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Despite the substantive body of research on African American Language (AAL), designating it a meaningful, rule-governed language system and the first language of many African Americans, schools in the US have systematically failed to integrate a language policy related to African American English learners (AAELs). In this article, we employ a critical discourse and policy analysis to examine two major policies related to AAL and AAELs - the Martin Luther King Junior Elementary School Children et al. v. Ann Arbor School District, a federal district case in Michigan known as the Ann Arbor Decision, and the Ebonics Resolution adopted by the Oakland California Board of the Oakland Unified School District (OUSD). Our analysis reveals three themes across these texts - they affirm AAL as a ‘home and community language’ in its own right, mandate teachers to take ‘appropriate action’ in teaching AAL speakers, and dispel notions that AAL stems from cultural, social, and economic deprivation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The term “Cry Wolof” is a disparaging catchphrase first introduced by U.S. linguist Laurence Horn as a dismissal of Wolof etymologies in African American language. The cogency of this catchphrase is largely dependent on the circa-1970s argument that the African American term hip meaning (among other things) “in fashion” or “to inform” is derived from the Wolof term xippi meaning, “to open the eyes.” This study aims to demonstrate that while the Wolof term xippi is not the proper etymology of hip, the etymology of hip is indeed Wolof. More broadly, this study aims to demonstrate the Wolof presence in African American language. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Ebonics controversy revealed surprising public rejection of the ideas of academic linguists. The intellectual history of the situation provides a reasonable explanation. Linguists lack consensus themselves, while the public consensus includes inherent contradictions. Academic and public ideas of language came into conflict over Ebonics in part because linguists attempted to impose their own ideas on the public, in part because of confusion over terminology, and in part because the situation was entangled in social politics. The lessons of the affair suggest an approach to language and public policy in which linguists come to terms with public views of language. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper explicates the utility of a language planning perspective for understanding academic scholarship on socially stigmatized language varieties. The Oakland School Board resolution on Ebonics is shown to be the tip of a metaphorical iceberg referred to as the Ebonics phenomenon. It includes the body of linguistic knowledge on Black English, the critical reaction to it by Afrocentric scholars under the banner of Ebonics, and the visceral reactions of members of the general public to the incongruous idea of Ebonics ‘being taught in the schools.’ From the perspective of African Americans, the Ebonics phenomenon is a manifestation of the double consciousness of being pulled in two directions at once — toward the benefits of standard English speech and the intrinsic worth and beauty of talking Black. The discussion is organized into sections on corpus planning, status planning and language in education planning to illustrate the extent to which scholars of African American language have acted as language planning agents. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Using a method of topical rhetorical analysis, inspired by K. Burke, to discuss the Ebonics debate, this article demonstrates that conversations about education, particularly writing instruction, have adopted a market rhetoric that limits teachers' agency. However, reappropriation of this market rhetoric can help writing teachers to imagine and actuate a more empowered and long-sighted agency for themselves. Rhetorical analysis can therefore help educators to understand how local language practices shape their interaction with the rapidly changing material environment of fast capitalism. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]