DOCUMENT RESUME 1 CS 504 050 ED 227 516 Williamson-kge,'Dorothy AUTHOR of Black Rhetors on TITLE Rhetorical Analysis and Criticism the Black LanguageControversy--Implications for Education and Society. PUB DATE Nov 82 NOTE 30p.; Paper presented atthe Annual Meeting of the Speech CommunicationAssociation (68th, Louisvi,11e-, .KY, Novembei 4-7,1982). Papers (150) .PUB TYpE Viewpoints (120) -- Speeches/Conference -- InformationAnalyses (070)
EDRS PRICE MF01/PCO2 Plus Postage. Dialects; Blacks; English; . DESCRIPTORS *Black Attitudes; *Black Language Research; LanguageUsage; *Linguistic Theory; *Persuasive Discourse;Racial Bias; Rhetoric; *Rhetorical Criticism; StandardSpoken Usage
ABSTRACT The rhetoric of blackwriters and speakers aSserts that (1) attitudes ,andpractices toward black language are politically based to keep blackssubordinate to thedominant'culture% scholars have a right todetermine the and (2) African American contend me,aning and implications ofblack language. Black rhetors that even those blacks whospeak "standard English" aresubject to often ,discrimination, and.thatembarrassment and subjectivity are given as excuses fordiscounting the opinions of blackresearchers regarding black English. Theycharge that incorrectconclugions have with the , been drawn by languagetheorists who are familiar only surface culture of the blacklanguage, implying that AfricanAmerican language and its scholars come closer tocorrectly interpreting the meaning. These rhetorical arguments areappropriate in terms of rhetorical effort, in that a strongeffort is made in stating'their claims and in providingsupporting data and examples.The rhetoric is, biased, however, from a blackperspective. While appropriate for black/audiences in agreement,it is inappropriate whendealing with the audience in need ofpersuasion. At times thisrhetoric appears to audiences. Perhaps the answer;s simply aim at both. black and white r, to clarify, reinforceideas, and renew commitments.(HTH)
************************************************************************ * Reproductions supplied by EDRS arethe best that can be made . , *. from the original document. *********************************************************************** 7 V. RHETORICAL,ANALYSIS AND CRITICISM OiBLACK RHETORS
ON THE'BLACK LANGUAGECONTROVESYIMPLICATIONS
'FaR-EDUCATION...AND SOCIETY U.S. DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION NATIONAL INSTITUTE OF EDUCATION EOUCATIONAL RESOURCES INFORMATION i ,CEN TER ERIC) This rdoconsiiit ha, hem Orproduced as fervivod hom thv poryal or orfrottation
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November, 1982
7
F. CRITICISM* BLACK RHETORS . RHETORICAL ANALYSIS AND ON THt BLACK LANGVAGECONTROVERSYIMPLICATIONS FOR EDUCATION,ANDsocIEty -
Dorothp4111iamson-Ige,Ph.D
INTRODUCTION
A group of researchers,writers and scholEirs were sutmoned to a national conferenceheld in St. ttalis,
. . Missouri dealing with thelanguage development ofblack
children in' January,. 1973. Black scholars attendingthe'
conference became sodisgruntled with the.rebearch and conclUsions that had beengenerated Cn thesubject that
the3t formed a black caucusto define the oralcoMmunication Out of this body, a from an African Americanperspective. meaning taack and new term wasborn, 'fiEbonics"ebony phonics meaning spund;thus black speechsounds.1
Since this time,a'substantial amount,of rhetoric , concerning Ebonics hasemerged. The rhetorie.is filled and practices with controversies onthe problem of attitudes P .regarding black language. It Ls interesting tbdiscover the black what African Americanscholars have to say about true since many, language controverSy.'This is particularly beineignored on of them have complained,ironically, of
the subject. 2
CareTul analys oT :the rhetcric of blackscholars
reveals atleEist two prevailing themeg or problem areas.
Black writers and, speakersaseert that 1) attitudes and practices toward black languagehave been politically
based tO keep Blacks subprdinateto the dominant culture
and 2) African Americans have aright to determine the
meaning and implications ofblack language. The purpose
of this* work is to assessthe accuracy of the,two
contentions through rhetoricalanalysis arid criticism.
