EBONICS ACCORDING TO BUCKWHEAT

A NEW FUROR OVER BLACK ENGLISH PROVOKES SOME STEREOTYPICAL THINKING

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"But somebody done peeped dere hole card," said the Kingfish. "The Clinton Administration said no way dey would fund a bilingual Ebonics program, and Maya Angelou and Jesse Jackson got all bent out of shape too. So the school board issued a statement sayin' dey wasn't settin' up a bilingual program, jist trying to he'p the kids learn standard English. But den dey puts in a paragirraffe dat convinced me dat the school board needs some he'p with its own English." He read, "'In the clause African Language Systems are genetically based and not a dialect of English, the term genetically based is used according to the standard dictionary definition of has its origins in. It is not used to refer to human biology.' Say what? Next thing you know, dese folks be claimin' your IQ goes up if you has more melanin."

"You're right, but don't paint all Afrocentrics with the same brush," Buckwheat cautioned. "Some of them make the sensible point that black speech patterns are, to a degree, influenced by our African roots. That never stopped orators like Frederick Douglass, Martin Luther King Jr. and even some of the young rappers from speaking English far better than most white folks do. And don't forget that American English has been enriched by words with African origins, like gumbo, banjo, zombie and jazz."

"Dis 'ere fuss reminds me of one of dose words," said Kingfish. "Mumbo jumbo."

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