All American Students Must Learn Standard English
What are words? A simple question such as this would in theory demand only a simple answer. Words, however, take such an abundance of forms that creating a truly inclusive definition for the notion of “words” is daunting. In its physical manifestation, a word is little more than air passing over taut tendons, forming sounds which are accented by flicks of the tongue against the teeth and roof of the mouth. These sounds are arranged in patterns that come to be recognized and accepted as words. But are these sounds all that words represent?—certainly not. Words command power. Although the defiant playground motto states that “sticks and stones may break bones, but words can never hurt,”
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According to Geneva Smitherman, in her book Talkin and Testifyin, standard English as we know it today flourished in the eighteenth century to fill the void left by the decline of Latin (186). African American Vernacular English, or Ebonics, also formed to meet a specific need. Contrary to popular belief, Ebonics rose out of 19th Century southern slave culture, not out of repeated use of “sloppy” speech. Slaves who were strictly oppressed by their masters were not allowed to peaceably assemble or meet with each other for any purpose. Such freedom, slave owners feared, could foster coercive ideas amongst their slaves. Slaves, therefore, needed a language that would allow them to communicate with each other in a clandestine manner. Ebonics rose to meet this need (Smitherman 19). Using Ebonics, slaves were able to communicate behind their masters’ backs and form a unity that was instrumental in the perseverance of African American culture through the unspeakable trials of slavery.
Almost one hundred and forty years after Abraham Lincoln’s Emancipation Proclamation ended slavery, the need which Ebonics originally rose to meet is no longer present. In its place, a new need has arisen—the need for increased social mobility. Statistics show that a cycle of poverty has formed in which a disadvantaged African American child has little chance in his lifetime of ever advancing appreciably beyond the social
The government implementing English as the official legal language of America is imperative because a conformity of communication within our borders is needed to unify the vast diversity. Our mighty country was founded on providing all citizens with equality including inalienable rights to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. The United States is a progressive nation that welcomes people from far and wide to come and savor the God-given freedoms enjoyed by all. With all of the diversity from the countless immigrants coming in to our port cities, looking for a more prosperous future, a necessary tie is needed to bring the people of the nation together. Interaction with others
The debate on whether the United States should make English the official language has been raging within the borders of the country for decades. Several bills have been presented to Congress over the years, but have stagnated due to the opposition on either side. Though there would certainly be drawbacks to introducing English as the official language of the United States, there would also be immeasurable benefit. Not only would an official language streamline government processes and reduce government spending, it would also aid the United States by unifying its’ people.
As the United States developed and grew, upward mobility was central to the American dream. It was the unstated promise that no matter where you started, you had the chance to grow and proceed beyond your initial starting point. In the years following the Civil War, the promise began to fade. People of all races strived to gain the representation, acknowledgement and place in this society. To their great devastation, this hope quickly dwindled. Social rules were set out by the white folk, and nobody could rise above their social standing unless they were seen fit to be part of the white race. The social group to be impacted the most by this “social rule” was the African Americans. Black folk and those who were sympathetic to the idea of
The system has also privatized the school and prison system, which go hand in hand with the economic reality of today. The racial disparities of today, was triggered by the downfall of the economic system that is in place right now. Families are struggling and individuals are looking for a way out. This paper will identify the realities African Americans face with the issue of economic justice along in the United States.
