NP Ebonics (was It ain't only Rock & Roll, it's Jazz too)

[David Morris]

--- davemarc <davemarc at panix.com> wrote:
> From: David Morris <fqmorris at yahoo.com>
> >
> > Amen!  Talk about enslavement.  Too many poor inner city black children
already face a tough uphill battle to be educated out of their "cultural"
legacies: illiterate parents and peers who place little value on education. 
They don't need to be taught ghetto-talk.  They already know it by heart.  And
to suggest that it be embraced as a standard is absurd.
> >
> There might be a big straw man here.  As far as I know, the main point about
recognizing "Ebonics" has to do with getting teachers (and others) to respect
the dialect or home language of their students as a legitimate form of
communication, and not as ungrammatical, "ghetto talk," an inferior dialect, a
sign of ignorance, the legacy of "illiterate parents," etc.  Success would
increase linguistic awareness and combat generations of inaccurate judgments
that have stigmatized and marginalized many practitioners of "non-standard"
English, young students as well as adults.

My first post to this thread stated that those most adept at breaking the rules
are those who best know the rules.  "Ghetto-talk" has its rules, granted.  But
they won't get you into college.  If one wants to teach black youths
ghetto-talk-self-esteem it should only be in the context of rules of standard
grammer.  The rules of ghetto-talk are a luxury for those who know the rules of
Standard English.

Straw man 'bout b'spect be b'damned!

David Morris


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