'METHOD The problem areaS identifiedhave been formdlated into
two research questions. Is,the rhetoric of black languat5e. accurate in its assertionthat negative attitudesand
'practices toward blacklanguage are politically based, . consctou§ly or unconsciously,to favor,the dominarit American culture who haS control? Is the rhetoric on
cblack language accuratein its claim that AfricanAmerican scholars have the deepculture and exi5ertise- and,therefore,
should define and determinedirections regarding black
language? A stand will be takenby the writer or criticaS to rhetoric. the rhetoricalapl5ropriateness of the idea-centered of The spokespersons' messageswill be evaluated in terms
4 3
4 4 'rhetorical effortS insteadof effects. Effects are
difficult tO assess since theconttoverSy remains .
unresolved: Appropriate rhetorital effort wile judged *a's .described by Molefi Asante asneither a
Matter of color or theme but Onwhat is 1'n the best interest of the people involved inthe rhetorical
situation. jhetors should be judged, Asante contends, on competende, clari yof pbrspective, and total A understanding of the object from theappropriate' 2 philosophical worldview. In order to place the blacklanguage controversy
into proper perspective, it ifs necessaryto 'understand
the various models ortheories regarding black language.
BLACK LANGUAGE mopms ANDTElEORI.ES 4
At least ten different models, somewith sub7-models,
dan be identified undertwobroad'categories--theorists
whodojnot recognize a separate black language and theorists who do recognizea'dist net black form of
communication. Black sPokespersons or rhetors tend to take strong exception to thefirst two models--the
peficit Model and,the CulturalDifferendte Nodal. _They
show the'most support for,theories referred to as the.
School and Society Models and.Ebonics Theory.
% g 4.." DeficieModel - TheDeficit Model, also referred to as Oonstders black language -the Theory ofVerbal Deficiency, deviant speech which. asslovenljmonstandard, inferior, to progress should be eradicatedby speakers who which does not recognize in,society. This school tf thought and anF continuitybetweenAfri,can Americanslanguage Proponents'of the,model' WestAfrican.language'families. .0 cultural deprivation. perceive black language asthe result of the.only acceptable The theory-considersstandard English as :\ language forAmericans.3 be called the A sub-model ofthe'Deficit Theory can tiroPoses that, Genetic InferiorityModel.- This theory and culture, black children in addition toenvironment Skills.due to are tnferiorin.cognitive and linguistic 4 lips,'larynx, and genetic and anatoMicdifferences in 4 the theory, other speech organs. Therefore, actording o speak standard it'is almostimpossible forBlaàks to level. English-orrespond'on a high intellectual
Theories Recognizing aSeparate RlatkLanguage language While many modelsrecognize a separate 'black thtse' there are stiQ widepoints of differenceexPressed In addition to thewidely theories _concerningblack language. acclaimed'CulturalDffferencebut Equal Theory, there are at ledit fourspecifictheories which will be called School.and-Society MOdel4 sincethey Stress acade'thic
Curriculum- and socie'tal, concerns;and four Linguistic Models which stress the origin of'black language. .
Cultural Difference.buI_Eaual Model -In contrast to the
Deficit Theory,Ei large body of rhetoric Pouredforth with the civil rights demands ofthe 1960s and the government
grants of the-1970s. The rhetoricaf theme of thisschool of thought is that blacklanguage is logical and different,
- bedause of qultural differences;but not deficient.' The
model does-not propose.changing the child. ACcording to
Herbert Simons, 'writer's of this enclavesugges\t teaching .
_black children to read usingblack dialect readers, -allpwing'the children to translateinto black dialect while English as a secondlanguage.5. . reading, or,learning standard
School.arld Society Models
School as FailureMOde1 - The theory in'which the school is
unable to respond adequatelyto the needs of the child is 6 known as the Sch6O1 as FailureModel. Purposey.using black
,)
A language for a black audience, Geneva Smithermanexplains
"Language. . . does not prevent Black children from getting
educated. It is what teachers, Principals, schools, standardized tests and speech tests do to, with and agairrst the language
of some Bladk_children that is a 'barrier to theireducation....
Schools u.se it to label the childtslow,t 'mentally retarded'
or'learning disab1ee."7 School as tallure theoriSts call for teacher're-education and sensitivitysessions regarding
language and'culture. They also call for implementation of teaching techniques which actually teachthe ohild standard
English'and academics sub,iect matter instead of reject the
-student as a'slow learner because ofinitial language
General Vstenis Model - 'This theorycited institutionalized
racism as a basic factor and...holdslittle faith in remedial
educational efforts unless.thesocial systein in which the 8 child lives is changed:
Discontinuity (Mismatch) Model - Robert Williams.and.L. Wendell
Rivers imply discontinuity betweenschool curriculum and black
lang age. They propose matching classinstructions: especially standardized tests, with thelanguage background fr
'Of the child.9 Robert Williams nnd Rivers suggest that such associative bridging or matChingwill "take the -10 child from where he is,,to other goals."