The lack of opportunity provided to African Americans and other minority demographics to enjoy the plunder of the post-war economy, including better education and housing, exposes the shortcoming of what we now remember as one of the most prosperous times in American history. Because of the prevalence of systematic racism towards African Americans, through the lack of equal treatment and opportunity, many African Americans could not enjoy a similar quality of life to white
The African American has been behind the eight-ball since slave ships transported the 1st slaves to America during the Atlantic Slave Trade. African Americans seizing equivalent status to white men at the end of the Civil War can be scrutinized as an achievement in capitalism. Investing in uplifting the African American from within itself is the only the way social views will pivot. Focusing on educating themselves will lead to financial gains for the community closing many gaps statistically across America between racial groups. The financial freedom received will in turn allow events to be handled differently for many African American in our justice system and the changing of how the events are perceived will change the views of the race that was once deemed 3/5 of property. No longer will the African American be lagging in the equality race in the country if these changes are achieved. Russell Simmons, a Hip-Hop mogul said, “I don’t think financial freedom and economic empowerment is the last leg of the civil rights movement. Taking one step toward financial literacy takes you two steps toward personal consent.” The journey of the African American achieving financial freedom will lead to overcoming systematic injustice as long the African American invests within in
In our American society, a gap between one’s aspirations and reality remains extremely wide. Currently, the United States has the least equality and opportunity than almost all other advanced industrial countries. The notion that America is a land of opportunity continues to be questioned as a multitude of studies have exposed this notion as a myth. Economic mobility in the United States is lower than most of Europe. This paper expands on the ways in which the lack of social and economic mobility is even more alarming when looking at the limited movement of African Americans up the social and economic ladder. A portion of this inequality is explained by discrimination based on race. African Americans and Latinos still earn less of the dollar than whites (Khau 2013). In addition, the disparities are explained by the fact that the life prospects of an American are far too greatly dependent on the income and education (Lareau 2002). In turn, it has become more evident and a true reality that social and economic mobility are not equally accessible for all, but rather it is more of a truth for whites in America.
In his discussion on poverty among African Americans, William Wilson has identified several historical factors that have contributed to the increase in poverty levels in the recent years. Such factors included, first, shift in the American economy from industrial to informational economy, thus limited the labor poll to only highly specialized individuals; second, the historical flow of migrants, and what it bring with it from competition over limited amount of resources; third, change in the urban minority age structure, where individuals who are underage are the majority in both Hispanic and African American poor communities, Fourth, population change in the inner city; and finally, the class transformation of inner city, where middle class African Americans, have left the inner city and moved towards other middle class neighborhoods, thus, leaving behind a concentration of poor and underclass African Americans in inner cities all across the United States.
Since the early 1960s poverty rates for African American adults and children has been a problem. But, since the early 1960s the poverty rate has shrieked for specifically the African American children over twenty percent. There are many reason why this shrinkage has happened but I specifically would like to talk about one African American graduating high school and receiving Federal Financial Aid.
Many African American families are reared by single family households normally the mother. African Americans are about twice as unemployed as White Americans lead to our over representation in poverty families and underrepresented in high social economic societies. The educational lack between African American cultures compared to other cultures is the influence that history holds. Previous reviews focus on the gaps that African Americans face, but provide no reasoning.
“America is failing its young Black boys” (Prager, 2011, p.1). It is a bold statement about the conditions of Black children in America. This research paper addresses the low likelihood that poor Black children may overcome poverty because of conditions such as negative environment, poverty stressors (e.g., crime, violence, health issues), and parental influence. It is a controversial issue as studies suggest parental behaviors as well as community and school involvement can help poor Black children out of poverty, yet other studies suggest stressors such as emotional and health issues or participating in welfare systems as a result of poverty will heavily impact if not deter future success. Despite programs instituted to fight the war on poverty, the issue remains prevalent and studies, e.g., impact of welfare reform, continue to provide relevant information on the impact of poverty. The research for this paper focuses on Black children living in poverty and the low likelihood they will overcome poverty.
The debate of instituting English as the official language in the United States is a debate that has been going on for centuries. Many people believe that English should be the official language because we are American, and Americans speak English. However, many of those people fail to realize that we all come from different heritages and corners of the world. Language should be an art of expression, one where people of all heritages and backgrounds can speak in the language that they have learned. Implementing English as the official language in the United States would be to essentially ignore and disrespect all of the heritages, nationalities, and religions that make the United States a unique place to live. The United States is
African American vernacular traditions have been around for many centuries and still cease to exist in their culture. The vernacular traditions of the African Americans started when slaves were existent in the eighteenth and nineteenth century. It is believed that the slaves spoke a mix of Creole and partial English, in which they had to create in order to communicate between them discreetly. The vernacular traditions originated from the way the slaves lived their lives and their creativity. The relationship between the slaves and their masters, were very weak because the master’s believed that the slaves were inferior to them. It is believed that African American
African American Vernacular English, which is known as (AAVE), is discussed by Jack Sidnell. In his
The debate of should English be the official language in the United States has become more controversial than ever, some say yes, while some others say no. English should be the official language of the United States, learning English and understanding English provides a general code that can eliminate the cons of diversity in language.