{"id":147,"date":"2021-07-23T19:48:26","date_gmt":"2021-07-23T19:48:26","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/pressbooks.ulib.csuohio.edu\/understanding-literacy-in-our-lives\/?post_type=chapter&p=147"},"modified":"2021-08-09T16:06:39","modified_gmt":"2021-08-09T16:06:39","slug":"5-3-2-ebonics-education-a-look-into-communication-and-perception-prospectus","status":"publish","type":"chapter","link":"https:\/\/pressbooks.ulib.csuohio.edu\/understanding-literacy-in-our-lives\/chapter\/5-3-2-ebonics-education-a-look-into-communication-and-perception-prospectus\/","title":{"rendered":"5.3.2 Ebonics Education: A look into communication and perception (prospectus)"},"content":{"raw":"

English 102, November 2019<\/h3>\r\nIntroduction<\/strong>\r\n\r\nMy prospectus will be an examination of a subset dialect, found within American English, Ebonics. This prospectus will include an array of smaller focus\u2019 to aid in the understanding of the three main points presented. The first point focusing on how the dialect plays a role in communication between persons who speak the dialect, as well as those who do not. Secondly, how young Ebonics speaking youth, are affected in everyday explorations such as classroom acquisitions of learning. Lastly, researching the origins of the dialect. I chose these to be my main points because I believe that these are an effective way of understanding the different variations of dialect that are present in the United States of America.\r\n\r\nMy research questions are listed as follows: What are the origins of Ebonics? Is Ebonics, in itself, a\u00a0language? What effect does Ebonics have on groups who are not as familiar with the dialect? How are members who speak Ebonics perceived in the general public? Is the dialect displayed across different ethnicities? I am utilizing these questions to guide my research because I believe that these questions will provide insight into this topic.\r\n\r\nI was not aware that Ebonics was a dialect. I knew that Ebonics was a way that members in my family and community spoke. Finding out that it is a widely researched concept is fascinating to me. I understand that I am not a person who is being studied, however, knowing that something that I have grown up listening to and encoding, gives me the feeling of being a fright-stricken animal, unprepared for scrutiny. My personal goal is to understand what members outside of this community think about Ebonics speakers and the dialect in general. When they hear someone speaking in the dialect, what do they think about them? Do they think that they are uneducated persons that are not that bright? Do they think of their social class and wonder if they came from an urban background? My hope is that the studies, and research that I find help shed light on to these burning questions. One thing is for sure, by the end of the prospectus, I will have my answers, and hopefully, plenty more.\r\n\r\nState of the Question<\/strong>\r\n\r\nAs stated before, this prospectus will be an examination of African American Vernacular; otherwise known as Ebonics. The focus of this prospectus is centered around the question: Is Ebonics a language? This is my guiding question because in several sources that I found while researching the topic for a previous essay, I found that the authors of articles referred to Ebonics as if it is a concept that can\u00a0be untaught to young speakers. These authors recognize that Ebonics is almost always a part of the young African American children\u2019s initially learned language; also known as their primary discourse.\r\n\r\nIn addition to the main question, I will also examine how Ebonics compares to\u00a0Standard\u00a0American English. What sets Ebonics apart from\u00a0Standard\u00a0American English? There are very noticeable differences that persons who do not speak in Ebonics notice when they hear someone speaking in Ebonics; but why is Ebonics so different, that people who do not speak in it, notice the difference? To answer these questions, I will\u00a0look into\u00a0the syntax, grammar, sentence structure, and prefixes and suffixes. After examination, I will compare\u00a0Standard\u00a0American English and Ebonics to each other and ultimately discover an answer to question proposed above. To do this, I will ask a few family members, who speak in Ebonics, to read a few sentences in two different ways. First in their primary discourse, Ebonics, then in their secondary discourse,\u00a0Standard\u00a0American English. My goal is to provide an immediate example of how Ebonics compares to\u00a0Standard\u00a0American English.\r\n\r\nLastly, I want to investigate the perceptions that accompany Ebonics speakers. What do persons who do not speak in Ebonics think of those who do speak in Ebonics? I will utilize tools such as pathos and logos to find answers to this question. I will ask a few family members who speak in Ebonics and see what they think about the way that they talk and how they are perceived to others around them. I believe that they will be able to provide answers to questions that I cannot answer.\r\n\r\n \r\n\r\nAnnotated Bibliography<\/strong>\r\n
