The Soapbox : Ebonics Translator
Re: Ebonics Translator
Why in the heck would you need an Ebonics translator? 
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Re: Ebonics Translator
Re: Ebonics Translator
Ah, I see. That thread is ignorant and definitely not "Ebonics".
To answer your question - 'give a dog a bone' in Ebonics would be 'give a dog a bone'. If you want to learn true African-American linguistics, just talk to an elderly country black person. As with other languages, different regions across the U.S. have their own dialects.
Most Black people code switch anyway, especially in a professional or academic setting.
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To answer your question - 'give a dog a bone' in Ebonics would be 'give a dog a bone'. If you want to learn true African-American linguistics, just talk to an elderly country black person. As with other languages, different regions across the U.S. have their own dialects.
Most Black people code switch anyway, especially in a professional or academic setting.
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Re: Ebonics Translator
Wildman is a joker. I don't take him seriously.
However, his thread title got me thinking about Ebonics.
From Google Dictionary:
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 …
However, his thread title got me thinking about Ebonics.
From Google Dictionary:
DictionarySo it's not a "code". It's a language plain and simple.
E·bon·ics
/ēˈbäniks/
noun
American black English regarded as a language in its own right rather than as a dialect of standard English.
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 …
Re: Ebonics Translator
Read Zora Neale Hurston.
Hark! Harold the angel sings.
Hark! Harold the angel sings.
Re: Ebonics Translator
She really captured the essence of the Black American struggle within her novels. Amazing author who unfortunately died penniless. Mainstream America just wasn't ready for her.
If they ever made an autobiography about her life, Queen Latifah should definitely play her, because they favor each other a lot.
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If they ever made an autobiography about her life, Queen Latifah should definitely play her, because they favor each other a lot.
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Re: Ebonics Translator
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.
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.
Re: Ebonics Translator
Imagine how much more she could have said and done if she hadn't been forced to rely on white patronage for publication.
Sadly her story was a fairly common one for the black literary artists (and other black creative minds) of her era. Although her novels faired well among African-Americans, she wasn't well received by White America and suffered professionally as well as economically because of it.
I think the first novel I read of hers was Their Eyes Were Watching God, which was adapted into a made for TV movie starring Halle Berry.
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.
We can have an entire conversation about this topic and how black women are often excluded from white feminism, but I'll save it for another day. Lol
Alice Walker is another author he should check out as well. She uses a lot of AAVE in her novels.
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Re: Ebonics Translator
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.
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.
Re: Ebonics Translator
Are you familiar with Phillis Wheatley?
I've heard of her, yes, but I've never read any of her poems or other works. I'm more into contemporary black writers/authors/novelists like Langston Hughes, Alice Walker, Toni Morrison, Ntozake Shange, Maya Angelou, James Baldwin, and others of that ilk.
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.
Remind me to take you up on this offer one day soon!
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Re: Ebonics Translator
Wasn't ready is code for we thought her work sucked.
Re: Ebonics Translator
You are misunderstanding what I'm saying, Gameboy. I'm going to break this down and explain this to you as clearly as I can as a black person. So grab your notepad, sit back, and learn something today.
When I talk about CODE SWITCHING - I'm referring to the act of using Ebonics or Black American English - (African-American Vernacular) at home, and speaking proper grammatically correct English in a professional or academic setting (i.e. when we are around white folks). Nearly all black people do it to some degree or another. It's akin to being bilingual.
https://medium.com/an-injustice/code-switching-means-survival-for-black-people-f94208971141
As for this:
I'm not debating that. I'm simply stating there are various dialects within AAVE which differ from one another. This is dependant upon whichever state or region of the country we live in.
The black people in California, Chicago, or New York (for example) may use certain words, phrases, and idioms that differ from those of us in the Southern region of the United States, although we all speak in a common African-American vernacular (i.e. Ebonics). Do you understand what I'm saying?
Gullah geechee is a perfect example of this. It is Ebonics (AAVE), but a different dialect within the language that is mainly spoken in North Carolina, South Carolina, and some areas of Georgia. It's the same in Louisiana where my parents hail from. They speak AAVE too, but a different dialect of it, than we black folks in Texas. It's not a "one size fits all" language like you may mistakenly believe.
In RL you wouldn't hear a black person say "give a bitch a bone" when referring to a dog. They'd say "give a dog a bone". I don't have to go by some online dictionary which was more likely than not created by a white person with no first hand knowledge of AAVE. You wouldn't hear an old black Southern grandmother saying 'give a bitch a bone'. That doesn't make sense.
