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COVID-19 changed the landscape of American public education, especially during mandated stay-at-home orders, when student learning shifted from classrooms to living rooms. Certainly, Black youth were learning where they lived, and many were speaking in their first language, African American Vernacular English (AAVE), more often and with greater fluency than the American standard. I wondered then, what would become the metanarrative about Black youth performance on standardized English assessments in comparison with White youth in a post-pandemic era? To inform scholarship that engages this question, I offer a narrative-style review of literature from the 50-year academic discourse about Black language within the context of racial opportunity gaps in American public education. In addition, I explore the possibilities for Hip Hop to create educational conditions conducive for Black folks' linguistic and intellectual emancipation from racism and white supremacy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper discusses the use of African American Vernacular English as a literary dialect. The analysis is based on a corpus containing data collected from two 19th century American novels: ‘The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn’ by Mark Twain and ‘Uncle Tom’s Cabin’ by Harriet Beecher Stowe. The speech of two characters of African American descent is under scrutiny: Jim and Aunt Chloe. The first part of the study provides an overview of the sociohistorical context in which AAVE originated and subsequently developed. The paper also highlights several morphosyntactic features attested in AAVE and the last part aims at identifying such features in the speech of the two African American characters aforementioned.

This paper considers the impact of language on literacy and learning within the contexts of linguistic theory, language acquisition theory, and social cognition as having a causal relationship with low achievement in reading, writing, and speaking Standard American English.  In expanding the concept of literacy, this paper is premised on the notion that African-Americans, who exhibit difficulty learning to read, write, and speak Standard American English, qualify as English Language Learners in the United States. As such, these individuals are entitled to the same considerations as other English Language Learners. Drawing on the 1996 Oakland Resolution on Ebonics and tracing the events that followed its passing, this research aims to provide librarians and library and information science (LIS) educators a contextual framework of African-American students that will be useful in building the unique skills, knowledge, and abilities that today’s librarians need – if they are to effectively provide the cutting-edge library services this country’s growing number of distinctly urban environments require.

While some lament and disparage the use of Black English (BE), particularly in educational spaces, the purpose, power, and pragmatism of BE are elucidated in this manuscript in an effort to bring all educators into the knowledge of its potency and richness. Using Gee's work on primary and secondary discourse as a foundation, this manuscript offers a chronology of BE, discusses its impact and usage as a mother tongue, and describes its importance in contemporary education, leveraging hip hop, rap music, in particular, as an instructional tool to substantiate the legitimacy of the BE as an already legitimate, viable dialect natively spoken by generations of Black people. This manuscript also invites readers to consider the value of BE in developing strong twenty-one-century learners by establishing multiliterate students who are conversant in an array of spoken languages/dialects and cultural nuances. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aim. To reveal the phonetic, lexical, phraseological and syntactic peculiarities of the modern American rappers’ compositions and to determine the most frequent stylistic devices used by the performers.Methodology. The author has analyzed 15 rap compositions of the American rappers Machine Gun Kelly and NF. The following methods were applied: continuous sampling method, descriptive-analytical method, method of statistical analysis and data interpretation, contextual and discursive analyses.Result. Having studied the factual material, the author found out that the greatest stylistic expressiveness of rap texts was achieved by using the following tropes: allusion, comparison, metaphor, periphrasis.Research implications. The modern material of rap discourse, which was not previously subjected to linguo-stylistic analysis, has been investigated. The originality of modern rappers’ texts has been revealed. It leads to understanding of how the strategic mechanisms, through which the performers influence their audience, are actualized. And this understanding enables listeners to perceive their idols’ creative work more adequately.

The physical appearance of Ati, the co-ruling woman of Punt, often referred to as "the Queen of Punt," as depicted in the pharaoh Hatshepsut's "Voyage to Punt" has been subject to scholarly attention in the European academy. However, in this scholarship her appearance is disparaged as humorous or pathological which is reminiscent of the racist characterizations of Ssehura of the Khoi-Khoi people as the "Hottentot Venus." This problem is termed as the "European Hottentot Complex" in this study. Recovering Ati from the European Hottentot Complex, this study provides an Afronography on the Kemetiu (ancient Egyptian) aesthetic perspective by examining the primary sources from a Jamaican cultural perspective through language. Subsequently, this study shows the transgenerational dimension of the Afrikan aesthetic norm that is expressed in the Jamaican notion of tiknis. Ultimately, this study locates the Kemetiu perspective on Ati of Punt within the context of tiknis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This autoethnography, based on a cultural epistemology grounded in my lived experiences as Black and middle class, is written as an exploration of the communication practice of code-switching. It is the consideration of Du Bois' double-consciousness as reflected in my language practices. It is a means to examine the development of my Black identity in an aggressively hegemonic society. Using Cross' Black identity development model to structure and frame my inquiry, I examine my experiences with code-switching in both Black-dominated and White-dominated spaces to understand how the choice to use "Standard English" or Ebonics, depending on audience, reflects the tension inherent in the Black American identity. This autoethnography attempts to draw connections to how the intersection of oppressed identities results in power inequities that shape communication practices for marginalized populations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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]