    \r\n \t
  1. Brennan, W. (2018, March 12). Julie Washington's Quest to Get Schools to RespectAfrican-American\u00a0English. Retrieved November 4, 2019, from\u00a0https:\/\/www.theatlantic.com\/magazine\/archive\/2018\/04\/the-code-switcher\/554099\/<\/a>.<\/li>\r\n<\/ol>\r\nIn the article, \u201cJulie Washington\u2019s Quest to Get Schools to Respect African-American English\u201d by William Brennan, Washington, who earned her doctorate in speech-pathology, met a young girl who spoke in Ebonics. She recounts how she read the young girl the story \u201cAre\u00a0you\u00a0My Mother?\u201d, and how the little girl recounted the story back to Washington. It was from this encounter that Washington was enlightened to the concept of what she calls \u201ccode-switching\u201d. Code-switching is switching from a primary discourse to a secondary discourse, and vice versa. From this encounter and new knowledge, Washington embarks on a journey of learning about the dialect that is Ebonics, and what steps educators can take to teach these speakers to effectively speak in secondary discourse. Brennan highlights that although the goal is to get youth to speak in more of a secondary discourse at school, they are not trying to entirely eradicate their primary discourses either. Their primary discourse is what makes them unique and gives them their individuality. I am utilizing this source because it provides an anecdote that is a perfect example of Ebonics in use and provides an answer to one of my proposed questions. By using this source, I can also use the term \u201ccode-switching\u201d. Washington explains this concept\u00a0in a way that is clear\u00a0and easy to follow. Code-switching is one of the main things that I am basing my Prospectus from. It is a part of how people who speak in Ebonics take in information, understand, and relay it back when needed. I also enjoyed the way Brennan wrote about Washinton\u2019s experiences and the quest that she and countless others took to figure out what would be the most effective way to have youth keep their primary dialect while also teaching them when it is appropriate to use a secondary dialect.\r\n
      \r\n \t
    1. Cunningham, V. (2019, July 9). The Case for Black English. Retrieved fromhttps:\/\/www.newyorker.com\/magazine\/2017\/05\/15\/the-case-for-black-english<\/a>.<\/li>\r\n<\/ol>\r\nIn this article, published on the New Yorker Website, the author,\u00a0disusses\u00a0Ebonics and what they believe to be one of the best examples of Ebonics. The author uses Bernie Mac\u2019s stand-up comedy and his approach to comedy as an example of Ebonics. My plan is to use this example in conjunction with my other sources, to provide examples of how Ebonics is used, and how it is generally interpreted. These interpretations will be based\u00a0off of\u00a0stresses of syllables, prefixes and suffixes. As well as minor grammatical \u201cerrors\u201d that help speakers denote what tense they are speaking in.\r\n
        \r\n \t
      1. Gee, James Paul. \"What is literacy.\"Negotiating academic literacies: Teaching and learning across languages and cultures<\/em>\u00a0(1998): 51-59.<\/li>\r\n<\/ol>\r\nJames Gee, who is a Mary Lou Fulton Presidential Professor of Literacy at Arizona State University, wrote an article entitled \u201cWhat is Literacy?\u201d; in which he explains what literacy is by employing his knowledge of linguistics. To describe what literacy is, he explains what a discourse is, and what a primary and secondary discourse is. He states that in general, when referring to discourses, he is saying that a discourse is a \u201csocially accepted association among ways of using language, of thinking, and of acting that can be used to identify oneself as a member of a socially meaningful group\u201d (Gee 51). Discourses aid members in certain groups, in finding others that may be a part of their group simply by the way in which they may speak or act. This would be what Gee calls a Primary discourse, which are mannerisms and speech that originate from the home. It is the things that people learn from observation, from when they were children. Secondary discourses are learned outside of one\u2019s group that may better fit social\u00a0Standards. So, regarding literacy, discourses, especially those found in English such as African American English, can be employed to help people from different social groups understand different forms of dialect, and ultimately, how to establish a universal understanding of the secondary discourse, that is mainly taught in schools,\u00a0Standard\u00a0English.