The African-American culture is comprised of many admired attributes. We are resourceful, exultant, talented and innovative. But the one thing we are not is ignorant. It’s very apparent through various forms of media, including popular TV shows such as Fox’s “Empire” and specific genres of music such as hip-hop and R&B, that the African-American culture has a distinct language of its own.
Phrases such as “we gon’ make it” or “what had happened was” are pervasive throughout the African-American culture. While blacks understand the dialect clearly, many other cultures perceive the dialect as a language with an over-abundant use of grammatical errors and the use of double negatives, and they confirm that blacks are, in fact, ignorant. But, that is rarely the case.
The word “Ebonics” can be broken down to ebony, meaning black, and phonics, or language. Its origins date back to a time where slavery was eminent throughout the southern regions of America, and slaves were unwillingly engulfed into a world of new traditions, religions and languages. Because of the hierarchy of whites to slaves, it’s safe to assume that slave owners rarely took the time to teach slaves the English language, let alone have full conversations with them to enhance their ability in comprehending the language.
So Africans, with the knowledge of their own dialect, took it upon themselves to catch on to the English language and extracted parts of their African dialect and the Creole/Caribbean dialect they learned during their brief stay in the Middle Passage. The African and Creole dialects, like many other languages, omits certain letters and words simplifying the pronunciation of certain phrases. For instance, “She hears you” would be said as “She hear you,” or “that” may be pronounced as “dat.”
While many people assume that speaking in such a way is a direct sign of a lack of education in the black culture, they fail to understand that this is a recognized dialect that African-Americans have created as a result of mixing several diverse languages. This spoken dialect not only confirms the ability to pick up various idiosyncrasies of different dialects, but it also indicates the ingenuity to create a new vernacular despite being denied a formal education.
The societal issue with this dialect is that it is perceived as an improper usage of the English language, especially when the vast majority of this dialect is used within low-income, minority infused communities that lack proper educational opportunities. However, while society is busy ridiculing and mocking the African-American community, it completely ignores the other various languages, such as Spanish, which follow the same set of rules of omitting certain words and letters. The phrase “Te amo” in Spanish is translated to “I love you,” and “Dónde estás?” is translated to “Where are you?” In both examples, the words “I” and “you” are omitted. Yet no one is condemning Spanish speakers for their lack of knowledge, because it is culturally respected and accepted.
Even popular British band Pink Floyd displayed the “socially improper” use of language in the popular song “Another Brick in The Wall.” Lyrics like “We don’t need no education, we don’t need no thought control” come out the speakers, leaving listeners in a state of rebellion, and they don’t question the improper use of double negatives. Yet when popular songs by Lil Wayne or Jay-Z hit the airwaves, they’re considered uneducated and illiterate.
It’s disheartening that in this day in age the dialect of Ebonics, a black language, is correlated with those who lack education. Highly intelligent black poets, writers and authors such as Zora Neale Hurston, Toni Morrison and even Maya Angelou have all used this particular dialect in their writings. However, their dialect comes along with Pulitzer Prizes, honorary degrees and presidential medals.
Society is constantly looking for a way to remind African-Americans that they are not good enough. That they don’t fit the standard. Their hair, their body, their skin tone and certainly their language are nothing to be proud of. Not only have they been forced to convert to Christianity, completely Americanizing their culture and shaming their ancestral African roots, but they have been required to speak the American English language, with a subconscious fear of exuding illiteracy.
Ebonics is not slang, it is not a confirmation of a lack of education, and it certainly is not a language to be mocked. Ebonics is a dialect created by a culture of repressed yet innovative human beings. A misunderstanding of the dialect does not make African-Americans ignorant; it makes those who degrade it incoherent.
