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Ebonics, or officially called African American Vernacular English, has a rich history.
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0:00
Do you speak black English or Ebonics,
0:02
also known as African-American
0:04
vernacular English, AAV ve? Or do you
0:07
speak what some people call proper
0:09
English? Or like me, every time you go
0:11
back to Chicago as a kid, do they say
0:13
you're whitewashed or you speak proper
0:16
English? In the cultural fabric of
0:18
America, language has always served as
0:20
both a marker of identity and a sight of
0:23
conflict. One such example is
0:25
Africanamean vernacular English. But the
0:27
more popular way to say that is referred
0:29
to as Ebonics. Often misunderstood,
0:33
miscatategorized, or outright mocked.
0:35
Ebonics is not merely a slang or
0:37
dialect. It's a fully developed
0:39
linguistic system with deep historical
0:42
roots. But do all black people speak
0:44
Ebonics? And how and why did this form
0:46
of English even develop in the first
0:48
place? Well, in this video, we're going
0:50
to talk about it. Hi, my name is Jared
0:51
and I talk about interesting stories and
0:53
trends in black culture. Because as you
0:55
guys all know, black culture is just
0:57
that interesting to me. If you share my
0:59
interest, hit the subscribe button and
1:01
let's deep dive into some interesting
1:03
black culture and history in every
1:05
episode. To understand Ebonics, one must
1:07
first acknowledge that language evolves
1:09
in context. Ebonics emerged as a result
1:12
of centuries of historical circumstances
1:15
that shaped the African-American
1:17
experience in the United States.
1:18
Enslaved Africans brought forcibly to
1:21
America from diverse language
1:22
backgrounds had to communicate not only
1:24
with English-speaking slaveholders, but
1:27
also with each other. The linguistic
1:29
fusion that occurred birthed a unique
1:31
form of English, one shaped by West
1:33
African linguistic patterns, the
1:35
conditions of slavery, and as
1:37
importantly, the type of English that
1:39
was spoken around the slaves. This is
1:42
the part that doesn't get talked about
1:43
enough that southern whites had and
1:46
still do have a way of speaking English
1:49
that's very similar to what is
1:50
considered Ebonics. Black people came to
1:53
the Americas speaking various languages
1:55
like Igbo, Euroba, Kongo, Mindi and many
1:59
many more. But on the plantations these
2:02
languages were suppressed. Communication
2:04
with slave holders, overseers, and among
2:07
enslaved people from different African
2:09
regions required a common tongue. The
2:12
language inevitably was English. But the
2:14
English that enslaved Africans
2:16
encountered was not the formal British
2:18
English of textbooks. It was the English
2:20
of rural southern whites, rich in
2:23
dialect full of regional idioms and
2:25
heavily inflicted by the Scott, Irish,
2:29
Anglo, and other European immigrant
2:31
influences that define the south. This
2:33
southern English was a key ingredient in
2:36
the development of what we now recognize
2:38
as Ebonics. In these plantation
2:41
environments, a creo and pigeon often
2:43
developed a simplified language that
2:45
drew vocabulary from English but
2:48
retained African grammatical patterns.
2:50
Over time, these pigeon became more
2:52
complex and stabilized into a creole
2:56
like language. In some regions like the
2:58
Sea Islands of South Carolina and
3:00
Georgia, Gulla developed a creole with
3:03
strong African influences that still
3:06
actually survives today. But in most of
3:08
the south, what emerged was a distinctly
3:10
African-American variety of English that
3:13
absorbs southern white speech patterns
3:15
while maintaining a unique African
3:17
identity. One of the clearest examples
3:19
of southern white influence is the
3:21
pronunciation. The southern draw
3:22
characterized by elongated vowels and a
3:25
distinctive intonation can also be heard
3:28
in ibonics. Another shared feature is
3:30
the use of double negatives, a
3:32
construction found in both southern
3:34
white and black speech. like I don't
3:37
know what you think this is. I ain't got
3:38
no money. While this structure exists in
3:40
many world languages, it's present in
3:43
both dialects suggests a shared
3:44
linguistic evolution rooted in the same
3:47
geographic and social environment.
3:49
Grammar also tells the story. The use of
3:51
done as an auxiliary verb like he done
3:54
left already and been to indicate remote
3:56
past. Example, she been married are
3:59
staples of Ebonics that also exist in
4:01
southern white vernaculars. These forms
4:03
reflect older English usage preserved in
4:06
southern speech and passed down through
4:09
generations. It's important to
4:10
understand that while southern white
4:12
English influenced Ebonics, the exchange
4:14
was not equal. The power imbalance of
4:17
slavery and segregation meant that
4:19
African-Americans had to learn and adapt
4:21
to the dominant group's language while
4:23
preserving their own linguistic heritage
4:25
as best as they could. Ibonics evolved
4:27
not as a broken or inferior language but
4:30
as a legitimate rulegoverned dialect
4:32
forged in the crucible of oppression and
4:35
resistance. Its grammar, pronunciation,
4:37
and vocabulary reflect creativity and
4:40
resilience even as it carries the marks
4:42
of forced cultural assimilation. When
4:45
millions of African-Ameans moved north
4:47
during the great migration, they took
4:49
Ebonics with them. Although it evolved
4:51
in its new environments, cities like
4:54
Chicago, Detroit, and Philadelphia, the
4:56
southern base remained. And I mean, if
4:58
you ever go there, you could definitely
5:00
hear it. New York has its own way of
5:01
speaking. So, I would love to do a video
5:03
on how, you know, they got to where they
5:05
are today. Even though, of course, you
5:07
can hear the southern influence in the
5:09
way that they speak. Also the term
5:10
Ebonics was coined in 1973 actually by
5:14
psychologist Robert Williams who
5:16
intended it to highlight the African
5:18
roots of the language spoken by
5:20
African-Americans. Ebonics combines
5:22
ebony and phonics reflecting both racial
5:25
and linguistic heritage. Although the
5:27
term gained widespread public attention
5:29
in the 1990s, actually 1996, when the
5:33
Oakland Unified School District proposed
5:35
recognizing Ebonics as a legitimate
5:38
language system in order to help
5:40
African-American students learn standard
5:42
English, it had long been the subject of
5:45
linguistic and educational research.