\r\n\r\nI am using this article because discourses perfectly explain what Ebonics and\u00a0Standard\u00a0American English is. One is a primary discourse while the other is a secondary discourse. In the prospectus, whenever I refer to Ebonics, I may employ the term Primary discourse or vice versa. I think that discourses are a good way to explain how people who speak in the dialect of Ebonics communicate and which may ultimately affect the way that they take in new information learned in classrooms. If it is not encoded and taught to children at a younger age, then they are more heavily influenced by their primary discourse and therefore use it more than their secondary discourse. Children are using what they see and hear other people understand. Gee\u2019s article changed the way that I thought about Ebonics. Learning about discourses has made me think more critically about language and how there are an infinite\u00a0amount\u00a0of ways to communicate in English. It\u2019s just about learning which dialect fits best with the situation that is presented to you.\r\n\r\n \r\n
          \r\n \t
        1. Harper, F., Braithwaite, K., & LaGrange, R. (1998). Ebonics and Academic Achievement: The Role of the Counselor.The Journal of Negro Education,<\/em>\u00a067<\/em>(1), 25-34. doi:10.2307\/2668237<\/li>\r\n<\/ol>\r\nThe article found in the\u00a0Journal of Negro Education Vol. 67, no. 1<\/em>\u00a0entitled, \u201cEbonics and Academic Achievement: The Role of the Counselor\u201d, written by Fredrick Harper, et al., addresses the different aspects that counselors or educators need to think about when dealing with a student, whose main form of communication, is in the dialect Ebonics. As well as understanding what educators could do to help Ebonics\u2019 speaking students understand how to take their primary discourse of language and apply that knowledge towards\u00a0Standard\u00a0English. The goal in doing so would be to aid these students in understanding\u00a0Standard\u00a0American English. To achieve this task, Harper et. al. stated that their a few important concepts of Ebonics that educators need to effectively grasp, so that when they are teaching an Ebonics\u2019 speaking youth, the teachers aid can be more effective. Harper et. al. discusses the topic of Ebonics in an objective way. They utilize logos, a rhetorical appeals tool, to aid in describing what educators can do to help students. There are little to no biases present in the article that deters the reader or the authors from the main point. The authors are not flashing, in bright bold lights, to the reader that their point is more valuable than anyone else's. By taking an objective stance on the topic, the author is essentially leaving the door wide open for readers and audiences to interpret and take from the article what they need. This source is helpful to me because the authors paved a clear and concise path that links one topic, Ebonics, to another topic, Education. By doing so, I can effectively answer the questions that I am using as a guide in my essay.\r\n\r\n \r\n
            \r\n \t
          1. Murphy, R. S. (1998).Abbin'\u00a0Ain't\u00a0Raw: Ebonics in the Classroom.\u00a0Undergraduate Review<\/em>,\u00a011<\/em>(1), 2.<\/li>\r\n<\/ol>\r\nRebecca S. Murphy, who is an author for the article \u201cAbbin\u2019\u00a0Ain\u2019t\u00a0Raw: Ebonics in the Classroom\u201d, discusses Ebonics speaking youth and how educators should go about acquisition of teaching\u00a0Standard\u00a0American English to them. I plan to use this source to discuss Ebonics speaking youth and education; as well as answer how Ebonics communication and grammar compare to the communication and grammar found in\u00a0Standard\u00a0English. Murphy also briefly touches on the topic of whether Ebonics is a dialect or a language. I think that this is an important question because the answer could be a difference of how educators go about teaching Ebonics speaking youth, how to use and speak\u00a0Standard\u00a0American English. Much like others who\u00a0look into\u00a0Ebonics education, Murphy also highlights the importance of remaining respectful of African American culture.\r\n
              \r\n \t
            1. Palacas, A. (2001). Liberating American Ebonics from Euro-English.College English,<\/em>\u00a063<\/em>(3), 326-352. doi:10.2307\/378997<\/li>\r\n<\/ol>\r\nIn the article, \u201cLiberating American Ebonics from Euro-English\", by Arthur L.\u00a0Palacas, who is an English Professor at the University of Akron, Ebonics is examined.\u00a0Palacas\u00a0investigates what makes Ebonics unique and eventually answering the question: \u201cIs Ebonics a different language from English?\u201d (326). It also addresses other questions related to Ebonics possibly being a language on its own.\u00a0Palacas\u00a0also provides some vies on Ebonics that are found within the general population. He uses these views to guide his research and to show people who do not speak in Ebonics that the dialect (or language) is not much different than the\u00a0Standard\u00a0English that is generally heard and spoken. I am using this source because there is a lot of information that I can use to answer my main question on whether Ebonics is its\u2019 own language.\u00a0Palacas\u00a0explains the information found in his article very well, and I think that it will benefit my argument.\r\n\r\n \r\n
