Comments:"A mother tongue spoken by millions of Americans still gets no respect"
URL:http://the-magazine.org/12/aint-no-reason
The Oakland, California, school board officially recognized the legitimacy of Ebonics in 1996. Controversy erupted when it issued its decree, but its action was almost entirely misunderstood. No modern linguist embraces the term Ebonics. The more accurate — and less politically charged — label is African American Vernacular English (AAVE).
Linguistics professor Rebecca Wheeler notes, “When the public uses the term Ebonics, it pulls with it all the societal negative connotations — the ridicule, the jokes, the sneering, all of that — so linguists don’t use the term. It’s not a technical term, and we seek to avoid negative associations.”
Oakland wanted to recognize the language’s existence. Others were opposed. The battle still simmers.
Illustration by Shannon Wheeler.
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