Ebonics is an African American English language that was mainly developed to unite blacks as well as communicate. This was amidst resistance from the black community that felt they were being mistreated by the whites. It was during slave trade where most black could not have a language of their own as they were shipped from different parts of Africa. Apart from the need of having a language that they could only understand and minimize on white dominance, it was also a rebellious way of criticizing the American language. As African Americans started growing in large numbers, the mistreatment towards them increased as they were subjected to laws and rules that minimized their freedom of expression.
Ebonics as a language defies all rules of grammar and hence making difficult for a native English speaker to understand what they were talking. The language became a unique dialect among the blacks who vowed not to be associated with the native English. They were able to communicate among themselves without their white masters realizing what they were talking about. Even though they used the normal English words, the accent and the fact that some of the meanings were totally opposite of what they said made it difficult for the whites to follow their conversations. They sued this language to form revolutionary movements against slavery and also gain inner freedom from the whites (Smitherman 33).
Despite the wide use of Ebonics among blacks in United States. The language has mostly been associated with rebellion and criminal activities. It is hence for this reason that some modern African Americans do not want to be associated with the language. The memory that the language has on the black community which is mainly slavery makes most of them shun from it. Even though blacks in America still face numerous challenges, they have been granted numerous rights and hence minimizing on the rate of discrimination (Ramírez 156). As a form of appreciating the developments that have happened, most blacks appreciate the native white English. The fact that blacks during the slavery period were not allowed going to school or even reading books, this minimized on their ability to learn and adopt proper English. It is in fact claimed that Ebonics is affected by the different African dialects.
Language is acquired through association and interaction, being raised in an environment where Ebonics is spoken affected a person. This becomes the main language they have known which might affect the way a person adopts in an environment outside home. This may work out both positively or negatively on an individual depending on the people they interact with. To the people who have been brought up in a similar environment, it may work out well for them as they empathise with the situations and the environment that the person has been through. On the other hand, having an Ebonics dialect might works out negatively when the person is exposed to an environment where the language is associated with rebellion and criminal activities. This may hence affect the way they cope up in an environment outside home as it may prove difficult for them to communicate (Smitherman 25). Most white communities associate Ebonics with ghetto life and depending on how the same is considered for a person, they may be favoured or resisted. The attitude will therefore depend on the environment and what the person wants to achieve from such an association.
Works cited
Ramírez, David. Ebonics: The Urban Education Debate. California: Multilingual Matters, 2005.
Smitherman, Geneva. Talking that talk: language, culture and education in African America. New York: Routledge.
