Steven Willis - Ebonics 101 

Many Romance languages allow the use of double negatives. English did, too, but a bunch language nerds in the 18th century decided that since Latin didn’t allow it then English shouldn’t either, despite English being more Germanic than Romance. And German allows double negatives, as do most Romance languages (Italian, Portuguese, French requires it…). It was a completely arbitrary decision.

+Subporter Well, not necessarily. It is believed to be a dialect by many linguists, but there are a lot of linguistic scholars that think it isn't a dialect of English but an English-based Creole language. I think that's why he says "I call it America's Creole."

Can you please explain what ebonics is,I realize it's slang I talk in kiwi slang..But was this taught in School?

You do realize Ebonics has origins from the slums of England. They said aks for ax, dem for them and that for dat. Those people were forcefully transported to the Americas as Convicts or indentured servants. Black people learned Ebonics and their "culture" from the convicts England dumped in America

George Sibley good for you

+joe john There is no hope for you. Clearly you have zero empathy or understanding for language, culture, or poverty. Why are you even here?

My favorite part

Sooooooo perfect

Do you guys think Americans that are black are the most discriminated race?

He’s literally aloud on the mic. “Jim crow grammar” this man wouldn’t be able to live out his little rap dream in any other time. Get with it, pick yourself up by your boot straps

i was like damnnnn

beautiful

🙄

can you explain to me what this means i don't understand the reference

+David Reyes strange fruit is a reference to lynched bodies hanging from trees like fruit. The middle passage was a route that Slavs ships took to ship slaves from Africa to n America and more

well i feel attacked. jk amazing vid

Do you believe in White privilege?

+Lillian Gish ha ha nice catch. Teachers make typos as well. Contrary to popular belief, outside the classroom most of us don't run around with red pens correcting everyone's speech all the time. We're only human after all. Xb

God i wish you were one of my teachers

+LattesAndMockingjays Improper by what standards. Americans butcher the English language daily, and in a myriad of ways. Ebonics is a cultural representation of English that stems from generations of terrible decisions made by those who had power at the time and is now embraced predominantly in communities where people are considerably worse off than much of the country. I have lived in such communities. I have known many people who use Ebonics. It may be another version of English, but it is no less relevant than what is considered standard English in America. To those who know how to speak it, it is a fluent and well understood vernacular. Don't dislike one method of speaking simply because you do not understand it or its significance to history or culture. Personally, I don't agree with the term "improper English." If language never evolved with culture and historic events then we would all be speaking old English the way Chaucer did. Shakespeare changed the language in his time and it has continued to evolve and change since then. Part of the discussion that I had when I taught this poem the first time was actually to analyze the progression of English from a Shakespearean sonnet, to a Robert Frost Poem and finally to the Ebonics lesson that this poem provides. My students then had to follow that pattern and try to work in groups of four to predict the next possible major shift in the English language and make their own poem using elements of all four English styles. Some of the poems that I got back were some of the greatest poems that I've ever read. If any other English teachers read this, I highly recommend it.

WOW! Thanks for coming back and sharing.

This video was used in the AAVE section of my History of the English Language linguistics class in college. It really is a very important part of the history of the English language, I am so glad to see it being taught and accepted.

Huh?

Akeyla Agossou-Houeto Steven is really cool in person

i just met him today! he’s so nice, he talked to one of my friends about theater in college and gave him audition tips. so chill frfr

It’s just an excuse for poor English. Nothing wrong with that though

Doesn't translate to global peer-reviewed scientific journals. You do you bruh

Can't we all jus git alaw?

+Rashid Muhammad bro I need a help in my english if u dont mind want get ur number

+Rashid Muhammad bro I need a help in my english if u dont mind want get ur number

why?

@@dillonvossen1144 it’s a compliment Yk how people say that u get chills when someone is singing? It’s because they’re singing really good

I remember the first time I saw Steven do this piece. I couldn't really believe it was happening - it was just too good. So yeah I'm right there with you. Always another layer.

@@ButtonPoetry Yeah! I was friends with Steven in college and I am so proud of how hard he pushes himself. It is so inspiring!

Captions saved my life in understanding He slips in a lot of context clues that it hurts He's an amazing poet!

pois...os americanos têm uma postura arrogante perante o Ebonics devido ao racismo, penso.

Silvia Mendes Está correto. Eu concordo. x

Angolana There’s nothing “wrong” with Ebonics. It just sounds extremely dumb and ignorant. I really recommend not getting into the habit of speaking Ebonics.

Makayla ... did you hear the poem like at all ?

Ayee•laneyy Nope I didn’t... also calling English the “Oppressors language” is extremely racist. :/

You know why

Lol

You can turn on captions to see the words written. Just know that some of the names are spelled wrong in the captions.