Time To Revise Standard American English

[Pioneer1]

Ain't

Yall

Whaddup

Yo

Double Negatives  ( like  "Ain't Nobobdy")

These words have been called "slang" and "improper English" for decades and they have been marginalized from what is considered standard or correct English.

Well, perhaps it's time for this to change.

Perhaps it's time that the words we commonly use but are considered "Black English" become part of Standard American English!

Who made the decision to keep them out anyway?

Most of us use the words "ain't" and "yall", so why the hell AIN'T they considered standard or correct???

 Typical American English wasn't considered correct and STILL isn't considered correct compared to the English of Britain.
It was called "broken English"; but as it evolved into what we have in the U.S. today it became our standard.
Most contractions (like here's and that'll) are simply slang words that became standardized over time because most of the population used them to much.

If broken White American English can be standardized, so can OUR dialect of English
It's all a matter or respect who WHO'S dialects and versions we choose to respect and honor and who's we choose to disregard and hold contempt for.

[ProfD]

59 minutes ago, Pioneer1 said:

Perhaps it's time that the words we commonly use but are considered "Black English" become part of Standard American English!

Yeah bro, as you already know, we only have the power to influence change.

 

Through our continued usage and actions adding flavor to the mainstream, eventually our words and style are accepted and co-opted. Sports talking heads do it all the time. 

 

I remember when Black folks would cringe upon hearing that which is considered  improper English. They considered it ignorant. 

 

Meanwhile, Southern white folks have quite a few words they could want to add. Instead of pushing it, they just continue talking the same way and passing it down from one generation to the next.

 

Through Black conversation and music, folks know the meaning of the words when we use them. They use them too. That's fine.

[Stefan]

Ebonics was proposed and rejected years ago.

[Pioneer1]

On 2/12/2023 at 11:50 PM, Stefan said:

Ebonics was proposed and rejected years ago.

Proposed by whom....and rejected by whom?

Should we be surprised when an enemy....especially a historic one...rejects something that benefits us?
 

There are nearly 50 million (or more) AfroAmericans in the United States and most speak some form of Ebonics or another.
Who in the hell has the power to reject it if WE say it should be codified and established as an official language or dialect?

Negroes need to grow a pair and stop waiting on White mommy or daddy to give them permission to be human beings.

[KENNETH]

On 2/16/2023 at 6:40 PM, Pioneer1 said:

Proposed by whom....and rejected by whom?

Should we be surprised when an enemy....especially a historic one...rejects something that benefits us?
 

There are nearly 50 million (or more) AfroAmericans in the United States and most speak some form of Ebonics or another.
Who in the hell has the power to reject it if WE say it should be codified and established as an official language or dialect?

Negroes need to grow a pair and stop waiting on White mommy or daddy to give them permission to be human 

 

Slang and Ebonics if that's really a thing are fine in certain situations, but not everywhere all the time among ourselves or dealing with whites. We are more than capable of speaking standard English. Why get into some kind of symbolic struggle over making Ebonics standard? It's a distraction from bigger more important issues.

 

[Troy]

English is already has too many exceptions. Even seasoned professional writers need a another professional to correct their writing. 
 

Most languages have a formal and colloquial expression which is fine. No need to rewrite rule book, ‘cause those rules will be eventually be broken too.

 

 Forget the the double negatives, but adding new words makes  sense. i thought “Yo” was already a word. “Ain’t” should be a word. Everyone knows what it means, and many use it. Though i don’t remember what words it is supposed to be a contraction for.

[ProfD]

Ain't is a contraction for is not and are not just like isn't and aren't.

 

At this point, ain't is definitely accepted nationally. It pairs up well with double negatives too.

 

Ain't nobody got time fo' dat...

 

Ain't ne'er another one...

 

Spell check recognizes ain't as a word too. 

[Cynique]

21 hours ago, KENNETH said:

We are more than capable of speaking standard English. Why get into some kind of symbolic struggle over making Ebonics standard? It's a distraction from bigger more important issues.

 

i agree.  it's bad enough that kids can no longer write in cursive or tell time on anything but a digital clock. Standard English is the last vestige of the past. Let's preserve it. 

[Pioneer1]

Kenneth

 

 

Slang and Ebonics if that's really a thing are fine in certain situations, but not everywhere all the time among ourselves or dealing with whites. We are more than capable of speaking standard English. Why get into some kind of symbolic struggle over making Ebonics standard? It's a distraction from bigger more important issues.

 

We can walk and chew gum at the same time.
The only distractions are focusing on issues that are of no benefit to us.

 

Further......

It's not about whether we are capable of speaking "standard" English.  
It's about RESPECT.
..and who controls the narrative.

 

Who decides what "standard English" is?

As AfroAmericans this is OUR nation as well, so we should have a say so in what standard English is....not just a handful of middle aged White men sitting around with their legs crossed in argyle socks at some conference.

Establishing the way AfroAmericans speak as THEE standard in this nation goes a long way toward improving the self esteem and success of our future generations.
 

[Cynique]

On 2/19/2023 at 8:49 AM, Pioneer1 said:

Who decides what "standard English" is?

@Pioneer1 Who decides that Ebonics should replace Standard English?  You??  No way.  You are not the officially-appointed  spokesman for those who are not even the largest minority in America.  No, you are who bitches about white guys rappin' yet are now demanding that America accept Ebonics as the standard language of a country that was built as much by immigrants as by slaves. 

 

It's also noteworthy that other ethnicities are more prone to feel  empowered by having an alternate language of their own in which to communicate among themselves. Nor do you hear the black masses expressing approval over Ebonics being coopted by whites. Just the opposite; most  are turned off by white people trying to talk like black folks, regarding such  lame attempts as a form of ridicule. Language should be allowed to naturally evolve absorbing syntax and vocabulary as time brings change.

 

This is also an example of why you and I habitually  clash.  You insist upon setting yourself as some kind of a paragon who all blacks should strive to emulate.  Obviously I reject  your whim of making the race over in your image, and messianic, ego-trippers like you are the reasons i have divorced the black race in order to become a free lance truth-seeking member of the human race. (And since you are not a genealogist, you don't have the credentials to argue that my superficial "divorce" changes anything about me but my relationship with, rather than my relationship to  America's slave descendants.)

 

I reiterate my agreement with what Kenneth posted.                                                   

[Pioneer1]

20 hours ago, Cynique said:

@Pioneer1 Who decides that Ebonics should replace Standard English?  You??  No way.  You are not the officially-appointed  spokesman for those who are not even the largest minority in America.  No, you are who bitches about white guys rappin' yet are now demanding that America accept Ebonics as the standard language of a country that was built as much by immigrants as by slaves. 

 

It's also noteworthy that other ethnicities are more prone to feel  empowered by having an alternate language of their own in which to communicate among themselves. Nor do you hear the black masses expressing approval over Ebonics being coopted by whites. Just the opposite; most  are turned off by white people trying to talk like black folks, regarding such  lame attempts as a form of ridicule. Language should be allowed to naturally evolve absorbing syntax and vocabulary as time brings change.

 

This is also an example of why you and I habitually  clash.  You insist upon setting yourself as some kind of a paragon who all blacks should strive to emulate.  Obviously I reject  your whim of making the race over in your image, and messianic, ego-trippers like you are the reasons i have divorced the black race in order to become a free lance truth-seeking member of the human race. (And since you are not a genealogist, you don't have the credentials to argue that my superficial "divorce" changes anything about me but my relationship with, rather than my relationship to  America's slave descendants.)

 

I reiterate my agreement with what Kenneth posted.                                                   

 

 

 

 

Wait for it...............