The Ebonics Debate
On December 18th, 1996, the Oakland Unified School District adopted Ebonics, a terms which is a combination of the words ebony and phonics used to describe the African-American vernacular, as a language. Since then it seems wether on talk shows, newspaper editorials or television news, everyone wants to offer their opinion. This paper will examine two very different points of view, and decide which arguments proves to be stronger. In Charles J. Fillmore=s article AA Linguist Looks at the Ebonics Debate@ the enthymeme states this resolution is necessary in A(b)uilding on the language the children have to help them acquire the language they need to learn in school@(2). He states that most people are misinformed about the intentions of the school district as well as the problem at hand. In Chuck Sambar=s article AEbonics@ a contrasting view is offered. The enthymeme of the article is as follows: AThe decision of the Oakland School District to put itself on the map of educational nonsense has been fast, broad based, and unrelenting@(1). He argues that everyone=s time and money could be much better spent on more important issues in today=s school system. The following three paragraph=s will examine the et
Sambar=s claims state that the resolution is filled with underlying nonsense and only offers a big step backwards in language, being that Ebonics is only a collection of mistakes. He believes the resolution will only have negative repercussions for both sides involved. In contrast, Fillmore claims that the resolution only stands to improve conditions for both sides, making it easier for students to learn, and teachers to teach. The grounds for his argument rely on the necessity of the situation. Simply, something must be done and this school system has come up with not only the best, but the only solution. The only grounds for Sambar=s argument is the possibility that he will somehow have to pay for this program with extra tax dollars. Fillmore is quick to explain that this program would cost very little compared to Welfare and child care programs which are a direct result of poor schooling. hos, pathos, and logos elements of the two debates. I will then examine the two articles using Toulmin=s scheme, to decide which arguments is most sound by examining the claims, grounds, backing, warrant, and then the qualifier of each article. Upon initial scrutiny of the logical structure of each argument, the validity of Fillmore=s debate becomes evident. Alternately, from the beginning of Sambar=s argument his logic shows flaws that continue throughout the article. From Fillmore=s opening paragraph his logic is stated in a clear and up-front manner. He explains that the root of the debate lies in the confusion of the term=s dialect and language. He then goes on to explain the two in a manner that sets up the logical shell for the rest of the argument. His logic is grounded not only by the understanding of the terms in question but in his understanding of the Oakland school system=s resolution itself. It is unclear if Sambar has even read the resolution much less if he understands its objective. His logic is based on the idea that Ebonics should be kept in the home of the students and out of the schools. He states that A(t)his land of the free and home of the brave was built on the cultural richness and diversity of many people...(A)nd regardless where they went or what they did, they learned to talk to their neighbor in a language which is common and understandable. It happens to be English@(2). With this statement it becomes obvious that he missed the objective of the resolution entirely. As Fillmore explains, it is the understandability
Some common words found in the essay are:
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Approximate Word count = 1666
Approximate Pages = 7 (250 words per page double spaced)
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