                \r\n \t
              1. Rickford, J. R. (1997, September 17). The Creole Origins of African American Vernacular English: Evidence from copula absence. Retrieved November 3, 2019, from http:\/\/210.45.212.38:8099\/sociolinguistics\/creoles\/The Creole Origins of African American Vernacular English.htm.<\/li>\r\n<\/ol>\r\nIn the article, \u201cThe Creole Origins of African American Vernacular English: Evidence from copula absence\u201d, written by John R. Rickford, African American Vernacular, also known as Ebonics, is examined. Rickford starts of the article by digging into the past of the dialect and finding what could possibly be its true origins. Rickford defines terms such as Pidgin and Creole, to help readers have a better understanding on what Ebonics\u2019 origins are. Without these terms, readers and those studying Ebonics, may not understand what Ebonics is. This article, in conjunction with the article (also written by Rickford), \u201cWhat is Ebonics (African American English)\u201d?\u00a0 will aid me in answering the question \u201cWhat are the origins of Ebonics?\u201d and\u00a0How\u00a0what effect does the dialect have on its users with outside perception?\r\n\r\n \r\n
                  \r\n \t
                1. Rickford, John R. \u201cWhat Is Ebonics (African American English)? .\u201dLinguistic Society of America<\/em>, 2019,\u00a0https:\/\/www.linguisticsociety.org\/content\/what-ebonics-african-american-english<\/a>.<\/li>\r\n<\/ol>\r\nIn the article written by John R. Rickford entitled, \u201cWhat Is Ebonics (African American English)?\u201d, Ebonics is given a definition. Rickford describes it as a blend of phonics that is primarily spoken by African Americans. Its\u2019 origins found primarily from \u201cthe\u00a0nonStandard\u00a0dialects of English indentured servants and other workers with whom African slaves interacted\u201d. With its roots embedded deep within a group, it poses the question how educators who encounter Ebonics speaking youth, should teach a secondary discourse when their primary discourse is heavily embedded within their speech. Rickford\u2019s definition of Ebonics made me think about where the dialect originated from and how it still lives on after so many years. It made me think about questions such as: Is Ebonics a language? What are the Origins of Ebonics? These questions became the starting point for research.\r\n\r\n \r\n
                    \r\n \t
                  1. Ronkin, M., & Karn, H. E. (2002). Mock Ebonics: Linguistic racism in parodies of Ebonics on the Internet.Journal of Sociolinguistics<\/em>,\u00a03<\/em>(3), 360\u2013380.\u00a0doi: 10.1111\/1467-9481.00083<\/li>\r\n<\/ol>\r\nThis study is looking into \u201cracism in parodies of Ebonics (\u2018Mock Ebonics\u2019) that appeared on the internet in the wake of the December 18,\u00a01996\u00a0resolution of the board of Education of the Oakland (California) United School District on improving the English-language skills of African-American students\u201d (360). However, I will be using this source primarily for its explanation of grammar and syntax of African American Vernacular which is found under the section \u201cThe Data and Strategies\u201d with the subtitle \u201cGraphemic representation of phonetic segments\u201d<\/em>\u00a0<\/em>(364). The information found within this section will aid me in comparing the grammar of\u00a0Standard\u00a0American English to Ebonics.\r\n
                      \r\n \t
                    1. Smitherman, G. (1998). \"Dat Teacher Be Hollin at Us\": What Is Ebonics?TESOL Quarterly,<\/em>\u00a032<\/em>(1), 139-143. doi:10.2307\/3587911<\/li>\r\n<\/ol>\r\nThe article highlights personal and nonpersonal examples of Ebonics. She discusses different schools' boards acquisition to teaching Ebonics speaking youth and what things she has encountered first-hand; seeing as she speaks in Ebonics herself. Smitherman begins her article by talking about the relationship she has had with\u00a0Standard\u00a0American English and Ebonics (or United States Ebonics) throughout her life. I plan on using this article to provide some insight about perception of Ebonics as well as how the education system has treated Ebonics speakers. I think that\u00a0Smitherman\u2019s\u00a0article provides great insight into what Ebonics sounds like, and how it differs from\u00a0Standard\u00a0American English.\r\n\r\n ","rendered":"

