Oakland Ebonics Controversy - Linguists' Response

Linguists' Response

Several groups of linguists and associated organizations issued statements in support of recognizing the legitimacy of African-American Vernacular English as a language system.

"The systematic and expressive nature of the grammar and pronunciation patterns of the African-American vernacular has been established by numerous scientific studies over the past thirty years. Characterizations of Ebonics as 'slang,' 'mutant,' 'lazy,' 'defective,' 'ungrammatical,' or 'broken English' are incorrect and demeaning." "There is evidence from Sweden, the U.S., and other countries that speakers of other varieties can be aided in their learning of the standard variety by pedagogical approaches which recognize the legitimacy of the other varieties of a language. From this perspective, the Oakland School Board's decision to recognize the vernacular of African-American students in teaching them Standard English is linguistically and pedagogically sound."
—the Linguistic Society of America

"Research and experience have shown that children learn best if teachers respect the home language and use it as a bridge in teaching the language of the school and wider society."
—from Teachers of English to Speakers of Other Languages (TESOL)

Walt Wolfram, a linguist at North Carolina State University, wrote that this controversy exposed:

1. the intensity of people's beliefs and opinions about language and language diversity,
2. the persistent and widespread level of public misinformation about the issues of language variation and education
3. the need for informed knowledge about language diversity and its role in education and in public life.