Blog #6

Cain’t nobody tell what im sayin’

But ain’t I speaking English?

Guess I ain’t speaking proper English. But you are. We all are. African American Vernacular English (AAVE)—thought to be seen as bad English because it does not follow these common grammar rules. Ebonics has been coined to devalue this type of English because it is seen as improper and something that cannot be used academically. However, similar to our definition of standard English it has grammar rules and patterns. With language, it is not only spoken by people of that culture but can be used by those living around or those who identify with a specific culture. In the Encyclopedia of African American History it states how “80-90 percent of African Americans speak Black English at least some of the time.” This is showing not only the popularity of this English by the prevalence that it plays in the black community.  Yet it is still considered improper. This is due to the language breaking popular grammar rules that we are taught at a young age. By being able to accept AAVE as a real language we will also be telling students that what they speak at home is not lesser, but a language that has strong ties to their community and its history.

African America Vernacular English has many theories on how it originated. One of the most prominent theories was its creation through slavery. During this time many of these slaves came from different parts of Africa where they do not speak a common language. Because of that, many spoke a type of creole which was used for transactions among them and whites. This shows how during these times many Africans were considered bilingual because they were able to speak this creole that they created, but also speak their native langue. Because of that AAVE came to play because it intertwined English with a strong tie to African grammatical ties. Thus, AAVE shows a connection with English though also showing distinct differences from it.

            African American students and their ability to switch between AAVE and standard English shows this idea of code switch. Code switching is being able to switch between two or more languages. [Explain This and the patterns that are different from standard English]

            African American Vernacular English plays a major role in many forms of entertainment: hip hop and spoken word. Hip Hop was a form of music that has come to be seen as a culture. Similar to the culture of AAVE it has this negative connotation due to its ability to break most grammar rules and seen. [Go more in depth]

Blog 5b

For my blog I want to focus on African American English and its presence in schools. These were the 3 sources I'm thinking about using:

Rickford, John R. et al. “Neighborhood Effects on Use of African-American Vernacular English.” Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America 112.38 (2015): 11817–11822. PMC. Web. 17 Oct. 2016.

Beneke, Margret, and Gregory Cheatham. “Speaking Up For African American English: Equity And Inclusion In Early Childhood Settings.” Early Childhood Education Journal 43.2 (2015):127-134. Academic Search Complete. Web. 16 Oct. 2016.

Boutte, Gloria, and George Johnson. “Do Educators See And Honor Biliteracy And Bidialectism in African American Language Speakers? Apprehensions And Reflections Of Two Grandparents/Professional Educators.” Early Childhood Education Journal 41.2 (2013): 133-141. Academic Search Complete. Web. 16 Oct. 2016. 

Blog #5

For my blog post I decided to read the slam article From Africa to the New World and into the Space Age by Smitherman.

From reading this article I realized that there was a lot of information that I did not know in regards to black English. The one was this push pull method that the author talked about. In the article he discussed how this system ultimately pushes black Americans to use standard white English though when they do they are not as accepted into mainstream America. This can be seen when the author talks about an ex-slave known as Absalom Jones who converted to a “white man’s religion,” but when he tried to go to church he was kicked out and told that he did not belong there. This shows that the push was him being encouraged to join the dominant culture, yet when he does he is not accepted and forced to be excluded.

This article connects closely to my identity because being a black American I can see how it is viewed when you talk proper or when you talk in Ebonics. For me, many of my family members talk in what would be considered a mixture of proper and Ebonics and so for me I have grown up being able to switch between both depending on where I am and who I am around. I think this brings up an important issue on how some languages are seen as being lesser because it does not stick to grammar rules that we were taught and because of that it makes someone not want to speak openly in how they would normally talk. Because of this, I think it is important as teachers to be able to accept everyone’s difference in how they talk and realize that language differences do not mean that they are behind or don’t understand. It is simply that they are not familiar with mainstream English. I think for me issues that I might face is just being able to accept their differences especially in the way they write or organize papers. This is probably the hardest part because I’ve always been taught specific ways to speak and organize a paper so seeing someone do something differently makes me automatically think they don’t understand how to do it. Being able to break that mindset will help me in accepting student’s differences. This is why for my project I’ve thought about using Ebonics and showing how they play out in like hip hop lyrics or even books that are seen as highly acclaimed to show how Ebonics can be seen as a way of language.

In this article the author used a lot of patterns the one that was most distinctive was his use of his own personal dialect. He did that by adding Ebonics in his article to show the contrast between standard English and black English. This was important because it shows how effective black English can be used in academic writing. The author also used parenthetical dashes because he is trying to emphasize certain points that he made such as why the phrase “it bees dat way sometime” is such an important line and how it portrays to black culture.

Blog #4

Language is power and a tool used to empower students. In the article by Canagarajah it explains how diverse language is. Besides that, Canagarajah also explains that as future educators especially we should instead of trying to push “Metropolitan English” which is language spoken by dominant society such as the United States, Canada, etc. But instead we should encourage students to use their primary language to assist them in mastering grammar. Besides that, Canagarajah goes into details explaining how we only use other World English’s when it is not in a formal situation. This shows how lesser we think of those who do not speak what we view as standard English. The reason is because we automatically have this negative connotation that those who cannot write properly or speak flawlessly then they are then seen as not a smart. But then how can we judge someone for that when they are not smart based on our standard not theirs or their community. This is something that Canagarajah focuses on which is trying to break this barrier what we view as standard English and trying to show that there is no right way to speak English.

Besides just another languages Canagarajah also explains that teachers should also accept other English language that students speak just like African American English or different versions of English that students from different parts of the world speak. I think though we should still try to teach students basic grammar rules, we should not try to limit their language and speech by telling them the English they speak is wrong.

I think one of the biggest things I’ve learned is seeing how as a teacher it is more than merely teaching your subject to your students, but it is also trying to incorporate others language and cultures as a way to explain lesson. I think this ultimately is the most important thing as a teacher we can do. The reason being is because it will show students that one culture is not more important than theirs. But instead were all equal. By showing students that it will get students to want to experiment more with language and take chances because they won’t be embarrassed. Besides that, I’ve also learned that different languages aren’t just about people from different countries speaking different language, but also understanding that the way someone speaks English the way you do that instead of telling them their grammar is lesser we should encourage students to use that language.

Language—though unique—should be taught to students in Middle and High School. The reason is because during this time many students are trying to discover themselves and coming to terms with themselves. Language is a huge part of that. By being able to teach students about incorporating their own language in whether their writing or learning grammar. By teaching that is shows students that it isn’t merely just using full and complete sentences, but understanding that when I drop the -g in many words isn’t because I don’t understand how to write. But because that’s the type of speech I am familiar with.