Bioultural*Mddel.- Advocates of Bicultural theory point
to the unilateral notion of blao.k-studerftsbeing recidired
, to learn black cUltUre in addition to standardEnglish
and white'middle-olass culture whileCaucasian children 0 11 remain monocUltutal. This,negates the self-worth of the former to. allA'n the society,*acdordingto the
Bicultural Nodel. The theoty iscsimilar to theargdment preSented by th&se who vie for multicultural education;
that all'cultures shduld berepresented in a pluralistic bodiety tather'than reflect the.Sole valuesof the 12 dominant culture.
LinguistiC Models
Dialect Geographess - Theorists who attributethe Origin 'of
;black language to the geographic location inwhich African American slaves resided irstead of to aCOntinuity with 13 West Africandanguages are considereddialect geographers. They argue that black langvage iscloser to American nonstandard southern white speech and the cl.-pstrgcture)
of Elizabethan languages than to WestAfricanlanguages.
Creolist Theorist'6. - In contrast to DialectGeog*Lphers,.
Creolists theorize that blaCk language'origlnatedfrom a
,pidgin or commontm4d; language used by West. Africans before
being brought toAmericailLP. There'fare, according to 'Creolists, IS1acis language,can'be'conAdered Eflangdae with West African rather than EUropean roots Crelists perceive
, blacklanguage as_a creole which ha4 becomedecreolized aver
time.
Transformational Theory - This theorysynchronically
employs the generatiVe transformatiOhal modelfor deicriptive analysis of black language. Thetheo4 indica'tes that'superficial study of black language's
-similarity or difference to standardEnglish or West,
. k African lanilages cannot be as conclusiVe as thoroughly
A analyzing the .deel5 structure of thelanguage. While
the results of this theoryappear inrscanc1usiveto date, transformational theorists have beencriticized by Ernie
Smith, a major developer of EboniesTheory, for proposing
1 . .,
that contemporary black languagevdrieties are "merely nonstandard social dialects ofEnglish.r15
Ebonies The'Ory - Themost'contemporaryeand pronounced model among black schcgars isEbonips Theory4 Instead , of consideringblack speech as Originating from a creole
or a pidgin', theth.eory traces black language tothe
West,African Hamito-Bantulanguag*families yid criticizes other theories f6r implyingdtscontinuity in the language
and Culture of AfricanAmericans and WestAfricans.- Robert Williams and Riversdescribe concepts of ihe thepry:',
Eb6ni'es is defined as thelinguistic and Paralinguistic featureswhtch on a. concentriccontinuuM i.epresent the communicative cpmpetence ofWest African, Caribbean, and United States slave desc,endantsof African origin. Ebonies ,patois, argots, idepleets, ' includes the various idioms4 'and social dialects efthese people. It is thus the cUlturally apPropriate language-of Blackpeople and is tiot tp be considered'devittnt. Ad example.of Ebonies is: . "The Hawk definitely dinttjivin': outdoorstodays4 labich mean's "the air is crio0" or "thewind pf winter iz piercing." ',.Contrary,to popular beliefthiS Sentence is neither slang-expressioh,-or.a.nonStandardEnglish forth.47
origin, Smith indicates that v In regard to the language's , linguists of-othe i. schools pfthought are ". . actually . genesis; for if,the ignOring the question-of linguistic ..1 .
. and\surface, structure in langUage is notion of the deep. 4 mereintrUsion of European lexicons would not
aiter!the basic structure ofAfricandanguages.0-8 Similarly, 4
.0
4ineriirsliorniftwommilimiOduinimik lO
Lorenzo Turner has identifiedat least four thousand expression§ used by'Blacks in thesouthernUnited States
19 's that are traceable to Africanlanguages. Aante has referred to,words derived fromAfrican origin sUch as
"20 "acogo," "biddy," "goober," "o.k.,"and -lokra." He implies that while the surface structureof the language
influenced and was influenced by theAmerican, South, some African Americans yet retain suchAfricanisms and many of
those-Bl\acks who do not retain thespecific African
vOcabulAry items retain the tone, gestures,rhythmS, and
styling of "he sure can rap." Asante asserts that this
"epic memory" affirms the continuityof African deep 21 culture in African Americans. In addition to criticizing otherblack language
theories for implying discontinuityof .ifrican culture,
Ebonies theorists also criticizeCultural Difference
advocates for suggesting blackdialect readers and' English as a second language for blackstudents in
Schools. Similar to the Schoolas Failureand General
Systems Models', EboniesphilosOphy place's emphasis. on changing school and societyattitudes as well as appropriate
teacher training. Ebonies theorists indicatethat black students have.often been caStaside in the past as'
1 intellectual misfits because cfteache'r inabilities to
educate black Children. Rather thanhaving students.study
standard English as a.secondlanguage or use readers
exhibiting nonstandard. Englishand Incorrect grammat (which
is not considered blacklanguage) Ebonics advocates propose
having school personnel.abceptblack,students and their
language and moire fromwhere they are towardserigusly
attempting to teachblaCk pupils.