                      English 102, November 2019<\/h3>\n

                      Introduction<\/strong><\/p>\n

                      My prospectus will be an examination of a subset dialect, found within American English, Ebonics. This prospectus will include an array of smaller focus\u2019 to aid in the understanding of the three main points presented. The first point focusing on how the dialect plays a role in communication between persons who speak the dialect, as well as those who do not. Secondly, how young Ebonics speaking youth, are affected in everyday explorations such as classroom acquisitions of learning. Lastly, researching the origins of the dialect. I chose these to be my main points because I believe that these are an effective way of understanding the different variations of dialect that are present in the United States of America.<\/p>\n

                      My research questions are listed as follows: What are the origins of Ebonics? Is Ebonics, in itself, a\u00a0language? What effect does Ebonics have on groups who are not as familiar with the dialect? How are members who speak Ebonics perceived in the general public? Is the dialect displayed across different ethnicities? I am utilizing these questions to guide my research because I believe that these questions will provide insight into this topic.<\/p>\n

                      I was not aware that Ebonics was a dialect. I knew that Ebonics was a way that members in my family and community spoke. Finding out that it is a widely researched concept is fascinating to me. I understand that I am not a person who is being studied, however, knowing that something that I have grown up listening to and encoding, gives me the feeling of being a fright-stricken animal, unprepared for scrutiny. My personal goal is to understand what members outside of this community think about Ebonics speakers and the dialect in general. When they hear someone speaking in the dialect, what do they think about them? Do they think that they are uneducated persons that are not that bright? Do they think of their social class and wonder if they came from an urban background? My hope is that the studies, and research that I find help shed light on to these burning questions. One thing is for sure, by the end of the prospectus, I will have my answers, and hopefully, plenty more.<\/p>\n

                      State of the Question<\/strong><\/p>\n

                      As stated before, this prospectus will be an examination of African American Vernacular; otherwise known as Ebonics. The focus of this prospectus is centered around the question: Is Ebonics a language? This is my guiding question because in several sources that I found while researching the topic for a previous essay, I found that the authors of articles referred to Ebonics as if it is a concept that can\u00a0be untaught to young speakers. These authors recognize that Ebonics is almost always a part of the young African American children\u2019s initially learned language; also known as their primary discourse.<\/p>\n

                      In addition to the main question, I will also examine how Ebonics compares to\u00a0Standard\u00a0American English. What sets Ebonics apart from\u00a0Standard\u00a0American English? There are very noticeable differences that persons who do not speak in Ebonics notice when they hear someone speaking in Ebonics; but why is Ebonics so different, that people who do not speak in it, notice the difference? To answer these questions, I will\u00a0look into\u00a0the syntax, grammar, sentence structure, and prefixes and suffixes. After examination, I will compare\u00a0Standard\u00a0American English and Ebonics to each other and ultimately discover an answer to question proposed above. To do this, I will ask a few family members, who speak in Ebonics, to read a few sentences in two different ways. First in their primary discourse, Ebonics, then in their secondary discourse,\u00a0Standard\u00a0American English. My goal is to provide an immediate example of how Ebonics compares to\u00a0Standard\u00a0American English.<\/p>\n

                      Lastly, I want to investigate the perceptions that accompany Ebonics speakers. What do persons who do not speak in Ebonics think of those who do speak in Ebonics? I will utilize tools such as pathos and logos to find answers to this question. I will ask a few family members who speak in Ebonics and see what they think about the way that they talk and how they are perceived to others around them. I believe that they will be able to provide answers to questions that I cannot answer.<\/p>\n

