talk to the Bosnian immigrants. Jeff Adams is a liar and a racist. They need to castrate Jeff Adams so he can't pass his diseased genes down to further generations. |
Abm
"Cyniquian" Level Poster
Username: Abm
Post Number: 5950
Registered: 04-2004
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Saturday, August 12, 2006 - 10:28 am: |
|
Chris,
If most of us will agree the kids are not learning as much as they should, what right does ANYONE have to wholly discard alternative pedagogical methods, including Ebonics training?
It's like foks are more interested in asserting some faulty, egotistical viewpoint than they are in teaching the kids. |
Chrishayden
"Cyniquian" Level Poster
Username: Chrishayden
Post Number: 2557
Registered: 03-2004
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Saturday, August 12, 2006 - 11:19 am: |
|
All I can see is that it is an ego thang.
Even I was against this until I learned the truth.
Hey--the damn kids already KNOW Ebonics. What would they need to learn them for?
White Supremecy is alive and well in the heart of Oceania. |
Cynique
"Cyniquian" Level Poster
Username: Cynique
Post Number: 4905
Registered: 01-2004
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Saturday, August 12, 2006 - 02:05 pm: |
|
I'll take a pass on using a Ebonics as a teaching tool, but considering that the education of black children is in a crisis mode, one drastic approach would be to encapsulate the educational process into a video game format. Like Rap music, these games rivet the attention of children and imprint subliminal messages on their brains. In the year 2006, it is a sad but true commentary that the minds of "left behind" children could benefit from being programmed to learn what once could be imparted through text books and dedicated teachers in a controlled class room setting. But nowadays it doesn't seem so far fetched to imagine a learning lab where children sit in front of monitors enthusiastically engaged in the exercise of trying to score the points necesssary to defeat the menace of ignorance. |
Tonya
"Cyniquian" Level Poster
Username: Tonya
Post Number: 312
Registered: 07-2006
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Sunday, August 13, 2006 - 11:02 pm: |
|
American 'Black English' — What It Is, What It Isn't
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
http://www.uta.fi/FAST/US1/REF/blackeng.html
Black English (AAVE, BE, BEV, or 'Ebonics') is generally recognized as a distinct sub-language with its own grammatical structure, based on West African grammatical patterns with superimposed English vocabulary (thus forming a "pidgin"). Black English is derived from the Black American cultural experience; it is a social dialect which reflects the particular history of Black America.
Black English is not a 'corrupted form' of SAE; while like any language it is continually evolving, it has standard syntactic rules.
Black English is not spoken by all Blacks, or at least not by all Blacks all the time (cf. "code-switching" between BE and standard, "educated" English).
Certain features of BE may be employed, at least in part, also by non-Blacks, as words, phrases and forms of speech cross over into SAE, or white rappers such as Eminem expand traditionally 'black' art forms into a more general audience.
BE is basically Southern regional in stereotype (cf. map), but not regionally confined (cf. northern urban variants), nor confined to Blacks-only within the South (cf. Southern white use).
BE differs between rural and urban locations, according to the need for vocabulary, environmental references, and pressure of social contacts.
BE often functions as an "in-group lingo" to denote group solidarity (cf. American Tongues and suburban black father), or "fool Whitey." Even where it is not the intention, BE often cannot be easily understood by SAE speakers (see Lexical Differences Between BE and SAE).
BE tends to be highly figurative, metaphorical, and rhythmic, reflecting the Black American oral cultural tradition. It differs substantially from the speech patterns of SAE (see How Black and White Styles of Communication Differ [PPT]), and misunderstanding or even conflict can emerge as a consequence of this difference.
BE is increasingly being encountered in literature, televised and filmed drama, etc., as 'authentic' speech of Black American history (see examples of Black English in American literature by Alice Walker, James Baldwin and Gloria Naylor).
Urban variants of BE, which have their own distinctive jargons (highly male-oriented, dismissive of females, concerned about violence, crime and poverty, etc.) are also prominent in contemporary rap music (cf. Ice Cube's How to Survive in South-Central L.A.).