Having 'covered some .of themajortheories surrounding
black language, it iseasyto unders!tand the controversial
nature of the rhetoric. Let us move to' Eihalyze some ofthe arguments on the subject. 4
RHETORICAI;.ANALYSI
In orderto!determine whether or ngt the,rhetoric of
blaCk spokespersons isvalid, it'is necessary toidentify
'major issues,regarding theclaims that negative attitudes
and practicestoward black language are politically.based
arid that African Americanshave theright' to define black - langUage and policies towardit. 4
The first research questionis hfghly controversial. black The charge that negativeattitudes.and actions toward
danguage are politically,based is challenged byboth the 12
Deficit.Model and the Cultural DifferenceModel. Both
theories indicate that.attitudes and actionsregarding
black language have developed as such becauseof cultural
disadvantages. However, black scholars assert that the
reasons are morepolitical. Ronald Williams:, a black rhetor
.largues "The Black scholar, then, cannotafford. . . seeing his research or scholarship divorced frompolitics and
econOmics To use dialectal' readers in-a country that is already divided by raceand poverty is'to institutionalize
1,2.2 a low-prestigedialect in the schdols. Approaching rhetorical conflicts from a politicalpoint of view is
not anusual.Leland Griffin has stated ". . . that politics above all is drama; andthat drama requires a historical or sociological thanpolitical."23 ;conflict. .,., ., less Reinforcing t e political argument,several black
rhetors make re te e)rence toinappropriate labels used in describing black language due tobiases exhibite4 by the
dominant culture. Rober't Williams and Mary Brantley refer
to a misnomer; "In mostinstances, nonstandard English and Black English have been irrppropriatelyused interchangeably. nonstandard English is neither BlackEnglish nor, "24 uniquely used by Blacks. Ann Covington takes exception
to another label ". the statement that the Black child
is culturally orsociaily disadvantaged seems to be a catch-all, summing up in one phraseeverything that is wrong with the .term him. . . The Only item not included in 'culturally disadvantaged' isgeneticinferiority."25
Smith goes further to indicat,,that even theterm'
"black English" shows aracial bias because of its incohsisteney wi',h other terms. He states that'"ho one refers to English spokenby Indians as 'red English' or that ofChinese'as 'yellow English;' ornot even that of whites as 'whiteEnglish'--butstandardEnglish."26 Summing up the politicalimplicatinns of black language.
and %abeling from a comparativeperspective, Smitherman
opines "It is .axlomaticthat if Black people were in power idiom."27 in this country, BlackEngligh would be the prestige In addition to takingexception te labels used.in
describing black oralcommunication, the rhetors also refer to the dOublestandardin black and White Americanculture. 4)- They view attitudes andpractices as a matter ofwho has language. the bulk ofpoiitical power as much as a matter of Reminiscing about her.childhoodlCovingtonexplains knew that certain jqbs were openonly . . as children we 9 variety of to white children. It made no difference what English we spoke (just asit did not make a differencein
Nazi Germany that manyJews spoke flawleSs Germanwithout "28 acCent when triFt pogromsstarted) " Reiterating pOlitical -1 14.
