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

IntroductionThe debate on Ebonics has virtually left the media spotlight. The device by the Oakland School District in early 1997 to use Ebonics to service of process African-American children learn Standard side of meat met with frequently opposition. Few pile supported the Oakland resolution which, backed by the Linguistic Society of America, hold Ebonics as a language variety complete with its own syntax, structure, and rules of grammar. The media triggered a dialogue among Americans about the appropriateness of Ebonics in the classroom. Are you for or against Ebonics? was a common question many Americans pondered at work, at restaurant dejeuner counters, and in classrooms across the country. The issue divided Americans, not so much along racial lines, but along lines of understanding. Many people were undecipherable 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 distinct language variety. Thus, part of this paper will look for further the educational implications of using Ebonics to improve the literacy of black students. This will be preceded by an analysis of how the New York Times and Los Angeles Times covered the Ebonics issue, and how each(prenominal) (to some extent) helped to legitimize and sustain negative attitudes toward Ebonics. The Meaning of EbonicsThe term Ebonicswas scratch line coined in January, 1973 by Dr. Robert Williams, a professor of Psychology at capital letter University. The term, which is a compound of ebonies and phonics(black sounds) refers to the language of West African, Cameroonian, and U.S. slave descendants of Niger-Congo origins. slightly linguists disagree about whether Ebonics, or color English ... ...tions in English What Role for Education?(Opinion/ get Paper, 1991). ED 347796. McWhorter, John. Wasting Energy on An Illusion. The Black Scholar 27 (1997) 2-5. Oneil, W. If Ebonics Isnt a Language, Then Tell Me, What Is? Rethinking Schools 12.1 (1997) 10-11. professional Oakland Resolution on Ebonics( http//linguistlist.org/topics/Ebonics/Ebonics=res1.html). Secret, Carrie. Interview. Rethinking Schools. Fall 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 hush-hush 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.