The evolution of Ebonics?

Question

When exactly did Ebonics as we know it come about?
Or was it a more gradual changing of language that slowly came to be what it is today?
Did Ebonics grow out of a mixture of the Southern twang and an African accent?

Answer 1

ebonics is a system of language that developed as african prisoners adapted their native languages to english as spoken in the southern states at the time. it employs african sentence structures and states of being, (ex. I be vs. I amWe be going, vs. We are going). Also, African methods of speech, dropping the "g" from the end of words and dropping the "er" and replacing it with an "a", for example, *****r as opposed to *****. It is important to remember that various forms of ebonics have come about in various areas where africans have been colonized and subjugated, ie Jamaican patois, Hatian Creole, Louisiana Creole, Ghanain Pidgin English. This is not a distinct phenoma and occurs where people are forced to learn the colonizer's language, mostly in informal and forced setting. Mexicans do not speak Spanish as spoken by Spaniards. This process has been ongoing and will continue to shift and become accepted gradually by mainstream culture, ie "gettin' jiggy wit' it!" and "bling bling!"

Answer 2

You are correct Miss!

Ebonics did 'evolve' from the broken English of slaves, an admixture of white Southern (the southern dialect/accent originates from English "English" from the colonizers) dialects, w/ some African words thrown in. Please DO NOT presume that all black people use "ebonics" for business, or leisurely. I, of course, use "ebonics" when speaking to friends (black or white), family, or when I just don't feel like putting on "airs"... Black folks are bi-lingual, if you will just as any other culture/group of people who speaks a language other than "standard English" or "SEV". There is "Black Standard English" and then there is "Black English Vernacular" (BSE/BEV).

I know 'cuz I'm black! Didn't take "wikipedia" to answer the question...

Answer 3

Ebonics is simply a lowering of the bar for correct English. Very few of us Americans use perfect English, but we know there are standards and a means to improve our English if we want a decent career. Ebonics was just a lame excuse for why inner city kids couldn't seem to grasp simple English.

Answer 4

Go to the below link, which has a good deal on this subject. It seems to be the best and most concise to answer all your questions. Also, thank you for asking it as I had never heard of it before this.

Answer 5

Im not sure, but I would guess it is the result of pooly educated individuals that cannot read, write or speak.

Answer 6

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ebonics

Answer 7

As far as I know, it is a mixture of Espanglish and street slang.

Answer 8

Naw, just a bad excuse for bad english!

Answer 9

...cla.calpoly.edu/~jrubba/Ebonics.html
www.evoyage.com/Snipettes/Ebonics.htm
www.stanford.edu/~rickford/papers/EbonicsInMyBackyard.html
www.funnyjunk.com/pages/ebonics.htm
answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20061001061056AA64Icd

Answer 10

research it