Date of Award

5-1997

Degree Type

Thesis

Degree Name

Departmental Honors

Department

Communicative Disorders and Deaf Education

Abstract

Black English has recently entered the media spotlight with the passing of the Ebonics resolution by the Oakland School Board on Dec. 18, 1996. In this resolution, the school board unanimously voted to recognize Black English or "Ebonics" (a term which combines the words "ebony" and "phonetics")(LeLand & Joseph, 1997, p. 78) as the primary language of many of its students, and to teach students in their primary language in order to maintain the "legitimacy and richness" of the language, and to help students master standard English. Needless to say, the resolution was met with highly charged arguments - some in support, but many in opposition.

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Faculty Mentor

Sonia Manuel-Dupont

Departmental Honors Advisor

Penny M. Byrne