Smitherman"generalizes, ",As long as wehave overtones, and-conflict, we're going two separatesocieties in contadt to haVe twoseparatelangusiges.129 point that Robett William's'rhetoric makes the i/ on- 7 administering tests whichhave been standardized and politically White middle-classchildren is monocultural Through ignores a significantracial minority. sPecific BITCH administeYinganfricanvAmerican cultural Ca1tural,Homogeneit5) test, (Black Intelligence.Test.for significantly higher. his results showedthat Blacks.scored African Americans were more than whites on thetest because
' 30 findings knowledgeable on blackculture. Robert Williams' works in reverse when implied that the samephenomenon the standardized tests1whichhave been norm-babed on dOkinistered to many black politically dominadtculturelare that the tests arenot students. The infei4ence is representative of apluralistic society andthat those dominant culture arepenalized who are notmembers of the for their-lack ofpolitical control. well as the Robert Williamsdefends.his findings as the question Ofattitudes rhetoric of otherblack scholars on
and actions beingpolitically based:
this type of workwill probably One criticism it a separatist receive isthat.there.lurks beneath *reverse 'racism"motif. But nothing' ideology or a This work can be could be fartherfrom the truth. r5
moreappropriately d'efined as "humanistic" in that it attempts tol\assess thereactions of.humah beings to situations Aerpetrated upon themby pther human beings. It is furthermore'.an attempttO assess the tremendous poweis of adaptation ofwhich'human beings are caPable.3l
l'h...ellestion_ of Black cholars Determining Di'rections Elgarazijaack Lltnguage
The argument that AfricanAmericans have the right to define theirlanguage.and itsimplications'has also been challenged byearlierstatements of the otherschools of thought andthrOugh.exclusion af'black scholars'in the decision-making 1-socess. African American sicholars complain of being accusedof becomingtoo embarrassed 14ack language. and emotionallysubjective to be experts on 'On this point,drace Holt explains:,. Participants in the development ofthe field'of Black English are-scholarly'agentsof social change who eviidently believed it unnecessaryto include Black . scholarS'in the process. Generally, Blacks have been peripherally involved as informers,data gatherers, 7 and entreres inta areaswhere White penetration would. be difficult.'With limited exceptions, White intellectuals excluded-Blackintellectuals in the development of Black English asa.blusprint for the fEibt of culture social-engineering. . . Given differences, it necessarily followsthat culturally different inquiries may produceculturally different results.32 16
According to black rhetoricalscholars, embarrassmeet and
subje'ctivity are otten gtven as excusesfor discounting 33 _the opinions of black researchers. This may cause one to
question the expertise'of the rhetors. Upon checking the credentials, it was discoveredthat most of the
spokespersons who identifiedthemselves as being black-
hold terminal graduatedegrees and teach inestaAished American institutions of highereducation in fields such'
as Linguistics,Speech ComMunication, English,Reading, 34 Afro-American Studies, andPsychology. The scholars
tend to corrOborateeach other through articlespublished --In-established professional journals;thus stipporting
their professional credibilityandexpprtise.35
In a similar vein, thenotiqn of bias on the pa.tof black researchers is alsobrought into question. :Robert
Jeffrey and Owen Peterson:defiiie any source as being interest in the outcome biased when it has a vested observe of an issue. . . itcannot be trusted to interests are impartially... groups with special "36 likely to be biased. According to this definition,
'the rhetoricians understudy are bias.ed. They make it clear that they have averted interest inremoving
ethnocentric attitudessliditish.tO reverse the trend in society toward a morehumanistic.viewpoint. Robert, to .11.11iams indicates the purposeof the rhetCric as meant
4. influence when he states "Our aim hereis to play up produce, at the same time, the controversy. . . and to 37 some order.out ofthe chaos,surrounding theproblem."
Not only does therhetOrit of black spokespersons admit
being41ashamedly biased., but points a finger'at other theorists for being biased withoutadmitting-or even
recognizing,their owncultdral preferences when making
negative interpretationsabout black language. African American rheto±s arguetbat tlack language
Must be studied and .conclusionsdrawn fromthe worldview that of which the languageoriginates. Asante postulates
"If rhetorical theory emergesAt of given philosi5phicai worldview7and we can diScuss theuniqueness of 'plack
discourse and suggest. . . theoretical directionslthen .of.handling the Surely a .criticism mustemerge Capable peculiarities of thetheory. Otherwise we have asked the
appke to.compare tothe mangOls sweetnessandtoftness08 Covington articulates asimilar idea throughoefering sPecific instance Ofinterpreting 'nonverbal behavior dominant from a'blackperspectlve. Whereas members of the 'culture may interpretblack'children playing with tin cans members and cardboard boxes as:being culturally deprived, requiring of black culture mayview such activities as
greater :challenge andingenuitythan-required with 39 , expensive toys. 18
The ileaction of black parentshas also been assessed on the issue ofblack scholars interpreting the black languagecontroversy. Covington noted that black parents were, shocked athow the language oC
African Americans hadbeen described by educatedpersons ocially as beingnonverball culturally disadvantaged,and 40 deprived. Orlando Taylor's researchshowed that 52% of black parents testeSrecggnized that here aretimes
and places when andwhere blELX language is/more appropriate than standardEnglish. At the same time,
in contrast to dialectreader advocates of theCultural Difference school, 80% oftheseblack:parents indicated a
belief that theteaChing of standard En)glish is important . 41 significant in in,the schoo1s. Taylor's research is while supporting the-'asdertionbY black theorists that African Americans feelpositive toward their language, .they areadamant thatblack'Children learn standard educators.. Znglish and that uninformednegative attitudes of are changedwhich Penalize blackstudents:. rhetors makethe chargethat incorrect
conclusions have.been drawnby theorists who areonlk
familiar with the surfaceculture of black language.