5:48
Critics of the Oakland resolution
5:50
misunderstood its intent, fueling a
5:52
media firestorm that framed Ebonics as
5:55
an improper or inferior language. Ask or
5:58
ask. Woo! I need all of you right now on
6:00
the count of three to say ask. On three.
6:03
1 2 3. Ask. Very good. Gerard McClendon
6:08
is giving these high schoolers at
6:10
Aquinus Academy in Palos Hills an
6:13
English lesson they've never never ever
6:16
had. The C sound comes at the end. The S
6:19
sound comes in the middle. But what do
6:21
people say? X. Yes. Again, it's the form
6:25
of a subculture there. A subculture uh
6:29
that just goes from one generation to
6:32
another and just passing on poor
6:34
language skills. Yet linguistic experts
6:37
noting that Ebonics, like any language
6:40
variety, has consistent grammar rules,
6:42
phonetic patterns, and vocabulary. Far
6:45
from being broken English, Ebonics is a
6:48
rulegoverned dialect spoken by millions
6:50
and millions of Americans. But not all
6:52
black people speak AAB or Ebonics. And
6:56
not everyone who speaks it is black.
6:58
Ebonics is a socioelect, meaning it is
7:00
more closely tied to the social and
7:02
cultural identity than a race alone.
7:05
Some African-Americans grow up speaking
7:07
standard English, as some would say, or
7:10
others regional dialects, all depending
7:12
on their community, family, and personal
7:15
identity. Conversely, non-black
7:17
individuals raised in predominantly
7:19
black communities may speak fluent
7:21
Ebonics. The idea that all
7:23
African-Americans speak the same way is,
7:25
of course, a crazy stereotype and one
7:28
that overlooks the complexity of black
7:30
identity. African-Ameans are not a
7:33
monolith. And this goes for everything
7:35
that we do. Like I said, we hail from
7:37
urban and rural communities from the
7:40
South, North, Midwest, and West, and
7:43
from immigrant backgrounds as well.
7:45
African-American speech is as diverse as
7:47
the community itself. Yet, Ebonics has
7:50
long been stigmatized in education,
7:53
employment, and media. Hey yo, fool. We
7:55
about to have some hardcore drama go
7:57
down right about now. That's right.
7:59
That's what I'm talking about. We get
8:01
ours.
8:03
Children who speak Ebonics at home may
8:06
be labeled as less intelligent or
8:08
uneducated by teachers unfamiliar with
8:11
linguistic diversity. Medium portrayals
8:14
often mock Ebonics, using it as a
8:16
shorthand for criminality, ignorance, or
8:19
comedy. Despite these challenges,
8:21
Ebonics has been a wellspring of
8:23
cultural innovation. From gospel to
8:25
jazz, from civil rights speeches to
8:27
hip-hop lyrics, Ebonics has shaped the
8:30
rhythms, cadence, and creativity of
8:33
American expression. First they make fun
8:35
of it, then they probably take it as
8:37
their own. Writers like Zoran Neil
8:39
Hursten and Langston Hughes infuse their
8:42
work with the patterns of black speech,
8:44
offering authentic portraits of
8:46
African-American life. Today, artists
8:48
like Kendrick Lamar and Issa Ray
8:51
continue that legacy using Ebonics to
8:53
tell stories that resonate across
8:55
cultural boundaries. There is also
8:57
growing recognition of the importance of
9:00
linguistic inclusion in education.
9:02
Culturally responsive teaching practices
9:04
now encourage educators to value student
9:07
home languages and dialects. The goal is
9:09
not to replace Ebonics with standard
9:11
English, but to help students become
9:13
more by dialectable, fluent in both
9:15
their home dialect and their dominant
9:17
standard. As a lot of you guys might
9:19
know, this is called code switching. I
9:21
love those videos of how black people
9:23
talk at home and then how they come to
9:26
work. A lot of us have to do this
9:27
already. Hey, brother. I'm going to be
9:29
real with you. We detectives and uh uh
9:31
we need to borrow a car real quick cuz
9:32
if we in the middle of a case, it's
9:33
emergency. I feel you. I do, brother. I
9:36
really do. So, you let me get a car?
9:37
no. I'm your brother. What? Were
9:39
you at a cookout, What? Mrs.
9:40
Weinstein, how you doing? Yeah, leave it
9:42
right there. I'll be right over. No,
9:44
that's how you gonna call a code switch.
9:45
Oh, you one of them cold switch
9:47
huh? Ultimately, African-Amean
9:49
vernacular English is more than just a
9:51
way of speaking. It's a living, evolving
9:53
expression of people's history,
9:56
struggle, creativity, and pride. It
9:58
carries the echoes of African languages,
10:01
the scars of enslavement, the vibrancy
10:03
of Harlem, the protest chance of the
10:06
civil rights era, and the innovation of
10:08
the digital age. As linguistic John
10:11
Rickford said, "Ebonics is not
10:12
deficient, it's just different, and in
10:15
its difference lies its power." Well,
10:17
that's it for this video. Don't forget
10:19
to like and subscribe and I'll catch you
10:22
guys on the next
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