Class teaches students cultural role of Ebonics

By Emily Jones
Staff Writer

Known by some as "Ebonics," African-American vernacular English and its controversial role in society is the subject of a linguistics class at Purdue.

LING 368, "The Sociolinguistic Study of African-American English," is being taught this semester by Felicia Roberts.

Roberts, an assistant professor of communication, said the course covers the origins, linguistic features and oral tradition of the dialect. It also examines some of the prejudices that exist about African-American English.

Roberts said that African-American English is sometimes seen as bad or improper English. The class seeks to "debunk some of those myths and examine why they exist and why they're not true," Roberts said.

The class is small, said Roberts. About 12 students pursuing various majors are enrolled in the class.

Stephanie Hughes, a senior majoring in communication, is one of those students.

"I'm working on a major research project looking at cultural sensitivity in health pamphlets," Hughes said.

She said she enrolled in the class because of her research and also to gain a better understanding of the dialect that, as an African-American, grew up hearing at home.

Hughes said the class has made her more knowledgeable about the African-American dialect and the issues that surround its use.

"It equips me with what I need to know to enter into the Ebonics debate," Hughes said. "Ultimately, the class allows me to understand that African-American vernacular English is a systematic language."

Meghann Lowry, a senior studying communications and English, said she took the class primarily to fulfill a core requirement for her major.

"It seemed more applicable and interesting than other courses offered," Lowry said.

Both Lowry and Hughes said they enjoy the class.

"The small class size is good," Hughes said. "It gives an opportunity for class interaction and discussion."

Roberts, who is not African American, said that her race is not a handicap to teaching the course.

Roberts, who has a doctorate in both English language and linguistics, said that linguists traditionally study many languages and dialects that they may not speak or be personally familiar with.

"I don't feel it's a disadvantage as long as I have African-American students who can fill in where I don't have complete personal experience," she said.

Roberts said that the course will most likely be offered again.

"African-American English is a crucially important area of study for linguists and sociolinguists," she said.

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