The rhetors imply thatAfrican American scholars,.14tio umlerstand the deepculture and structure ofblack language, guage and -come closer tocorrectly interpretiWgthe 1
its meaning. 19
A Thus the rhetoric ofblack scholarS identify
political bias of the,dohinantculture and excluthion, . of black scholars from Majordecisions regarding the
language.aspitmary causes of negative attitiades and practiOes involved in the rheto cal controversy.
RHETCRICAL CRITICISM' Attention has been given..to" the.sources and messages-
from an exahination of thearguments rather than from a criticism; .111,dgmental point of view. In order to complete the .however, the writer's or crlticls.eValuatfonof the sources-
. 42 and messages isnecessary.! As indicated, since effects are yet materializing, effortsmade,in the rhetoric will be
assessed.
Is the rhetoricWppropriate in terms of rhetorical ".
effort? The,critic's answer is a"qualified yes." The rhetoric makes a:strong effortin stating its claims. Data
_and exarpples give Meaningto the arguments advanoed. The arguments are strongrythupported. Whether or not they are correct, the spokespersons arenot rhetorical cowards.
They take a.stand whichindicts the majority'society. Since most of the scholars arpinvolved with academia, 7
20
stating such claims thenwgrking shoulder to shoulder -
*with peers whom thechallenges are leveled against takes
courage. Tha rhetors.are active agentswho are attempting to reconstruct their environmentregarding how black language
is interpreted. Fresh arguments ;emerged that hadnot, been; addressed before by so many at one time.
Why is the affirmativeanswer. q lified?" Several
explanations can be offered. The rhetorio is biased, from
a_black perspective,*.to thepoint that those of other
schools of thought. may findi,tdifficUlt.to_diget. At, times,the.rhetoric' seems to ignore generalpersuasive
theory if it is trying toreach the majority audience of'
whom manyG of the chargds areleveled against. An outright
attack is-usuallyInappropriatewhen dealing with an 43 audience that maybe hostile toward controversialideas.
On the other hand, ifthe rhetoric is.meant formostly blackscholars and audienceswho are already inagreem4ht,
the tactic is muchmore'appro.Oriate for this supportive to tell whio;h audience audience. It is sometimes difficult aim the rhetoric isgeared toward. At times it appears to at both black and whiteculture. If the rhetoric is aimed
at black scholarsalready inagreement; why, expend energy- trying to perbUade the all'eadycommitted?FerhaPs the
answer is simplyto clarify, reinforceideas, and renew
commitments. In critiquing the rhetoric,ti.4queStion of appropriate
timing surfaced for the critic. If other researChers were
making so many theoretical blunders, why didblack scholars
wait so long to speak up?African American scholars were
around a deoade earlier. Are they not partly responsible for 'the)conclusiond drawn about thelanguage throughtheir
silence?- IftheY had been ignored earlier, why did they not. ..organize before 1973 and make themselves heard? One possible solution came from the critic's search for an
answer. Rhetorio isattund to the trmes. Situational
factors can. constrainryletorical,choices.44, -Perhaps the
scholars were too busy during the1960s with the larger .
oivil rights movemdnt. .Since thattime, -.auses haVe been
fought with.politiOs and thepen.rather than in 'the streets. In essence, the rhetoric under study was more
aPpropriate for a more supportiveAfrican Amdrican than a 'Caucasian American audience in terms of persuasiVe effort.
