The Soapbox : Ebonics Translator

I was looking for a good one but all I could find were joke sites. I think this one is legit.

I did "give a dog a bone" as a test and got "give a bitch a bone". Does anybody know if that's correct?

Here's the opening of the Pledge of Allegiance in Standard English:

"I pledge allegiance to the Flag of the United States of America and to the Republic for which it stands, one nation, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all."

Here it is in Ebonics:

"i pledge allegiance to da flag of da united states of america an' to da republic fo which it stands, one nation, indivisible, wit liberty an' justice fo all."

https://lingojam.com/TrueEbonics

---

I GameBoy
You gotsta …

I don't. I'm just curious.

https://filmboards.com/board/p/3312308/

---

I GameBoy
You gotsta …

Wildman is a joker. I don't take him seriously.

However, his thread title got me thinking about Ebonics.

From Google Dictionary:

Dictionary
E·bon·ics
/ēˈbäniks/

noun

American black English regarded as a language in its own right rather than as a dialect of standard English.

So it's not a "code". It's a language plain and simple.

I love using the Google translator just for fun. My favorite is Burmese. It's script is beautiful. ငါဂူဂဲလ်ဘာသာပြန်ကိုပျော်စရာအတွက်သုံးရတာကြိုက်တယ် ကျွန်တော်အကြိုက်ဆုံးကဗမာပဲ။ အဲဒါကလှပတယ်။

But Ebonics is an academically accepted language, not a dialect. I'm seriously asking is there a good translator for it, so the student of anything and everything can understand it's structure and grammatical rules?

All the translators I saw online do exactly what I showed you, change "dog" to "bitch" and make a joke of it.

It's a real language. I want a translator! 😜

---

I GameBoy
You gotsta …

Read Zora Neale Hurston.

---

Hark! Harold the angel sings.

Imagine how much more she could have said and done if she hadn't been forced to rely on white patronage for publication.

Thank God to the feminists of the seventies for reviving the legacy of a woman whose voice would otherwise have been silenced by a literary canon that is oft both sexist and racist.

I'd trade all of Hemingway's works for "The Gilded Six-Bits" alone. She was a force to be reckoned with, a powerful folklorist, and a starkly honest author. Crystal stair her life was not, but she refused to be discouraged. Long live her stories.

---

Hark! Harold the angel sings.

Oh, absolutely. I've a degree in literature, and even in my courses, which concluded as recently as 2019, we didn't cover even half as many black authors as we did white. A lot of that is due to the post-Enlightenment eradication of minority literature, but it's just as much to do with contemporary literary scholars not putting in the effort to expand the canon. Zora is a recent case, but is far from being an uncommon one; you are absolutely correct.

Are you familiar with Phillis Wheatley? It's a wonder that the only black voices who are heard are those that conform to white standards of 'excellence.' Women in general were only lauded if they adhered to classical standards, with even Dickinson having her works edited to fit the mould until deep into the 20th century, and black women were bound by even stricter expectations. Still, their subversion was brilliant beyond explication; Wheatley's "On Being Brought from Africa to America," whilst certainly reflecting the tone white audiences would have demanded from her, delivers so powerful and damning a message in its reminder to "Remember, Christians, Negros, black as Cain / May be refin'd, and join th' angelic train," that it's a wonder the resident stuffy, old, white professoriate allowed her to be canonised at all.

Absolutely! I'm familiar only somewhat with the history of feminism, and that is entirely through the study of its literary impact. I'd love to learn more about it from you, whenever you're up for the discussion.

---

Hark! Harold the angel sings.

Wasn't ready is code for we thought her work sucked.

I knew the "dog" to "bitch" translation was hilariously offensive to women. Sorry Miss Thaaang, I can't help but laugh.

This can be a great thread if we let it be. If you get pissed off that's on you. I'm trying to have an intelligent conversation on the topic. Disagreement does not have to turn into anger. We faggots have a gay "code" too. >>>

It's an interesting topic and I thought it would make a great thread. I'm the Admin. That's what I try to do, post interesting topics for discussion. And I don't believe we need to segregate discussions which might touch on race.

I'm delighted that Jacky actually gave me a great source in an author: Zora Neale Hurston http://www.loyolanotredamelib.org/en203/items/show/156 @Cerridwen, I will check her out.

I still have no idea what "code switching" means linguistically. I'm trying to look at Ebonics as a language, linguistically, devoid of any subjective political overtones.

It seems to me if the acceptance of Ebonics as a language in itself is an attempt to enable African-Americans to advance, while keeping their culture in tact, there can be no "code switching". Ebonics must be a respected language or "dialect" which doesn't change when a white coworker walks in the room. Do you understand my point? We are trying to bring equal opportunity to everyone. "Code switching" might be counter productive at this point.

I'm referring to my above point about integration and advancement in your "survival" link:

For example, you could be at work talking with your fellow black coworker and code-switch the moment you notice a white coworker come in. The conversation changes from saying something like ‘I been bought AirPods’ to ‘I bought AirPods’. The ability to code-switch for black people is about far more than adapting to the way white people speak, it is a survival skill.

Google Dictionary says Ebonics is a language. However, I did first look at the Encyclopedia Britannica and it said it's a dialect. "Ebonics, also called African American Vernacular English (AAVE), formerly Black English Vernacular (BEV), dialect of American English spoken by a large proportion of African Americans." https://www.britannica.com/topic/Ebonics I'm a bit perplexed by the differing definitions. So is it a language separate from English?

Now every language has dialects. Every other language can be translated despite dialects, and there is a standardized version. Why is Ebonics different? You explained there are different versions based on geography. But that applies to all languages. Why isn't Ebonic standardized in an easy-to-use translator like Haitian Creole for example? If you know of one, can you link it?

---

I GameBoy
You gotsta …