I remember having to grade the essay of a classmate who was fluent in Ebonics. When I returned her paper, she wasn't too happy but I felt her grammar needed to be corrected because it was an essay, not a narrative. She claimed that she was speaking with her own "voice" so it was important to use "African American Vernacular English" i.e. Ebonics. Our teacher sided with me on the issue, but my classmate accused us both of being racist. How were we to understand the importance of Ebonics? My Teacher was a Franco-Prussian and I was a Scottish-Filipina. My classmate happened to be black, but c'mon, that's no excuse for using bad grammar on a school paper. Besides, if there's one thing you should know about me, I ain't no racist. Now, if I were to correct the grammar of that sentence using my evil grammar skills I would be saying I am racist. See where the double negatives can cause problems? I vote no on Ebonics. If only to prevent people like Justin Timberlake from using it.
2006-09-19
13:12:33
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19 answers
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asked by
Lainie
2