I'm sure this has been done already, however, not long ago, I heard a rather plump, white girl in the halls of my school ask some boy, "Who be you?" It was perhaps the most annoying thing I'd ever heard in my life! I've heard many people use "ebonics" like this...

Is speaking"ebonics" a sure sign of illiteracy, or is it a legitimate language?

Though I tend to find ebonics somewhat annoying - when spoken by Kentucky hicks, anyhow...I have noticed dictionary.com mentions it as a language. Your opinions?
[This message was edited Mon Oct 14 15:37:26 PDT 2002 by BattierBeMyDaddy]

Edited for BBMD's sake
[This message was edited Mon Oct 14 15:29:57 PDT 2002 by Natsume]

I am not a fan of "ebonics" in any way, shape, form or fashion. I do not agree that it is a language at all, although some linguists might say that it is, due to its being used by a subsection of society.

Since there are no real rules and new words are constantly added, I believe that it is nothing more than illiteracy and slang usage.

In short, ebonics bothers me.

it is not a language, it is a DIALECT

This is not really ebonics but it is a word and it bugs the hell out of me. When I was a waitress I would hate it when people would come in and ask if they could have a boof...what the hell is a boof...I think they mean booth. I would ask them so you want a booth, and they would reply yes we would like a boof. ARGH it grates on my nerves. Worse then when people say worsh instead of the correct word wash. People sure know who to fuck up the english language.

There is slang, but being an idiot is not an excuse. Bad english won't get one anywhere in life. I mean, look at me, for example.

Well we all have accents and dialects depending on where we come from. I used to have a very strong Dublin accent that I doubt any of you here could understand, but years of university, travelling and working abroad (as well as dating foreign women, haha) knocked it outta me and I speak pretty generic English nowadays.

Ebonics, like other slangs and colloquialisms, shouldn't be encouraged. Kids will go a lot further if they are taught to speak English correctly.

Ian

yes we would like to have a boof by a window.

go and do your worsh.

come here I gotta axe you somethin.

MostBeautifulGrlNTheWorld said:

The worsh thing is totally southern! Try hearing it every day! "Worsh them thur dishez!" "Worsh them thur 'maters off afore yew cewk 'em!"

lets go down to that there crick and hunt us some some fish for dinner.

Crikey, what's that lingo you sheilas are talkin'?

feltbluish said:

Correct -- it is a dialect. Question for those of you who feel offended by Ebonics do you also feel the same about a southern drawl? Why is one diversion of the English language accepted and another not? Is it because it's source is a Black urban thang? Is it because you just don't understand it? Well the so-call southern accent originated from African slaves, but since white people adopted it, it's an acceptable form of speech. I hate hypocrites. Hypocrites are cowards hiding behind the norm. But your hypocrisy is ugly. You love our music, but hate our speech. Why? Both originate from the same culture.

SweeTea said:

A "southern drawl" is an accent, not a completely improper use of the language, whereas "ebonics" is a total and complete bastardization of the English language.

I am just as "offended" when I hear anyone bastardize the English language, but there is no greater and more rampant bastardization of the language than the travesty known as "ebonics."

SweeTea said:

I live smack dab in Deliverance, KY. Well, so that's not the name of the town, but it might as well be, and I hate the southern dialect, and am annoyed by it more than any ebonics could ever manage. I have done everything in my power not to adopt the dialect of the southern US.

Nor is ebonics just a "black urban thang" it's an everywhere "thang" and plenty of white people do it too. That is completely irrelevant.

Oh, and uhh, by the way, SweetTea, you might want to research the roots of southern dialect.

A recent article was ran in the Lexington Herald, and I've done some extensive looking around on the internet, I could give you references, of course...They will all tell you the southern dialect originates from Europe...Primarily from the Scottish.

IceNine said:

That's bulls___ and you know it. You're playing on words. There is no difference.

