The term “ebonics” comes from the blending of the words, ebony and phonics. It was created in 1973 by a social psychologist, Robert Williams who had the intention of giving a name to the broken English spoken by a group of Americans.
This partial language or broken English is still spoken to this day and is often celebrated by writers, musicians, and pastors. In January of 1996 it was even validated as the “genetically based” language for the majority of students in Oakland, California.
Ebonics is very easy to recognize since it is a lazy version of the English language where most consonants are shortened or omitted to make each sentence as short as possible. For example, “ama do it” replaces “I am going to do it,” and “baf” substitutes for “bath.”
It is glorified so much that people have started writing Ebonic phrases in picture captions, text messages and posts on social media. Liberals will often willingly use ebonics when speaking to those who have trouble speaking naturally to appear to have the problem as well.
Many people hear ebonics and immediately think it is a sign of limited education or a lack of sophistication and they would be partially correct in that assumption. Another reason it continues to be spoken is that ebonics is a speech impediment or a speech disorder, much like a stutter or a lisp. This impediment is a learned behavior and is taught to children by family members, used by the community and glorified in popular culture.
This impediment could easily be treated, after linguists and the World Health Organization (WHO) recognize this problem as a speech disorder, speech therapy and special education classes could begin. In extreme cases, psychotherapy may be required.
Someone who uses Ebonics will find their job prospects diminish and professional relationships become almost nonexistent. Teaching this disorder to children is irresponsible, perpetuates ebonics and ensures their future is limited.
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