Purpose of Our Handling
Recognition of certain features as "Black" and not merely "substandard," while recognizing that some aspects of BE have been absorbed by SAE.
Recognition of two commonly-employed stereotypes:
poor economic class, often rural, mostly Southern;
or, quite the opposite, to indicate "Black cultural pride," in which case the stereotype is usually urban rather than rural, northern rather than southern, and not "poor" or even "uneducated."
Recognition of "loaded" terms and cultural sensitivities of Black Americans to certain terms, idioms or expressions — cf. WHAS television news clip on the 'N-word' (Louisville, Kentucky)
Recognition of the distinctive discourse style of BE compared with SAE, and how this can be problematic for intercultural communication between those who are not aware of the speech style of the 'other'.
Recognition of the different ethnic stereotyping of BE speakers compared to the ethnic German, Spanish, or Yiddish influences, for example.
Black vs White Cultural History in the U.S.
Basic pattern: Whites as masters, bosses, superiors; blacks as slaves, servants...
conformity, or at least apparent conformity, necessary in early years for survival;
"blackness" de-emphasized during this period if possible; straightened hair, "yellow" skin favored, Minstrel shows, coding of spiritual-singing, etc.
Black Equality movement in late 1950s, 1960s. With "survival" assured, "Blackness" is now emphasized for cultural and political identity: Afro hairdos, dashikis, also more open usage of "Black English...."
The 'Ebonics' controversy from 1996 onwards, and general white skepticism toward BE (see Howard Stern's 'Ebonics' Interview [MP3] with D.H. Hughley and 'Delta Airlines ad' [MP3]).
Certain aspects of BE now increasingly being adopted by corporate American for advertising purposes, or reflected in white 'hip' speech (cf. "Who's Your Daddy" in Six Feet Under and after a Notre Dame-Boston College football game). See also Budweiser "Wassup" Commercial [MOV] and 'Senior' followup [MPG], plus 'Axing' A Few Questions About Black Vernacular).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Black/White Racial Reference Terms ("loaded," pejorative, satirized...)
Negroid, Negro, "nigger," colored, Black, Afro-American, African-American, 'people of color'
'coons, spades, jungle bunnies, Mau-maus, booglies, Rastus & Liza, watermelon-eaters ..
Sensitivity even to 'false cognates' such as 'niggardly', etc.
Examples of Terms for Blacks, Used Only by Blacks
blood, boot, member
Oreo, color-struck
Tom. Uncle Tom, Uncle Thomas. Dr. Thomas. Aunt Thomasina (Uncle Tom's Cabin)
Sam (Little Black Sambo)
Examples of Black terms for Whites
Charley, "the Man"
honky, whitey
white devil, cracker, peckerwood
Examples of Terms Blacks Find Offensive; often used by whites in past
"boy" (cf. Dodge Challenger ad with Southern 'Sheriff'), "gal"
you people, you folks...
you're as good as we are ....
plus white use of first names to address unfamiliar black people
Terms Referring to Food and Drink
brew, pluck, "Q" (barbeque, "ribs" only...)
chitlins (chitterlings), greens...
grits (generically for "food," as well as "hominy grits")
Terms Referring to Clothes and Dress
rags, glad rags ("Glad Rag Doll"...)
threads (cf "threadbare")
clean (dressed up)
strides, kicks (shoes in general)
Church Terms
Amen corner, show some sign, bear witness
'dead' (non-responsive people in church services:
"Dem sho 'nuff sum de'd folks ober at dat dere church ...")
General Terms
that's all she wrote
what's your bag
down home (We goin' down home next year)
like to (almost do something) "Momma like to drop the baby..."
shuckin' and jivin', to jive someone, "jive talk," to "psych out" someone
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Top — US-1 References Index — US-1 Class Schedule — US-1 Home
Last Updated 25 April 2006 |
|
Email This Page