BattierBeMyDaddy said:

LOL If you believe that than so be it. That's your choice. It was written that the world was flat and many books published that fact and people believed that nonsense also.

you know, now that I think about it I was talking to someone at the grocery store a couple of days after I moved to chicago. He told me that he could tell I was from Indiana cause I had an indiana accent. I did not know if I should be offended or what. I wanted to tell him he was stupid cause he had it too, it is called a midwest accent.

SweeTea said:

There ABSOLUTELY is a difference and you know it.

Pronouncing words with an accent is completely different than speaking completely improper English.

Since when does an accent involve INVENTING words and completely mis-using existing words? British people have accents, but they speak proper English, etc.

So, your assertion that an accent is EXACTLY the same thing as speaking a bastard dialect is grossly inacurrate and is not based in any form of intelligent research or fact.

MostBeautifulGrlNTheWorld said:

BUT... in the words of SweeTea, you obviously are NOT speaking proper English because you have a noticeable accent!

:LOL:

Is that, or is that not, the biggest pile of horseshit you have ever heard???

SweeTea said:

If you want to overlook fact, that's YOUR problem, SweetTea. Go on a search. Search for "Roots of Southern dialect" and "Appalachian dialect." You might surprise yourself. Never have I found a place to tell me otherwise. Sometimes, they include the Cherokee Indians in on the roots for the accent, but you will NOT find that it is a black accent.
[This message was edited Mon Oct 14 17:32:40 PDT 2002 by BattierBeMyDaddy]

IceNine said:

That is assenine!!!

MostBeautifulGrlNTheWorld said:

You are so VERY right!

mostbeautifulgrlntheworld is sitting on her looking through old grammer books from high school and college. Yup just as I though Southern accent is from Europe and no where does it say that an accent has anything to do with bad grammer and speaking English the correct way. I close my book and declare I am victorious, cause I am the

IceNine said:

Nothing more than illiteracy and slang usage? You're absolutely wrong. It becomes slang usage when a person tries to speak ebonics on purpose. My uncle, who I love so much, speaks the so call "ebonics" language. My uncle is a very smart and wealthy man, and very well educated, having many College degrees. When the Ebonics issue came up in the news a couple of years ago, he heard these so called experts state that a person that speaks ebonics will have a slim chance of getting hired during a job interview. My Uncle told me that he made it through life speaking "ebonics" and he ain't about to change his grammar for nobody because he can't talk any other way. What makes me so mad is when I hear other black people, especially white people, speaking "ebonics" when they know they don't talk that way. My uncle grew up in the Jim Crow era in the South and was denied proper schooling. He once told me "It's funny how white people want you to talk their way after being denied schooling to talk in the first place." I know that statement might sound racist to some people but there is a lot of truth to it. My Uncle experienced a lot of racism in his lifetime and he never complained about it. He never let that set him back. He never asked for anything. He's a self made ebonically speaking millionaire. His ebonics didn't hold him back from getting any jobs. It's ironic that he has a degree in English. I personally know many older black people, especially relatives of mines, that speak ebonics..and they are not illiterate nor use it as a slang..they are smart, very well educated people.

MostBeautifulGrlNTheWorld said:

Specifically Scottish. It is said that, when the Scots settled here, they brought the purest form of the King's English with them, to the Appalachian region of the U.S., thus, the southern accent was born.

IceNine said:

So tell me then what the differnce is changing booth to boof. What is the difference in chaning you all to yall?

People have invented new English words from the beginning of time. That's why dictionaries are updated constantly. But when Black people start making up new English words it's a problem.

BattierBeMyDaddy said:

If it is completely irrelevant, why mention in your original post that the girl was white?

And didn't you once call someone on here a "racist idiot" for labelling people by their colour?

I'm confused.

mcmeekle said:

Hmm, you're right. I can't much argue that one, can I. It was more of a point in my original posting so that no one would think I was strictly attacking black people, but the usage of ebonics by all races in general.

BattierBeMyDaddy said:

Whats wrong with the dialect of the southern US? I'm from the South and I don't speak the southern dialect nor ebonics..what's wrong with the dialect of the Southern US?