4 . The timing of the messageswastlargely diotated by the A
cp rhetorical situation. 'Whilethe SotiOe-Message-Critic posture forrhetorical
critiosm indicatei t4at theevaluator-should become actively
involved in the criticism, thecritic has Made a conscious so and yet assesstherhetokc'objective1y.45 . attemptto do Several specific inferenceS havebeen drawn from analyzing
, 0 t) 22
2-
444, , r , the rhetorib. They take 'a:stand on theaécuracy of the two,majorresbarch questionsor.assertions made by black
spokespersOns: J
, 1. The rhetoric'ofAfrican -AmeriCan scholars appears justified in its-claimthat ethnOpentric attitudes
And practices toward,black languageare politically
based, consciously,or.Unconaciously, becaUse of d6miniit culture biases:and lInterpretations. t
2. Black rhetors areadmittedly biased from anAfrican ma'kf:ng the 'above assertion; American perspective,.in , ined the yet no more so41anearlier theorists who def - language from the prsppctiveof the dominantculture.
politically based 3. As the rhetorshave charged, earlier
'attitudes, particularlyof the Cultural.Difference 46 Model, were sometimeswell-meaning but inappropriate.
4. Black scholars make alegitimate claim that their deep rather than surfac culture, in addition totheir their.right to professionalexpertise, "legitimizes" play a key role indeftriipg and determining directions has in regard to blacklanguage. As Maulana Karenga humanity stated, ."NopOople-canturn its history and 47 over to alien'handsand expectsocial justice and reSpect."
1 ; .. 2-3
z
.ONCLUSIOA, Hopefully this study shedsfurther light.on a subject
which has.'been trlated under.differentillUmination. The
rhetoric itself makes importantipplications for education
and society which are subjectenougnalone for treatment in
a sepNrate Work. Even-if one cannot agree withconclusions drawl from this rhetorical study,'perhapshe'or stie will be motiVated to ask'different research questions or employ
different method ogies.
. Just as, dobtors have a swo= oathto healing, so do
social scientists and scholarshave an obligation to
investigate areat.wheremisunderstandings in.languagetand
communication occur. The spbner we understand the rootdf certain communication problems,the sooner we can move
toward remedylng'them..That is our Sob. 24(
1Robert L. Williams, ed.,Ebunics: The True LanguAge of.BlaCk Folks (St. Louis:-ThéIristitute'Of 'Black Studies, 1975) p: III.'
2Molefi K. Asante, AfTecentricitY: The :Theory 2f Social Change.(New dcrk: Amulefi,Publishing Company. 1980) pp. 26 and 68.
3-Walter M. Brasch,'Black English and the Masi Media- . , (Amherst: University of MassachusettsPress, 1981), pp. xxii-xxivand Robert Williams, Ebonics, PP. 97-98.
4Brasch, Black En4ish-, pp. xxiv-xxv and Robert Williams and L. Wendell Rivers,'"The' Effects of Language on the TestPerformance of Black Childrenc," Ebonies, p. 97.
// 5 Herberie-D. Simons, "'Black Dialect and Learning to Read,," Literacy for DiverseLearners Promoting Growth BI All Levels, ed. Jerry'Johns(Delaware: IRA, 1974), pp. 4-7.
6Robert Williams and Rivers, "The Effectsof Language," p. 101.
7 Geneva Smitherman, "Black English: So Good Ws tBad',"'Essence (September,1981), p. 154.
8Robert Williams and Rivers, "TheEffects of Language,"
9 Ibid., pp. 102-107.
10Ibid., .p. 106.
11Ibid., pp. 101-102.
26 25
12Ricardo L. Garcia, 2:2212xlm aPluralistic Society Through Multi-EthnicEducatiork (Bloomington, Indiana: lhe , Phi Delta Kappa EducattonalFoundation, 1978), Pp. 1-26. mor 13 WalterM. Brasch, Black 41.glish and theMasS Media (Amherst: University of MassachusettsPress, 1981), pp. xxv-Ixxvi.
14 Ibid.
15Brasch, Black Eaglish, p. xxviii and302. Also Ernie A..Smith, "The Historical Developmentbf EboniCs," SeminarPaper. Series, no. 38(Department of.Linguistics, California State University,Fullerton, 1977), P. 6.
4 16Brasch, Black,English,pp.xxvii-xxviii and Robert Williams, Ebonici, Pp. 1-141.
r 7 -Hobert L.,Williamsand L. Wendell Rivers, "The ,Effects of Language on the TestPerformance of Black Children," Ebonic8:' The.True /4.12EAREftof Black Folks (st. Louis: The Institute.of slack Studies,1975) pp. 100-101.
18Brascia, Black English,Ipp. xxviii and 302. Also Smith, "The Historical Development," p.,6.
