Hiring Of Ebonics Translators Sparks Controversy
August 24th, 2010 - 7:46 pm ICT by GDBy Madhuri Dey
Aug 24, (THAINDIAN NEWS) Once again the legitimacy of “African-American English” which is popularly known as Ebonics has gained prominence in United States after the federal Drug Enforcement Administration revealed that it is going to hire around nine specialized Ebonics translators. The news has left both the supporters and the critics of the African American English to come up with their own point of views over the matter. It has also brought to the forefront the 1996 Oakland, California school boards resolution to recognize the “African-American English” as a separate language distinct from English which was later dropped after much discussion and debate.
John Rickford, a Stanford University linguistics professor said to media sources on Monday after the announcement that Ebonics is not just another form of English that has some slang words thrown in it. He held that it is much trickier than that, as it has a big vocabulary that bears some significant differences from the mainstream English. H.Samy Alim, a professor of linguistics at Stanford University said that it is ironical that while the school that teaches black students failed to recognize the legitimacy of the language while the federal agencies and the authorities accept the fact that they do not understand the language. He maintained that the present move tells a lot about where the country stands socially in terms of recognizing African-American speech.
However, while people like Professor H.Samy Alim maintain that the need of Ebonics translators points to the fact that it is a distinct language, there are many English language lobbyists who have voiced otherwise. Aloysius Hogan, the government relations director of English First said that hiring of specialists of languages that are of questionable merit is wrong.
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Tags: african american speech, black students, california school boards, dey, distinct language, drug enforcement administration, federal drug enforcement, government relations director, john rickford, legitimacy, lobbyists, madhuri, mainstream english, media sources, oakland california, prominence, questionable merit, samy, slang words, stanford university linguistics