Many African American students have been tested using speech pathology diagnostics that are ill suited to their distinctive linguistic circumstances. Slave descendants of African origin share a unique linguistic heritage in contrast and comparison to every other immigrant group residing within America. In an effort to overcome the legacy of educational bias born of inappropriate speech diagnostics for Black students, this article begins with observations about racial discrimination that reinforced educational disparities that were, at times inadvertently, exacerbated by remedial education programs that failed to improve educational outcomes for Black students. The remainder of the article describes the combination of educational and legal circumstances, owing their existence largely to the efforts of Geneva Smitherman, that gave rise to the controversy over Ebonics and ensuing demands for linguistic human rights in support of educational equality for all students regardless of race. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article discusses the historical underpinnings of Ebonics as a product of linguistic influence of Bantu languages spoken in West Africa today. Many teacher educators preparing White pre-service teachers for linguistic diversity in public schools tend to focus mostly on respecting culturally different students’ home languages without employing historical, lexical, grammatical, and phonological evidence to challenge students’ deficit thinking about Ebonics, which is often associated in the mainstream with a physiological deficiency. Thus, the study uses several Niger-Congo languages to explain the origin of Ebonics and the influences of the Niger-Congo languages on the grammatical and phonological structures of Ebonics, and concludes by defining it as a respectable variety of English with its own sophisticated grammar. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Professional organizations and federal legislation stipulate that assessments of all students must be fair and unbiased. Although these entities provide guidance, there continues to be a gap between guidelines and practice. This article examines the nature of culturally competent practice with Ebonics-speaking youth. Many school psychologists face challenges such as large caseloads, lack of knowledge about Ebonics, and limited access to culturally appropriate assessment materials. The present article fills this gap by providing practitioners with information on the history of Ebonics, implications for the students they assess, and practical ways to address these issues with limited resources. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this article, I revisit the 1996 Oakland School Board (OSB) resolution on Ebonics and perform a discourse analysis of the New York Times coverage of the decision. Using the framework of intertextuality, I consider how reported speech allows authors to appropriate authority and construct various stances toward the OSB decision. I discuss how other framing devices work in tandem with intertextuality to discursively construct ideologies of Ebonics. I also analyze how language from early articles is incorporated in subsequent news items, and emphasize the need to consider both discursive reproduction processes and cognitive processes of reception when using intertextual analysis to understand the origin of language ideologies. I suggest that this approach to media discourse analysis can be utilized by linguists who wish to actively shape attitudes toward stigmatized language varieties. [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]

Abstract: For over 40 years, sociolinguists have been demonstrating that all varieties of language are equal in linguistic terms. Yet vernacular varieties such as African American English and Hawai‘i Creole are still generally marginalized and excluded from the educational process, with the result that speakers of these varieties are disadvantaged in education as well as other areas. This article discusses four interrelated language ideologies that contribute to this state of affairs. Then it describes the “awareness” teaching approach, which in opposition to these ideologies includes marginalized varieties in the curriculum. This is followed by an examination of the extent to which the awareness approach deals with the inequalities perpetuated by the prevailing language ideologies. The article goes on to argue that a critical version of the awareness approach is a more effective alternative. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

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]

This study of 261 Black and White participants determined how standard American English and Black English were perceived on 20 credibility measures. Results indicated that although standard American English was preferred by all participants on several key measures (including all measures of competence), speaker dialect did not alter perceived trustworthiness and likability. On measures of social distance, dialect played a secondary role to the race of the speaker, as White participants preferred White speakers and Black participants preferred Black speakers regardless of dialect. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article is an overview of the research and educational public policy implications of work done on African American Language (also known as Black English, Black language, African American Vernacular English, Ebonics, and African American English). We begin with the Martin Luther King Junior Elementary School Children v. Ann Arbor School District Board case in Ann Arbor, Michigan, because Judge Charles Joiner's 1979 ruling in that case served as an educational catalyst, resounding as loudly throughout the United States as ''the shot heard around the world.'' From the time of King through the end of the twentieth century, and on into the new millennium, there has been a voluminous body of research on the speech of Africans in America. This work has come not just from the field of linguistics, but also from speech pathology, education, psychology, literature, and African American Studies. We summarize the most critical research conducted during this period, including African-centered studies, as well as research efforts to resurrect the Anglicist paradigm. We conclude this article with a call for scholarly responsibility on the language question and a bold agenda for future research and public policy on language and the African American community. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The current Ebonics debate is plagued with historical bias and media misrepresentation. A review of literature is offered to help provide educators with a clearer picture of how to go about stemming the tide of academic disadvantage for African American youth. A few of the myths investigated by this paper include a belief that the language of African Americans (a) is lazy English, (b) has no African roots, and (c) Is best explained by a culturally deficient model. In addition, this paper challenges the false notion that regional colloquialism, American slang, urban hip-hop vernacular, and true historic Ebonics are all one in the same. Classroom teachers who desire a solution to the problem are often unaware of the complexities that permeate Black language development. Effective intervention requires more than educators adopting a few quick-fix classroom strategies. A seven-step model for teaching mainstream English proficiency to Ebonic-speaking youth is proposed. The first few principles of the model are especially highlighted as important prerequisites to the others. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study describes and analyzes outgroup linguistic racism in parodies of Ebonics ('Mock Ebonics') that appeared on the Internet in the wake of the December 18, 1996 resolution of the Board of Education of the Oakland (California) Unified School District on improving the English-language skills of African-American students. We examined 23 World Wide Web pages containing 270,188 words, from which we chose nine pages containing 225,726 words for in-depth analysis. Drawing on a characterization of Mock Spanish, our analysis shows that Mock Ebonics is a system of graphemic-phonetic, grammatical, semantic, and pragmatic strategies for representing an outgroup's belief in the imperfection and inferiority of Ebonics and its users. We show how producers of Ebonics parody pages employ these strategies, which are common in speech stereotypes, to articulate an anti-Ebonics language ideology and shift the blame for the poor academic performance of African Americans from a racist society to learners and the community from which they come. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]