                       <\/p>\n

                      Annotated Bibliography<\/strong><\/p>\n

                        \n
                      1. Brennan, W. (2018, March 12). Julie Washington’s Quest to Get Schools to RespectAfrican-American\u00a0English. Retrieved November 4, 2019, from\u00a0https:\/\/www.theatlantic.com\/magazine\/archive\/2018\/04\/the-code-switcher\/554099\/<\/a>.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

                        In the article, \u201cJulie Washington\u2019s Quest to Get Schools to Respect African-American English\u201d by William Brennan, Washington, who earned her doctorate in speech-pathology, met a young girl who spoke in Ebonics. She recounts how she read the young girl the story \u201cAre\u00a0you\u00a0My Mother?\u201d, and how the little girl recounted the story back to Washington. It was from this encounter that Washington was enlightened to the concept of what she calls \u201ccode-switching\u201d. Code-switching is switching from a primary discourse to a secondary discourse, and vice versa. From this encounter and new knowledge, Washington embarks on a journey of learning about the dialect that is Ebonics, and what steps educators can take to teach these speakers to effectively speak in secondary discourse. Brennan highlights that although the goal is to get youth to speak in more of a secondary discourse at school, they are not trying to entirely eradicate their primary discourses either. Their primary discourse is what makes them unique and gives them their individuality. I am utilizing this source because it provides an anecdote that is a perfect example of Ebonics in use and provides an answer to one of my proposed questions. By using this source, I can also use the term \u201ccode-switching\u201d. Washington explains this concept\u00a0in a way that is clear\u00a0and easy to follow. Code-switching is one of the main things that I am basing my Prospectus from. It is a part of how people who speak in Ebonics take in information, understand, and relay it back when needed. I also enjoyed the way Brennan wrote about Washinton\u2019s experiences and the quest that she and countless others took to figure out what would be the most effective way to have youth keep their primary dialect while also teaching them when it is appropriate to use a secondary dialect.<\/p>\n

                          \n
                        1. Cunningham, V. (2019, July 9). The Case for Black English. Retrieved fromhttps:\/\/www.newyorker.com\/magazine\/2017\/05\/15\/the-case-for-black-english<\/a>.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

                          In this article, published on the New Yorker Website, the author,\u00a0disusses\u00a0Ebonics and what they believe to be one of the best examples of Ebonics. The author uses Bernie Mac\u2019s stand-up comedy and his approach to comedy as an example of Ebonics. My plan is to use this example in conjunction with my other sources, to provide examples of how Ebonics is used, and how it is generally interpreted. These interpretations will be based\u00a0off of\u00a0stresses of syllables, prefixes and suffixes. As well as minor grammatical \u201cerrors\u201d that help speakers denote what tense they are speaking in.<\/p>\n

                            \n
                          1. Gee, James Paul. “What is literacy.”Negotiating academic literacies: Teaching and learning across languages and cultures<\/em>\u00a0(1998): 51-59.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

                            James Gee, who is a Mary Lou Fulton Presidential Professor of Literacy at Arizona State University, wrote an article entitled \u201cWhat is Literacy?\u201d; in which he explains what literacy is by employing his knowledge of linguistics. To describe what literacy is, he explains what a discourse is, and what a primary and secondary discourse is. He states that in general, when referring to discourses, he is saying that a discourse is a \u201csocially accepted association among ways of using language, of thinking, and of acting that can be used to identify oneself as a member of a socially meaningful group\u201d (Gee 51). Discourses aid members in certain groups, in finding others that may be a part of their group simply by the way in which they may speak or act. This would be what Gee calls a Primary discourse, which are mannerisms and speech that originate from the home. It is the things that people learn from observation, from when they were children. Secondary discourses are learned outside of one\u2019s group that may better fit social\u00a0Standards. So, regarding literacy, discourses, especially those found in English such as African American English, can be employed to help people from different social groups understand different forms of dialect, and ultimately, how to establish a universal understanding of the secondary discourse, that is mainly taught in schools,\u00a0Standard\u00a0English.<\/p>\n

