"Hello again Word Lovers!" - In this week we are taking a slight diversion as we look at words developed within English but influenced by other languages and grammar. This created a type of English within English, spread mainly by black Americans, and named by a black American, Robert Williams in 1973, "Ebonics". Ebone to represent Black and "onics" as reference to Phonics. This has become understood as the way black populations use language in comparison to white speakers. It is also called African American Vernacular English (AAVE), formerly Black English Vernacular (BEV), dialect of American English spoken by a large proportion of African Americans.
The name was intended to provide a label for the linguistic consequences of the slave trade without negative connotations that other labels could evoke.
It remained a a little-known term that was not adopted by linguists or featured in the Oxford English Dictionary. This changed in 1996 when controversy emerged over the Oakland School Board decision to recognise it is a primary language for Afro American students and therefore acquire further funds to facilitate the teaching of standard English.
Find the full article to accompany the programme on our website:
https://www.bulldogz.org/post/interesting-etymologies-35-ebonics
