African culture

INTRODUCTION
During the early years of colonization, a very peculiar variety of English was emerging in the West
Indies and southern United States. This variety or dialect was spoken by the black population that
began to settle as a result of the importation of African slaves to work at sugar cane plantations - a
practice started by the Spanish as early as 1517.
When thinking of an "African" culture which had been in contact with European culture, scholars are
forced to postulate the existence of a cultural "heritage" widespread in West Africa, brought to a
given colony by Africans of diverse origins, or to assert most of African colonies came from a "tribe"
or particular cultural group.
The harsh separation between blacks and whites established until the 1960s lead the African-
American community to organize itself around its own values. From this experience, important
cultural expressions were created in places like Harlem, New York, and surpassed the U.S. borders.
This applies, for example, to jazz and soul music that underpins the global popular music in the
broad spectrum of pop. The African diaspora in the United States has revealed to the world unique
personalities in almost all areas, from arts and sports to philosophical thought and scientific
knowledge. (Lopes, 2004 p. 262)


Mintz points out that the structure of the creole language, syntax, phonology, lexicon and
morphology of the creole language, as well as the history of its various aspects, are the subject of
many research questions. The way the language is used, by whom and under what circumstances,
pose a very different set of questions.
We want to know not only how a given language, provided the language, took a consistent and
distinctive form, in terms of its linguistic character, but also by social processes that it is
standardized, it was taught to newly imported slaves. (MINTZ & PRICE, 2003 p. 41).
Oliveira1 says that it was exactly this English-based creole that quickly started to be used on farms
in several southern coastal towns. At the same time, the standard British English was imposing itself
as a variety of prestige throughout the region due to the emerging political influence of Britain.
Creolised forms of French, Spanish, and Portuguese were also emerging in the Caribbean and
surrounding areas, and some of them interacted as the Creole and the varieties of standard English.
Oliveira points out that in the late 1990s, some newspapers and magazines reported the decision of
school authorities of the city of Oakland, in California, to recognize black English as a language, not
as a dialect, slang or "incorrect" use of standard American English. According to these authorities ,
the linguistic habits of black Americans are rooted from a distinct culture from the Anglo-Saxon, and
therefore should receive similar treatments to those provided to immigrants from other countries
where English is not spoken, and receive bilingual education throughout the country.
According to Oliveira, the city of Oakland has asked help from the state of California and other
agencies to implement the program of teaching in ebonics, a term that has supplanted the more
traditional Black English or Black Vernacular English. Tough controveries in important academic
centers in the country have been going on due to movements pro of upgrading ebonics to a
language status. On the one hand William Labov, a researcher from University of Pennsylvania,
thinks that such a decision would help black students improve their academic performance in all
disciplines. On the other hand, critics believe that it increases the racial segregations and legitimates
the wrong use of standard English.
Some consider black English as a dialect and therefore should not receive foreign language
treatment. Black English would be a product of radical political correctness and African-centrism
which will soon racially divide the country and undermine the future of black students, teaching them
something that makes no sense, instead of teaching them English. (OLIVEIRA)
Often, the languages in which slaves and masters communicated were often pidgins or business
jargon, that is, languages with grammar and lexicons reduced, used in specialized activities (such as
trade) involving groups without a common language. There is no consensus whether these
languages were created in the New World or ultimately based in pidgins spoken in West Africa.
(MINTZ & PRICE, 2003 p. 40).
According to Mintz, children born of slave mothers would learn the pidgin spoken by their parents as
their first or native language, and in that case, the lexical pidgin would expand to meet the new
expressive features of language that was not strictly specialized.
At this stage, when a language becomes the language of a group of native speakers, it ceases to be
a pidgin and becomes a creole. (MINTZ & PRICE, 2003 p. 40).
Nowadays the terms African American English (AAE) and African American Vernacular English
(AAVE) are also acceptable to refer to Ebonics.
A LINGUISTIC VARIANT
The Ebonics has its own grammatical rules. It means that changes were made in the rules of formal
English grammar. Below are some differences between african-american and original North
American languages (Iwassa, 2009 p.4).
1. Some words ending in "er" is replaced by "ah"
Tower of Power.
Towah of Powah. (Ebonics)
2. Other words that end in "er" replaces the term "a":
That Negro was larger and was holding a pistol.
Mah nigga was bigga had his fingah on yo trogga. (Ebonics)
The word "bigger" was used to replace the word "larger" and "finger" was chosen instead of "holding
the pistol."
3. Gerund loose the g
What were you thinking?
What you thinkin? (Ebonics)
The verb lost the letter g but we understand perfectly the meaning of this sentence and the loss did
not affect the pronunciation.
4. Words that end with "ore" or "or" is pronounced by the letter "o":
Please shut the door!
Please shut the do! (Ebonics)
5. Tenses are the most affected in Ebonics.
Ebonics use is to refer to all people, plural and singular.