The Thing About Ebonics
Why do some Black people, especially our young people, choose to purposely ignore the conventions of English language and grammar?
When I was growing up, my mom would tease us kids in conversations. From time to time she would jokingly use the word “ED-ju-mah-cated” when referring to academic standing. We all smiled because we knew what she meant. To use the word “edjumacated” in a sentence about academic prowess suggests that the very opposite exists in the person using such language. So, too, are the people who are “axing” for help while sitting at home in pain rather “then” calling for a doctor or “ambalamps” service, “irregardless” of how nonsensical that may sound. Do you see what I did here?
I don’t mean to appear snooty, but we’ve all heard people say such things as axing instead of asking, or pronounce ambalamps instead of ambulance; or incorrectly use then (which is about placement in time) instead of than (which compares items), and adding an inappropriate “ir-” to regardless in their verbage.
All kidding aside, it is alarming to hear some of the pronunciations used in our society today. For me, the pièce de résistance of them all has been this new word, “conversate.” I first noticed this transformation of “converse” a few years ago, when I began to hear it both in public settings as well as on reality TV shows. I thought it was cute at first, like my mom’s version of “educated.” But I began to be concerned when, more and more, it was popping up in more formal or professional situations -- on purpose. I mean, it may be fun & funky to talk this way amongst one’s peers, I get that way myself depending on the circumstances; but if we don’t know how or when to turn it off, appropriate to the situation, we risk being perceived in a less-than-edjumacated light. Now I know that in some instances, it may have been our educational system that failed to keep its graduates on point when it comes to proper English usage; but to use “conversate” REGULARLY -- to the point that we’ve forgotten the real word??! That’s scary.
What frightens me even more is that some of our young folks use ebonic language so much until they treat it like it’s actually correct English! It’s one thing to “be down” when you’re around your homies, and it’s quite another when you can’t (or won’t) turn it off in a formal setting or an interview. Though I can (and do!) throw “ain’t” around with the best of us, I know it’s not meant to forever replace “am not,” “isn’t,”won’t,” etc., in proper American English. Though it’s been in use since the 1700s or earlier, “ain’t” wasn’t even officially inducted into an American dictionary until the 1960s, according to Grammarly.com; and even then, Merriam Webster made sure it was accompanied by a warning of how unconventional its use is.
The thing that makes me go “Hmm” in all of this is the fact that some people don’t recognize that they’ve gotten stuck in the ebonic vocabulary choices that make them appear less intelligent than perhaps they really are. Or worse yet, they refuse to adjust their grammar to the various conversational situations in which they find themselves. So I guess my question is, in a society that already stigmatizes Blacks and youth as considerably ignorant, is it wiser to present oneself as cool, or educated? Why speak ebonically everywhere you go -- DELIBERATELY?!
#twiggworks