                            I am using this article because discourses perfectly explain what Ebonics and\u00a0Standard\u00a0American English is. One is a primary discourse while the other is a secondary discourse. In the prospectus, whenever I refer to Ebonics, I may employ the term Primary discourse or vice versa. I think that discourses are a good way to explain how people who speak in the dialect of Ebonics communicate and which may ultimately affect the way that they take in new information learned in classrooms. If it is not encoded and taught to children at a younger age, then they are more heavily influenced by their primary discourse and therefore use it more than their secondary discourse. Children are using what they see and hear other people understand. Gee\u2019s article changed the way that I thought about Ebonics. Learning about discourses has made me think more critically about language and how there are an infinite\u00a0amount\u00a0of ways to communicate in English. It\u2019s just about learning which dialect fits best with the situation that is presented to you.<\/p>\n

                             <\/p>\n

                              \n
                            1. Harper, F., Braithwaite, K., & LaGrange, R. (1998). Ebonics and Academic Achievement: The Role of the Counselor.The Journal of Negro Education,<\/em>\u00a067<\/em>(1), 25-34. doi:10.2307\/2668237<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

                              The article found in the\u00a0Journal of Negro Education Vol. 67, no. 1<\/em>\u00a0entitled, \u201cEbonics and Academic Achievement: The Role of the Counselor\u201d, written by Fredrick Harper, et al., addresses the different aspects that counselors or educators need to think about when dealing with a student, whose main form of communication, is in the dialect Ebonics. As well as understanding what educators could do to help Ebonics\u2019 speaking students understand how to take their primary discourse of language and apply that knowledge towards\u00a0Standard\u00a0English. The goal in doing so would be to aid these students in understanding\u00a0Standard\u00a0American English. To achieve this task, Harper et. al. stated that their a few important concepts of Ebonics that educators need to effectively grasp, so that when they are teaching an Ebonics\u2019 speaking youth, the teachers aid can be more effective. Harper et. al. discusses the topic of Ebonics in an objective way. They utilize logos, a rhetorical appeals tool, to aid in describing what educators can do to help students. There are little to no biases present in the article that deters the reader or the authors from the main point. The authors are not flashing, in bright bold lights, to the reader that their point is more valuable than anyone else’s. By taking an objective stance on the topic, the author is essentially leaving the door wide open for readers and audiences to interpret and take from the article what they need. This source is helpful to me because the authors paved a clear and concise path that links one topic, Ebonics, to another topic, Education. By doing so, I can effectively answer the questions that I am using as a guide in my essay.<\/p>\n

                               <\/p>\n

                                \n
                              1. Murphy, R. S. (1998).Abbin’\u00a0Ain’t\u00a0Raw: Ebonics in the Classroom.\u00a0Undergraduate Review<\/em>,\u00a011<\/em>(1), 2.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

                                Rebecca S. Murphy, who is an author for the article \u201cAbbin\u2019\u00a0Ain\u2019t\u00a0Raw: Ebonics in the Classroom\u201d, discusses Ebonics speaking youth and how educators should go about acquisition of teaching\u00a0Standard\u00a0American English to them. I plan to use this source to discuss Ebonics speaking youth and education; as well as answer how Ebonics communication and grammar compare to the communication and grammar found in\u00a0Standard\u00a0English. Murphy also briefly touches on the topic of whether Ebonics is a dialect or a language. I think that this is an important question because the answer could be a difference of how educators go about teaching Ebonics speaking youth, how to use and speak\u00a0Standard\u00a0American English. Much like others who\u00a0look into\u00a0Ebonics education, Murphy also highlights the importance of remaining respectful of African American culture.<\/p>\n

                                  \n
                                1. Palacas, A. (2001). Liberating American Ebonics from Euro-English.College English,<\/em>\u00a063<\/em>(3), 326-352. doi:10.2307\/378997<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

                                  In the article, \u201cLiberating American Ebonics from Euro-English”, by Arthur L.\u00a0Palacas, who is an English Professor at the University of Akron, Ebonics is examined.\u00a0Palacas\u00a0investigates what makes Ebonics unique and eventually answering the question: \u201cIs Ebonics a different language from English?\u201d (326). It also addresses other questions related to Ebonics possibly being a language on its own.\u00a0Palacas\u00a0also provides some vies on Ebonics that are found within the general population. He uses these views to guide his research and to show people who do not speak in Ebonics that the dialect (or language) is not much different than the\u00a0Standard\u00a0English that is generally heard and spoken. I am using this source because there is a lot of information that I can use to answer my main question on whether Ebonics is its\u2019 own language.\u00a0Palacas\u00a0explains the information found in his article very well, and I think that it will benefit my argument.<\/p>\n

