adsfads
In today's society language is an individual's best means of communication. Without language most people would be very hard pressed to understand one another, and it is for this reason that it is important for those individuals living amongst one another to speak the same language and therefore be in a position to understand eachother. At the present time the primary language of the United States is and always has been English. However on December 18, 1996 the School Board of Oakland, California undermined that primary language when they choose take on the subject on of "Ebonics" or Black English. In there opinion those members of their school district from African decent have a more difficult time learning due to a language barrier. The basic idea being attempted by the Ebonics program is to educate those members of the Oakland School district who are of African American decedent in a way which will make it easier for them to comprehend information. However by giving validity to a language that is not recognized anywhere outside of Oakland is putting those children at a disadvantage in the long run. Moreover the Oakland School Board deemed Ebonics as a language. This alone posses two problems. As of now no
The resolution clearly stated that the school board felt that African Speech Patterns were genetically based. That is to say that there is some sort of biological reason as to why these children speak this particular dialect of English. However studies have been done to see if children do have tendencies toward language, and when raised in environments where nobody spoke to them they did develop some form of language of their own. Moreover while the results proved that a "tendency toward language is genetically based, there is absolutely not evidence to show that African genes predispose a person to speak English in a particular way." Even the NAACP (National Association for the Advancement of Colored People) doesn't see the recognition of Ebonics within the school system as beneficial. This language is merely the English of the under-educated with provincial variances in accent and structure from locale to locale throughout the English-speaking world. What our children need, and other disadvantaged American children as well...is training in basic English which today is nearly an international language. Let our children have the opportunity, and be encouraged to learn the language which will best enable them to comprehend modern science and technology, equip them to communicate intelligently with other English-speaking people of all races, and to share in the exercise of national power. request has been made for federal funding for this program. However by claiming Ebonics to be its own language many feel that the Oakland School Board is simply using this terminology as a tactic to later be in a positio
Some common words found in the essay are:
African American, School Board, Standard English, Colored People, Speech Patterns, Heritage Dictionary, , Black English, Oakland School, American Dream, school board, oakland school, oakland school board, standard english, african american, primary language, ebonics language, district african, school district, own language, school district african, request federal funding, board simply, english own language, school board simply,
Approximate Word count = 1098
Approximate Pages = 4 (250 words per page double spaced)
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