19 Molefi K. Asante, Afrocentricity: The Them of SoCialChange (Ne4 York: Amulefi Pubiishirig Company, 1980) p..74.
20Ibid., p. 75.
21 Ibid. 26
22Ronald Williams, "The Struggleto Know, the Struggle to Survive,"EborkYcs: The _True Language of Black Folks (St. Louis: TheInstitute of Black Studies, 1975) ed.. Robert Williams, pp.55758.
23 Leland M. Griffin, "On Studying Movements," Central States 3ieech Journal,Vo. 31,tNo. 4 (anter,1980). p. 229.
24Robert L. Williams and MaryBrantley "Disentangling the Confusion SurroundingSlang, Nonstandard English, Black Engifsh and Ebonics: Conclusion,"Ebonics, p. 134.
25Ann J. Covington,"Teachers' Attitudes Toward Black English: Effects On StudentAchievement," Ebonics, p.40. 4 26Ernie A. Smith, EbonicsConference, St. Louis Comtunity College at FlorissantValley, St. Louis,.Missouri, March 19, 1977.
27 Geneva SmitherMan, English Teacher, Why You Be DOing the Thangs You Don't Do?"English Journal, 61 (January, 1972), p. 63.
28Covington, "Black Peopleand Black English': Attitudes and Deeducation.in aBiased Macroculture,"Black English: a amlnar, eds., Deborah SearsHArrison and Tom:Iiirabasso (.1iillsdale, New Jersey: LawrenceEribaum Associates, Publishers, 1976), p.256.
29Smitherman, "Black Engi,ish:So Good It's 'Bad'," Essence (September,1981), p. 154.
7,1* 27
30Robert L. Williams, ed., bonics: The'Tue ./ Language of Black ,Folks(St. Louis: The Instktute of Black Studies, 1975), pP.,123-130.
31 Ib4., p. f40
Grace iolt, "Black English:Surviving the aastardization Process," Ebonies, pp.64-67.
33 Juanita,V. Williamson, "A Look at Black English," Ebon16b',-p. 13.
34Robert Williams, Ebonies, pp.142-144
35 J. Sledd, "On Not Teaching English Usage," English Journal (1965), pp.698-703. Also Geneva -Smithermani "English Teacher, Why YoU Be Doingthe Thangs You_Don't Do?"gnEllsh Journal, 61(January, 1972), Ebonies, pp. 142-144. PP. 59-63. Also Robert Williams,
36Robert Jeffrey and OwenPeterson, Speech (New York: Harper and Row,Publisherri., 1975), pp.283-284.
' 37Robert WilliaMs, Ebonies, p.3.
Mo1efi K. Asante, "Afrocentricity asMethod in Diseourse Criticism,"Unpublished-Paper, Speech dommunication Association. Convention, SanAntonio, Texas., 1979, PP. 1-2.
39.Ann J. Covington,"Teachers' -Attitudes Toward Black English: Effects onStudentylchievement," Ebonies, p. 41. 28
4oAnn .1. Covington, "Black PeoPleand Black English: Attitudes and De-education inaBiased Macroculture," Black English: a Liengmar, eds., Deborah Sears Harrisonand Tom Trabasso (HillsdIlle, New Jersey:Lawrence Eribaum Asaociates, Publishers, 1976), p. 261.
41Orlando L. Taylor, "Black Language andWhat to Do AboutIt;'SdIme Black Community Perspectives,"Ebonics: The TrueLanguage of Black yolks (St. Louis;The,Institute of BlackStudies, 1975i ed.., Robert Williams, pp. 28-39.
42Lawrence W. Rosenfield "The Anatomy of Critical 'Discourse,' Speech MonograPhs,(-March, 1968), pp. 142-151.
43Kenneth E. Andersen, Persuasion Theoryand Practice (Boston:' Allyn and Bacon, Inc.',1978), PP, 157-158 and 180-181.
44 Herbert D. Simons, "On Terms-, Definitionsand Theoretical DistinctivenessComments On Papers by McGee and Zarefsky," Central StatesSpeech Journal, Vol. 31, No. L. (Winter, 1980), p. 307.
45Rosenfield, "The Anatomy of CriticalDiscourse," pp. 142-151.
46Ronald Williams, "The Struggle toKnow, the Struggle to Survive," Ebonics, PP.55-63.
47Maulana Karenga, "Afro-AmericanValues," Speech; Buffalo, Center of Positive Thought,1979.
3o