                                   <\/p>\n

                                    \n
                                  1. Rickford, J. R. (1997, September 17). The Creole Origins of African American Vernacular English: Evidence from copula absence. Retrieved November 3, 2019, from http:\/\/210.45.212.38:8099\/sociolinguistics\/creoles\/The Creole Origins of African American Vernacular English.htm.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

                                    In the article, \u201cThe Creole Origins of African American Vernacular English: Evidence from copula absence\u201d, written by John R. Rickford, African American Vernacular, also known as Ebonics, is examined. Rickford starts of the article by digging into the past of the dialect and finding what could possibly be its true origins. Rickford defines terms such as Pidgin and Creole, to help readers have a better understanding on what Ebonics\u2019 origins are. Without these terms, readers and those studying Ebonics, may not understand what Ebonics is. This article, in conjunction with the article (also written by Rickford), \u201cWhat is Ebonics (African American English)\u201d?\u00a0 will aid me in answering the question \u201cWhat are the origins of Ebonics?\u201d and\u00a0How\u00a0what effect does the dialect have on its users with outside perception?<\/p>\n

                                     <\/p>\n

                                      \n
                                    1. Rickford, John R. \u201cWhat Is Ebonics (African American English)? .\u201dLinguistic Society of America<\/em>, 2019,\u00a0https:\/\/www.linguisticsociety.org\/content\/what-ebonics-african-american-english<\/a>.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

                                      In the article written by John R. Rickford entitled, \u201cWhat Is Ebonics (African American English)?\u201d, Ebonics is given a definition. Rickford describes it as a blend of phonics that is primarily spoken by African Americans. Its\u2019 origins found primarily from \u201cthe\u00a0nonStandard\u00a0dialects of English indentured servants and other workers with whom African slaves interacted\u201d. With its roots embedded deep within a group, it poses the question how educators who encounter Ebonics speaking youth, should teach a secondary discourse when their primary discourse is heavily embedded within their speech. Rickford\u2019s definition of Ebonics made me think about where the dialect originated from and how it still lives on after so many years. It made me think about questions such as: Is Ebonics a language? What are the Origins of Ebonics? These questions became the starting point for research.<\/p>\n

                                       <\/p>\n

                                        \n
                                      1. Ronkin, M., & Karn, H. E. (2002). Mock Ebonics: Linguistic racism in parodies of Ebonics on the Internet.Journal of Sociolinguistics<\/em>,\u00a03<\/em>(3), 360\u2013380.\u00a0doi: 10.1111\/1467-9481.00083<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

                                        This study is looking into \u201cracism in parodies of Ebonics (\u2018Mock Ebonics\u2019) that appeared on the internet in the wake of the December 18,\u00a01996\u00a0resolution of the board of Education of the Oakland (California) United School District on improving the English-language skills of African-American students\u201d (360). However, I will be using this source primarily for its explanation of grammar and syntax of African American Vernacular which is found under the section \u201cThe Data and Strategies\u201d with the subtitle \u201cGraphemic representation of phonetic segments\u201d<\/em>\u00a0<\/em>(364). The information found within this section will aid me in comparing the grammar of\u00a0Standard\u00a0American English to Ebonics.<\/p>\n

                                          \n
                                        1. Smitherman, G. (1998). “Dat Teacher Be Hollin at Us”: What Is Ebonics?TESOL Quarterly,<\/em>\u00a032<\/em>(1), 139-143. doi:10.2307\/3587911<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

                                          The article highlights personal and nonpersonal examples of Ebonics. She discusses different schools’ boards acquisition to teaching Ebonics speaking youth and what things she has encountered first-hand; seeing as she speaks in Ebonics herself. Smitherman begins her article by talking about the relationship she has had with\u00a0Standard\u00a0American English and Ebonics (or United States Ebonics) throughout her life. I plan on using this article to provide some insight about perception of Ebonics as well as how the education system has treated Ebonics speakers. I think that\u00a0Smitherman\u2019s\u00a0article provides great insight into what Ebonics sounds like, and how it differs from\u00a0Standard\u00a0American English.<\/p>\n

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