THE EBONICS DEBATE Three University of Virginia educators offer diverse views on Ebonics, the "Black English" spoken by some African-Americans. The Oakland, CA, School Board voted to treat Ebonics as a second language last month, and Congress is expected to address the issue this month. EBONICS DESERVES RECOGNITION AS SEPARATE LANGUAGE "Different does not mean defective or deficient," asserts Donna Ford-Harris, a nationally recognized specialist in gifted education who researches how to help black children succeed in school. She strongly endorses the idea of recognizing Ebonics as a separate and legitimate language. Pointing out that Ebonics has its own structure, syntax and history, Ford-Harris believes that those who speak it and standard English should be considered bilingual. She considers the ability to speak two languages a strength. "Language skills is one of the first areas parents and educators consider when deciding if children are gifted. A child who communicates in different ways and in different languages is often viewed as having potential for giftedness," said Ford-Harris, author of the 1995 book, "Reversing Underachievement Among Gifted Black Students." Not recognizing Ebonics harms black children, she says, because it invalidates their culture. "Being told that they speak incorrectly is an insult to the children's parents," said Ford Harris, an associate professor in U.Va.'s Curry School of Education. Noting that Ebonics is different from slang or street language, she pointed out that Black English is used by older people in the African-American community. "Older people speak Black English; they do not speak slang. Black children should not be penalized or held back in school because they speak Black English, the language practiced at home. It is a recognized form of communication." A frequent consultant to schools that are establishing programs to encourage the potential of minority students, Ford-Harris said that teachers often overlook the ability of minority students because of their ethnic differences. "Teachers sometimes feel that minority students don't have strong verbal skills because they speak Black English. When working with teachers, I encourage them to look beyond students' word structure to the quality of ideas being presented." A key reason why black students nationwide are underachieving in schools may be teachers' inability to recognize the content of thoughts presented in Black English, said Ford Harris. Some teachers may view students who use Black English as unintelligent, lazy or unmotivated -- which may help explain why so few minority students nationwide are chosen for gifted programs, she speculated. "Students who speak Black English are presenting their thoughts in a structured, coherent manner of communicating -- using rules, just like in any other language. That is why I favor federal funding to encourage the teaching of Black English as bilingual instruction," she said. Ford-Harris, who helped U.Va.'s Curry School gain a $2.9 million grant to establish a minority research center in special education this academic year, believes her ability to speak Ebonics has helped her career. "When conducting research with inner-city children and their families, I can put them at ease by speaking Black English. I am able to use the language with which they are most familiar and comfortable." Ford-Harris can be reached at (804) 924-0843 or via dyf7a@virginia.edu. EBONICS DOES NOT DESERVE SEPARATE LANGUAGE STATUS Current research illustrating the differences between standard English and Black English does not lend support to the idea that Ebonics is a second language, thus qualifying it for bilingual education status, says Linda Swank, a U.Va. speech language pathologist and researcher of children who speak Black English. Standard English and Black English have the same basic language forms, content and use, and very few differences in grammatical structures have been noted between the two, says Swank, author of "Addressing the Ebonics Question: Documentation of African-American English Forms" that was submitted to a national speech language journal this month. "Much research indicates that Black English is a rule-based linguistic system that is spoken by many African-Americans, but not all," she said. A fitting analogy, she believes, are those children who speak colloquial Appalachian English. "When such children arrive at school, they soon learn to 'code-switch.' Children who have standard English modelled for them while acquiring a sensitivity for their own linguistic code learn that both are acceptable, but used in different settings. We all have 'family' or 'peer' language that we don't use in formal, academic or professional settings." Children who have a rich understanding of their home language are able to move into speaking and reading standard English quicker than those who don't, Swank notes. "Keep in mind that they have been hearing standard English via radio, television, videos and the world at large." Swank recently completed gathering data at four Headstart centers where children who spoke various levels of black English were asked comprehension questions in standard English. "Our early observations indicate that the majority of children, even those who speak Black English, are able to perform adequately with verbal commands spoken in standard English." For more information, Swank can be reached at (804) 924-4622 or via lks4n@virginia.edu. OAKLAND VIEWS EBONICS AS BRIDGE TO STANDARD ENGLISH "Debating whether Ebonics is a dialect of English or a separate language is beside the point," said Ellen L. Contini-Morava, a U.Va. linguist and associate professor of anthropology. Mastery of standard English is important for economic and social advancement, Contini Morava said. A specialist in Swahili, a language originally spoken in East Africa, Contini-Morava said that by accepting African-American dialect as a language in its own right, Oakland educators are embracing Ebonics as a way of reaching out to children who feel their language has been ruled substandard and is being ignored. Ebonics, a combination of the words "ebony" and "phonics," is traceable to African languages, she noted. "By moving away from the traditional attitude that African-American vernacular is merely a deviant, incorrect form of English that needs to be discarded, the Oakland School Board is embracing Ebonics as useful. By using the name 'Ebonics' instead of 'slang,' 'broken English,' or some other derogatory term, the board recognizes the home and community language of many African-American children as a language with a rich history, folklore and oral tradition," Contini Morava said. "It seems perfectly reasonable to teach children and their teachers to recognize points of contrast between their home language and standard English, and to use the home language as a bridge toward standard English," she said. Contini-Morava can be reached at (804) 924-6825 or via e-mail elc9j@Virginia.edu. ### January 23, 1997 Television reporters should call our TV News Office at (804) 924-7550.