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at its most literal level, ebonics simply means ‘black speech’ (a blend of the words ebony ‘black’ and phonics ‘sounds’). the term was created in 1973 by a group of black scholars who disliked the negative connotations of terms like ‘nonstandard negro english’ that had been coined in the 1960s when the first modern large-scale linguistic studies of african american speech-communities began.

the fact is that most of the vocabulary of ebonics is from english and that much of its pr-nunciation (e.g. pr-nouncing final ‘th’ as ‘f’) and grammar (e.g. double negatives, “i don’t want none”) could have come from the nonstandard dialects of english (white!) indentured servants and other workers with whom african slaves interacted.

southern caucasian speech has been referred to as whibonics (white ebonics).

just to emphasize its english origins, i’ll point to the fact that most of the vocabulary of ebonics is from english and that much of its pr-nunciation (e.g. pr-nouncing final th as f) and grammar (e.g. double negatives, “i don’t want none”) could have come from the nonstandard dialects of english indentured servants and other workers with whom african slaves interacted.
african american ebonics:
fo sho (for sure) / wuddup or w-ssup (what’s up), etc.

caucasian ebonics:
get the caah (car) boston / who dat deah (who’s that there) / i like to had a heart attack (i likened to have had a heart attack), etc.
a poor excuse for a failure to grasp the basics of english. when in doubt, throw an “izzle” sound in the middle of any word of just string random thoughts together and insinuate that they actually mean something. when backed into a corner, you can always claim that it has something to do with a sort of symbolism or is a defining trait that makes your race great, versus own up to the fact that it is essentially laziness at it’s finest.
plim-plizzle, my nizzle, don’ foget bouts tha six-fo, chuch, dawg up in da hood, chilly my grilly. fo sho.
ebonics is really the study of the rules applied to turn english into some uneducated sounding pseudo-language whose purpose is for the most part to insult and denigrate “whitey.” here is what i learned in ebonics 1 :
i) in any english word with a contraction, eliminate the apostrophe and any letters after it.
1) is it alright if i rollerskate through the campus ?
english) yes, it’s alright
ebonics) it ok
ii) in a word ending in “d,” subst-tute “dt” or “oodt.”
english) that’s all very fine…
ebonics) that all reeeal gooudt….
iii) in a word ending in “ore,” eliminate everything after the first “o” and add an apostrophe.
english) i won’t tell you again, please shut the door.
ebonics) i ain tellin you no mo’, shet de do’ !!
iv) for suffixes with 2 identical consonants followed by “er,” eliminate the “er.”
english) that negro was larger and was holding a pistol.
ebonics) mah n-gg- was bigga had his fingah on yo’ trigga.
v) in general, most “er”s are dropped and replaced by “ah.”
english) tower of power
ebonics) towah of powah
vi) however, in the case of a plural, “ers” is replaced by “az.”
english) negroes
ebonics) n-gg-z
now, a brief poem :
they go my n-gg-z all up in da hooudt,
n-gg-z be pimpin’ just like dey shooudt,
leroy drive his caddy right into a dee-itch
’cause his punk–ss homey is too much of a bee-itch
sistah on the pipe she hit on da stem
homeboy got his -ss in jail ageein’
got me a supakool layin’ in da free-idge
n-gg-z be flyin’ high off’n da bree-idge
sambo f-cked up, he high on dat sherm
bustin up a cap hey cuz got de germ

so you get the general idea…
the language of the gangstas and negroes.
ebonics: “yo g, you frontin me?”
english: “excuse me, my peer, are you attempting to influence me to engage in a violent action with you?”

