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Does Ebonics exemplify American laziness or efficiency?
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| david.michael |
I was thinking today that African American Vernacular English, though often looked down upon as being a "lazy" or "ignorant" way to verbally communicate, is actually a prime example of language efficiency. I really find "Ebonics" to be quite a minimalizing dialect of American English. My reasons for this are as follows.
Phonology
- Conversion of "th" to "d" word-initially; [example: "This" becomes "Dis"... 25% word reduction]
- Words ending in "ing" drop the "g". [example: "You know nothing" to "You know nothin"]
- Homorganic final consonant clusters that share the same laryngeal settings are reduced. [example: "test" is pronounced "tes", but "sing" is still pronounced "sing" (or "sang").]
- Deletion of final consonants, resulting in a glottal stop. [example: find may be pronounced făː]. "S" and "z" sounds are also often deleted.
Deletion
- Phrase abbreviation / intermediate word removal. [example: "You know no other nigga" becomes "You know nann nigga". Source: Trick Daddy 1998. Some phrases have a more complex breakdown. For example, "You didn't have any idea?" can be reduced to "You didn't know?", to "You ain't know?", to "yee-know?". Another example is "You did not show up", which becomes "yeen-show". Source: La Chat 2001.]
- The copula "be" is often dropped. [examples: "You crazy! (You are crazy)", Where you at? (Where are you at?)]
Aspect Marking
- The most distinguishing feature of Ebonics is the use of forms of "be" to mark aspect in verb phrases. In standard English, you would do this using adverbs such as "usually".
Examples:
He talkin' ==> He is currently talking.
He be talkin' ==> He talkin' frequently or habitually. (He be talkin' daily).
He stay workin' ==> He is always working.
He been had dat job ==> He has had that job for a long time and still has it.
He finna dance ==> He is preparing to begin dancing. ("Finna" is a contraction of "fixing to").
Negation
- Use of "ain't" as a general negative indicator. In Ebonics, it can be used where am not, isn't, aren't, haven't, and hasn't would be used in SE, as well as in lieu of don't, doesn't, or didn't. [example: I ain't know that.]
General Slang
- The general slang terminology in AAVE is quite efficient in itself.
Examples:
Bling: "Jewelry which is very shiny"
Sling or "slang": General use term which refers to performing some kind of work. "Slinging rocks" means to sell crack-cocaine on the streets.
Additionally, new contractions are often made and used. "Imma" for "I'm going to".
Thoughts? |
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| RJT |
Yes, absolutely. Schools that teach Ebonics should be burned to the ground for contributing to the dumbing down of a generation.
The worst part is that they're basically teaching it in communities where kids could really benefit from actually learning how to use the English language properly - teaching Ebonics seems like basically saying "Oh, you guys are never going to get it anyway - so let's just let you have your own language. You're never leaving the neighborhood anyway."
What a crock of . |
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| david.michael |
| I can't believe I managed to squeeze a serious reply out of that silly load of BS. :wtf: |
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| RJT |
| quote: | Originally posted by david.michael
I can't believe I managed to squeeze a serious reply out of that silly load of BS. :wtf: |
A few years ago when this first made national news I almost myself in anger. |
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| david.michael |
| quote: | Originally posted by RJT
A few years ago when this first made national news I almost myself in anger. |
I didn't realize this made national news... I was just making a silly satirical post about ebonics being efficient as opposed to lazy. :)
But, I think I know what you're referring to. |
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| flavdave |
| Why do people ignorantly believe only African Americans speak this way? |
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| RJT |
I don't.
Feel free to let me know how I may have confused you into thinking I did.
Edit: Also, I think the same argument against use of Ebonics can be attached to the lowering of standards for a college education. A college degree is as easy, if not easier to obtain than a high school diploma at this point - and it completely devalues the degree.
The continued lowering of educational standards all around is a bit of a sticking point for me. |
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| adi_hanson |
| damn bitch you stupid fly , lemme pull up to your bumper and smack dat monkey! |
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| KiNeTiC ENeRgY |
| I ing hate it when I have to talk to a black person or hear one and they can't say the word "ask" properly. WTF it's not a hard word to pronounce. You were born on America, its not "aks" or "axe" it's ask u ing idiot. |
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| SuspicionVandit |
I don't understand the need for education to involve English (or any country's respective language) classes past the elementary level. I work with a fair amount of Asian immigrants/residents at work and my biggest problem is pronunciation, not with their choice of words.
When I'm with my mates, it makes no difference if they say "dude, there's a fire in you car" or "ah yes, dear good friend, there appears to be a source of hazardous material spewing from the ventilation ducts, slightly resembling the chemical reaction of combustion" (/proceeds to adjust top hat and monocle/) |
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| KiNeTiC ENeRgY |
| quote: | Originally posted by SuspicionVandit
I don't understand the need for education to involve English (or any country's respective language) classes past the elementary level. I work with a fair amount of Asian immigrants/residents at work and my biggest problem is pronunciation, not with their choice of words.
When I'm with my mates, it makes no difference if they say "dude, there's a fire in you car" or "ah yes, dear good friend, there appears to be a source of hazardous material spewing from the ventilation ducts, slightly resembling the chemical reaction of combustion" (/proceeds to adjust top hat and monocle/) |
There's a fire in my pants. |
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