An Analysis Of Media Coverage Of Ebonics: Incorporating Black English I

IntroductionThe flip over on Ebonics has virtually left the media spotlight. The proposal by the Oakland School regulate in early 1997 to use Ebonics to help African-American children learn precedent English met with much opposition. Few people supported the Oakland resolution which, O.K. by the Linguistic Society of America, acknowledged Ebonics as a wrangle variety complete with its own syntax, structure, and rules of grammar. The media triggered a dialogue among Americans about the nicety of Ebonics in the classroom. Are you for or against Ebonics? was a common question umpteen Americans pondered at work, at restaurant lunch counters, and in classrooms across the country. The discipline divided Americans, not so much along racial lines, scarce along lines of understanding. Many people were unclear about the history of Ebonics, the premise and contentions of the Oakland School Districts proposal, and the implications of educators beginning to appreciate Ebonics as a disti nct lyric variety. Thus, part of this paper will explore further the educational implications of employ Ebonics to improve the literacy of black students. This will be preceded by an analysis of how the impertinently York Times and Los Angeles Times covered the Ebonics issue, and how each (to some extent) helped to legitimize and tolerate negative attitudes toward Ebonics. The Meaning of EbonicsThe term Ebonicswas first coined in January, 1973 by Dr. Robert Williams, a professor of Psychology at Washington University. The term, which is a compound of ebonies and phonics(black sounds) refers to the verbiage of West African, Cameroonian, and U.S. slave descendants of Niger-Congo origins. Some linguists disagree about whether Ebonics, or Black English ... ...tions in English What Role for Education?(Opinion/ locate Paper, 1991). ED 347796. McWhorter, John. Wasting Energy on An Illusion. The Black student 27 (1997) 2-5. Oneil, W. If Ebonics Isnt a Language, Then Tell Me, What Is? Rethinking Schools 12.1 (1997) 10-11. Original Oakland Resolution on Ebonics( http//linguistlist.org/topics/Ebonics/Ebonics=res1.html). Secret, Carrie. Interview. Rethinking Schools. sink 1997 18-19, 34. Smith, E. What Is Black English? What Is Ebonics? Rethinking Schools 12.1 (1997) 14-15. Taylor, Hanni. Ambivalence Toward Black English Some tentative Solutions. The Writing Instructor Spring (1991) 121-135. Williams, Patricia. The Hidden Meanings of Black English. The Black Scholar 27 (1997) 7-8. Winters, Clyde A. Non-Standard English and Reading(Opinion/Position Paper, 1993). ED 358438.