ebonics: “you gots to git those benjamins so you cin git dat bling-bling fo yo ride”
english: “you need to get money so that you can get expensive accessories for your car.”
a “variation” of english entirely made up of slang and southern word shortenings. it is generally spoken in the “hood” (neighborhood) and has almost no defined syntactical structure. also of note is the almost complete lack of conjugation of verbs (“i be”, “she be”, “thems be”, etc) and the mixing of pr-nouns. when spoken in any educated circles, its usage usually screams “i am illiterate.”
jive/ebonics: “sheeeeiit, foo, i’z be doin’ dat sh-t an’ shorty be axin me fo’ sum’ scrilla.”
english: sh-t, friend, i am doing that stuff, and my girlfriend is asking me for some money.
ebonics is the language of african-american ancestry, struggle, pain, intelligence, love, mercy, understanding, survival, resistance, and enjoyment. ebonics, represents that warm place in the hearts of many of us african-americans, when we think about our ancestors, who could not speak nor understand english, but struggled to speak a language they were not taught formally for hundreds of years. ebonics allows us to connect with our ancestors through language. ebonics is a language that is celebrated, enjoyed, and spoken intentionally by me, because it is easy on my tongue, fun, creative, and saves time. i ‘respect’ standard english, but i ‘love’ ebonics and slang, because they are a part of me – a decent and meaningful part of my history, my culture, and my family. my ancestors spoke ebonics while they cried in pain, but now, i can speak ebonics while i smile with joy.
standard english example:
question: what do you need to do?
answer: i need to take the time, to gather the information, and then double check it, to see if i am correct in my facts; then i have to package it and take it to the post office, so that i can get it insured, to make sure i don’t lose my valuable work.

ebonics example:
question: what cha’ gawn do?
answer: lawd ha’ murcy! i nee’ ta git dis stuff togetha
and take it ta da post office, and git me some insurance!
african-american slang which is not usually readily understood by caucasions.
ebonics “my milkshake brings all the boys to the yard, they’re like, it’s better than yours, d-mn right its better than your, i could teach you, but i’d have to charge.

english “my frozen dairy treat brings all the male gender to the gr-ssy area in the front of my residence. they say it is superior to yours. yes, they are correct, it is far superior than yours. i could p-ss along this knowledge, but there would be a fee.
a type of slang mostly used by your typical “thuged-out” n-gg-s
artist: big l
alb-m: the big picture
song: ebonics

yo, pay attention
and listen real closely how i break this slang sh-t down

check it, my weed smoke is my lye
a ki of c-ke is a pie
when i’m lifted, i’m high
with new clothes on, i’m fly
cars is whips and sneakers is kicks
money is chips, movies is flicks
also, cribs is homes, jacks is pay phones
cocaine is nose candy, cigarettes is bones
a radio is a box, a razor blade is a ox
fat diamonds is rocks and jakes is cop
and if you got rubbed, you got stuck
you got shot, you got bucked
and if you got double-crossed, you got f-cked
your bankroll is your poke, a choke hold is a yoke
a kite is a note, a con is a okey doke
and if you got punched that mean you got snuffed
to clean is to buff, a bull scare is a strong bluff
i know you like the way i’m freakin’ it
i talk with slang and i’ma never stop speakin’ it

chorus: repeat (2x)

“speak with criminal slang” -nas
that’s just the way that i talk, yo
“vocabulary spills, i’m ill” -nas

yo, yo
a burglary is a jook, a woof’s a crook
mobb deep already explained the meanin’ of shook
if you caught a felony, you caught a f
if you got killed, you got left
if you got the dragon, you got bad breath
if you 730, that mean you crazy
hit me on the hip means page me
angel dust is sherm, if you got aids, you got the germ
if a chick gave you a disease, then you got burned
max mean to relax, guns and pistols is gats
condoms is hats, critters is cracks
the food you eat is your grub
a victim’s a mark
a sweat box is a small club, your tick is your heart
your apartment is your pad
your old man is your dad
the studio is the lab and heated is mad
i know you like the way i’m freakin’ it
i talk with slang and i’ma never stop speakin’ it

chorus (2x)

the iron horse is the train and champaign is bubbly
a deuce is a honey that’s ugly
if your girl is fine, she’s a dime
a suit is a fine, jewelry is shine
if you in love, that mean you blind
genuine is real, a face card is a hundred dollar bill
a very hard, long stare is a grill
if you sneakin’ to go see a girl, that mean you creepin’
smilin’ is cheesin’, bleedin’ is leakin’
beggin is b-mmin, if you nuttin you comin
takin’ orders is sunnin’, an ounce of c-ke is a onion
a hotel’s a telly, a cell phone’s a celly
jealous is jelly, your food box is your belly
to guerrilla mean to use physical force
you took a l, you took a loss
to show off mean floss, uh
i know you like the way i’m freakin’ it
i talk with slang and i’ma never stop speakin’ it

chorus (2x)

yeah, yeah
one love to my big brother, big lee
holdin’ it down
yeah, flamboyant for life
yeah yeah, flamboyant for life

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