ESL: Ebonics as a Second Language

“I tried Spanish for one quarter in college.
Aye aye aye - no bueno! So I decided then to stick to ebonics as my second language.

It's true. I use it with regularity. I find myself speaking it all the time.

Sometimes, saying "um, um, um" ebonically is the most appropriate expression for the moment. Sho is.

Ebonics is the root of the Southern drawl, after all. Speaking it is as natural to me as a nap in the shade. I was introduced to it in 1971 when the schools were intergrated. Suddenly, half my classmates were speaking it, half my teachers, and my principal.

I spent more time with my band director - Mr. Buggs - than I did with my dad. The band was 85% black, too. That helped.
Um hmmm - sho d'yid.”

“So Why did the Miss Ebonics competition only have 49 participants?”

“My late father, born 1919 in Washington, D.C., said that after spending time in the segregated U.S. Army('42-'46) with southerners(further south than D.C.),"....I could see where southern blacks got their bad habits....".
last edited: 7/23/09 10:55:05 AM”

“Drunk AGAIN?”

“LOL...Lusho has not a GRASP of the make up of the leadership of the first "integrated" army unit...(LOL).”

“Marko -
I know what you mean, jellybean. A HS friend moved to Alexandria after graduation. She expressed the same sentiments as your dad (God rest his soul). She was back home within three months.”

“Now fess up...
Everyone who has ever traveled South to any extent has needed a translator at the GA I-75 exit 100 Wendys drive-thru window. As if the cracklin' wasn't enough - the weary one has to decipher South Georgia ebonics (blacks and whites).

Hell, I have to say "Say whaa?" twice - three times if I get a Frosty! LOL!”

“Hey Cocaine Dan, get that straw out of your nose and wake up!!
As usual you are out in the weeds.

My pappy was in the SEGREGATED Army and it was his introduction to the people who "taught" blacks to speak (what passes for) English.

And I suppose the "bad habits" he spoke of were not limited to grammar.”

“LOL..talk about speechin there Lusho? Yeah you want to talk about the mush mouth crap in the North East? (LOL)

Hey whats the language your cabbies speak (LOL). ?”

“The neighbors across the street have two daughters - one 15, the other 16. We converse often. When they're talking to me it's "yes sir" this and "yes sir" that. They are very polite and demure. They're good kids. When they're on their porch talking - especially if they have friends over - they're loud and ebonicky. In fact, one of them was lying in their driveway the other evening talking on the phone in the most country voice you ever heard - I could hardly understand what she was saying. It's funny stuff.

True story:
I met their dog before any of them (except the mama - she's a cashier at a local department store, but it took me a while to make the connection). Their dog is a pit mix. He looks intimidating, but he loves us (the pack) to death. I called him "Buh". That's ebonic for "Bud". He would visit with us for a while, then I would escourt him back across the street and put him in the fence.

When I finally met the daughters, I asked what their dog's name was.
"Bud" they say.
"No way!" I say "I call him Buh!"
We all laughed. They got it.”

“Ebonicky?”

“The residents are acting stupidly. The neighbors across the street have friends in high places.
last edited: 7/24/09 4:47:19 AM”

“Glad I learned to speak Gullah when I lived near the Ga./SC border for a couple of years. Seriously.”

“I know you're serious. There's nothing wrong with acknowledging dialectual diversity. And there's nothing wrong with learning a variety of accents, don'cha know?

This reporter has two languages:
(does Tilt or XL have a side job?)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wWulZOKANB4
last edited: 7/24/09 6:25:02 AM”

“
Please don't associate me with that prick.

Thanks.

”

“Angry Goober Alert!”

“That presidential gaff about the arresting policeman at the Gates break-in sure did direct attention from the 'NJdem43' and 'Unhealthy Care', eh?

Stovie, was Silt talkin"bout me, Gullah wtf?”

“Tree, you ever hear GEECHIE (sp?)”

“Yes I have. The term also comes from the low country.”