Chief Elder Osiris : Bill Cosby, "Poor Blacks Can't Speak English.

[AUM]

I've been told too many times that I act 'white'. And still can't figure out what that means. Does driving a new car, living in a nice home, working in corporate America, having a college education, etc. takes away one's "blackness"?

Well, going for a job interview acting "ghetto" will not get me a job.

If I was born and raised in Spain, I would probably be speaking Spanish. Since I was born in the US, I speak English. I speak it the way I was taught. I will not resort to "ebonics". That is NOT my native language. If I want to learn the language of black people, I will go to an African country. This ebonics mess is something separatist blacks are making up.

I know what I am, a black woman. Nothing will change that. I'm proud of it. But I don't have to "do black" to be black. Also, I don't have to unperm my hair or wear only afroecentric clothing.

Bill Cosby has a valid point...poor black parents put too much into material things such as expensive sneakers instead of getting some educational books or toys for their children. I've seen welfare kids with expensive sneakers or the mother dressed to the nines while the kid is dressed terribly.

I feel that some blacks are anti-education. Look at how many times they have poked fun at my kids because they don't speak "ebonics" and they are in college.

I may not be in agreement with everything that Bill Cosby says, but he has some valid points.

By the way you are so vehemently opposed to so called EBONICS, you are obviously out of touch with black people as a whole. What's the difference between me saying: "Hello, how are you doing today?" and "What's Up?" I'll tell you. Black people have a unique way of mentally communicating what's on our mind and in our hearts in as few words as possible. This is something that the EUROPEAN mind cannot entirely comprehend. Ask yourself if you are EUROCENTRIC or AFROCENTRIC. If you are EUROCENTRIC chances are you have been missing out on a LARGE part of what is known as the Black Experience. If I say "Y'all" instead of the drawn out "You all", I'll need you as a Black Woman NOT to look at me as an Ignorant Black Man. That's self hatred. Ignorance is Ignorance, period. While you embrace the KING'S ENGLISH and Shun so-called EBONICS you have separated yourself from a part your melanin-family. You stated: "I don't have to "do black" to be black. Also, I don't have to unperm my hair or wear only afroecentric clothing."

If you are indeed a Black Woman, how do you NOT "Do Black"??? Aren't you doing Black everytime you wake up, Breathe, cook, etc.? If you are saying that "Doing Black" is speaking Ignorantly then I feel sorry for ya(<--"ebonics" for 'You') You probably CRINGE when you hear a person of english-speaking Caribbean descent speaking in there native Patois, which is a Beautiful, poetic artform, just the same as so called EBONICS here in the U.S. I grew up in Savanna(h), GA; 4th generation of freed slaves. If I were to speak to you as I grew up speaking to my elders and peers, I believe YOU would think I was from a foreign land. As far as your "Afrocentric clothing" remark, I won't honor that with a response except to say go right ahead and spend your hard earned money on EUROCENTRIC clothing from Prada, Gucci, Dooney & Boorke, etc. that you feel best represents you. Perming your hair is DESTRUCTIVE to your health and an unconscious(I hope) attempt to assimilate into EUROCENTRIC beauty standards...Don't take my word for it, read on: http://destee.com/forums/showthread.php?t=25906

I pray that your eyes be opened to the truth of your being. No doubt, you have denied some, if not all, of what is in this post. Denial is the first step in embracing the truth, so I'm not worried. No one is saying that you should embrace ignorance and stupidity. Of course, you will not advance in corporate Amerikkka (<--ebonic spelling) if your employers cannot understand you. KNOW THYSELF is what your ancestors want you to realize at this now moment. Until then, "Be Easy"(<--ebonics for "Hey, take care of yourself, okay?" in PROPER English). ONE (<---once again, ebonics for "Goodbye, have a pleasant day" in PROPER English)

 

[Changes_Changes]

Nice post, Brother Aum. Welcome to the Family.

 

[Khasm13]

well stated aum...we have witnessed another example of the house n/ field n syndrome...it's our job to banish this mindset...
one love
khasm

 

[IssaEl21]

Hotep Ala Antut / Antuk = Peace Be Unto You

It Wrong For bill To Make A Statement's Like That In Public Seting . Just Goes To Shows The Ignorance Of Another Negrod With A Little Money . He Always Talking About How He Was Rise Did He Forget That Family Business Stay In The Family And Only Spoken In The Family Seting . Not In The Public, He Would Never Speak Out Against The Caucasian Children Like That In A Public Seting . Because That Would Let Him Know Who He Really Is .
:flamet: :flamet: :flamet: :flamet:

 

[HODEE]

Very good point AUM. Cosby did make the " Fat Albert" cartoon series. He brought that straight out of how he grew up and the kids around him. In that cartoon. He ( Bill ) spoke proper english, yet he exploited the dialect of those he knew and grew up with.

Blacks learned english from poor speaking southern slave holders. We have improved considerable compared to how and what we were taught. Today if you go to the south. You will find broken english. So what do we call southern white’s language that isn't correct? ( Caucabonics )

The famous poet. Paul Lawrence Dunbar spoke and wrote in both broken english and proper english. If Americans and Bill Cosby have a real problem with how we speak. That's their problem. Not ours. The point was made, by
Chief Elder Osiris " Tell me what will it profit Black poor people to learn the America phonetics, will it cause a rise in their Scio- economic status in America by doing so or will it cause them to sound more white American or become more respected? "

No it won't give us more jobs, more respect or more standing on an economic level. Bill Cosby is trying to distinguish himself, and lower the embarrassment he feels when asked by his counterfeit friends. About the language they hear coming from other blacks and how eloquent he speaks. He has lost something here. He may never recover, whether it makes a difference or not. Bill has fallen in the eyes of many.



http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ebonics

" Linguist William Labov carried out and published the first thorough grammatical study of African American Vernacular English in 1965.
In the late 1960s and early 1970s, his studies of the linguistic features of Black English Vernacular (BEV) were also influential: he argued that BEV should not be stigmatized as substandard but respected as a variety of English with its own grammatical rules, although speakers of BEV should be encouraged to learn standard American English for interactions in society at large. "

" A linguistics professor at Washington University created the term Ebonics in 1973, then detailed it in his 1975 book, Ebonics: The True Language of Black Folks.
African-American Vernacular English (AAVE), also called Ebonics. Black English, or Black English Vernacular (BEV) is a dialect of American English. Similar to common Southern US English, the dialect is spoken in many African-American communities in the United States, especially in urban areas. It has its origins in the culture of enslaved Americans and also has roots in England.
Sociologists, linguists and psychologists generally believe that it is common for oppressed people (as, for example, African slaves in the Americas) to adopt a radically different dialect from their oppressors. This is done to subtly rebel against the oppressor and his culture, and to differentiate themselves, as well as to foster pride among their community. Slaveholders generally considered the changes in speech to be due to inferior intelligence.

Most speakers of AAVE are bidialectical in that they command Standard American English (SAE) to some degree in addition to AAVE, switching between using SAE forms and AAVE forms depending on social context. "