Public and academic understandings about language: The intellectual history of Ebonics

Author: Kretzschmar, William A.

Source: English World-Wide, Volume 29, Number 1, 2008 , pp. 70-95(26)

Publisher: John Benjamins Publishing Company

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Abstract:

The Ebonics controversy revealed surprising public rejection of the ideas of academic linguists. The intellectual history of the situation provides a reasonable explanation. Linguists lack consensus themselves, while the public consensus includes inherent contradictions. Academic and public ideas of language came into conflict over Ebonics in part because linguists attempted to impose their own ideas on the public, in part because of confusion over terminology, and in part because the situation was entangled in social politics. The lessons of the affair suggest an approach to language and public policy in which linguists come to terms with public views of language.

Keywords: EBONICS; AFRICAN AMERICAN ENGLISH; LANGUAGE IDEOLOGY; STANDARD ENGLISH; CORRECTNESS; AUTHENTICITY; LINGUISTIC THEORY; LANGUAGE AND PUBLIC POLICY

Document Type: Research article

DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.1075/eww.29.1.05kre

Publication date: 2008-01-01

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