Intro
1. Learn Vocabulary - Learn some new vocabulary before you start the lesson.
2. Read and Prepare - Read the introduction and prepare to hear the audio.
You hear it in all sorts of hip hop and rap music, you hear it in most movies, you hear it on the street. It sounds like English, but some people say it’s not.
African American Vernacular English (AAVE), also known as ebonics, is a form of English used by black Americans. Some people think that AAVE is simply incorrect or bad English, others say that AAVE is just another form of English and should be accepted by others.
Listen to Dave and Logan talk about ebonics.
Dialog
1. Listen and Read - Listen to the audio and read the dialog at the same time.
2. Study - Read the dialog again to see how the vocab words are used.
Dave: So, like, with hip hop music, like, this ebonics phenomenon is becoming much more prevalent in English speech, especially American English speech. What do you think of that kind of language?
Logan: Ah, I don’t really have a problem with it, but I think if I had a child who was listening to rap music at a young age…
Dave: Yeah.
Logan: ...I don’t think I’d want him to start using some of the slang words they use, because they degrade women…
Dave: Okay, yeah. So the topics, degrading women and that kind of stuff, that’s universal in any language. That’s not appropriate.
Logan: Absolutely, yeah.
Dave: But when you get into features of ebonics, like, um, “I ain’t got no money.” In English, you’re supposed to say, “I don’t have any money.”
Logan: Exactly, yeah. And it’s almost, like, steering people away from speaking correctly.
Dave: Well, it’s interesting you say that. There’s a big debate now, like, what is correct English?
Quizzes
Lesson MP3
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Discussion
The term ebonics is a combination of the words ‘ebony’ and ‘phonics.’ Some African Americans think the term ebonics is offensive, and prefer the use of AAVE to describe black American English.
Many people believe that AAVE is simply bad English, and that parents and teachers should do more to make sure their children learn correct English.
What varieties exist in your native language? What do people think of those varieties?
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