Although we spoke Ebonics (to some degree) in my home when I was growing up, my parents were both college educated, and preferred that we speak proper English. They didn't allow us to speak any slang around them either. So when we did speak slang, it was outside of the house, and around friends.
Anyway, if you want to hear some common phrases spoken in the Ebonics language, just tell me what you want to hear, and I'll make a vocaroo for you.
Provided you don't piss me off in this thread by trying to act like you know more than I do about Ebonics and African-American Vernacular English. Don't turn this into another "Black Hair" debate, GB.
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So it's not a "code". It's a language plain and simple.
When I talk about CODE SWITCHING - I'm referring to the act of using Ebonics or Black American English - (African-American Vernacular) at home, and speaking proper grammatically correct English in a professional or academic setting (i.e. when we are around white folks). Nearly all black people do it to some degree or another. It's akin to being bilingual.
code-switch·ing
nounLINGUISTICS
the practice of alternating between two or more languages or varieties of language in conversation.
"the conversational code-switching of the German-American bilingual community"
https://medium.com/an-injustice/code-switching-means-survival-for-black-people-f94208971141
As for this:
But Ebonics is an academically accepted language, not a dialect.
I'm not debating that. I'm simply stating there are various dialects within AAVE which differ from one another. This is dependant upon whichever state or region of the country we live in.
The black people in California, Chicago, or New York (for example) may use certain words, phrases, and idioms that differ from those of us in the Southern region of the United States, although we all speak in a common African-American vernacular (i.e. Ebonics). Do you understand what I'm saying?
Gullah geechee is a perfect example of this. It is Ebonics (AAVE), but a different dialect within the language that is mainly spoken in North Carolina, South Carolina, and some areas of Georgia. It's the same in Louisiana where my parents hail from. They speak AAVE too, but a different dialect of it, than we black folks in Texas. It's not a "one size fits all" language like you may mistakenly believe.
All the translators I saw online do exactly what I showed you, change "dog" to "bitch" and make a joke of it.
In RL you wouldn't hear a black person say "give a bitch a bone" when referring to a dog. They'd say "give a dog a bone". I don't have to go by some online dictionary which was more likely than not created by a white person with no first hand knowledge of AAVE. You wouldn't hear an old black Southern grandmother saying 'give a bitch a bone'. That doesn't make sense.
Although we spoke Ebonics (to some degree) in my home when I was growing up, my parents were both college educated, and preferred that we speak proper English. They didn't allow us to speak any slang around them either. So when we did speak slang, it was outside of the house, and around friends.
Anyway, if you want to hear some common phrases spoken in the Ebonics language, just tell me what you want to hear, and I'll make a vocaroo for you.
Provided you don't piss me off in this thread by trying to act like you know more than I do about Ebonics and African-American Vernacular English. Don't turn this into another "Black Hair" debate, GB.
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Re: Ebonics Translator
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:
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 …
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 …
Re: Ebonics Translator
If you get pissed off that's on you.
No, it's not on me if you don't plan on being respectful during this topic of conversation. With that said, let's get on with the discussion!
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 a bit perplexed by the differing definitions. So is it a language separate from English?
Code-Switching (as it pertains to black people) came about as a means to blend in socially while navigating through white spaces. Everyone who speaks English as a second language code-switches. Although AAVE is English, it's still separate (linguistically speaking) from standard American English.
Which is why Ebonics is its own "language", while at the same time also a dialect of the English language.
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.
If I had a dime for every time you've said this…. I'd be one rich bitch.
Now every language has dialects. Every other language can be translated despite dialects, and there is a standardized version. Why is Ebonics different?
I never claimed that it was any different. The trouble comes in when people who are not familiar with the intricacies of the language, try to interpret it based on their limited understanding of it.
I have yet to find an AAVE translator online which accurately encapsulates all of the different AAVE dialects within the Ebonics language. That can be said about ALL online translators when it comes to interpreting different languages. Overall, most of them suck, and many of the Ebonics ones are just joke/funny translators.
If you seriously want to learn how to speak Ebonics, ask your black friend, because we are the best ones to teach you. Here's an example of code-switching:
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Ebonics Translator
I did "give a dog a bone" as a test and got "give a bitch a bone".
Here's the opening of the Pledge of Allegiance in Standard English:
Here it is in Ebonics:
https://lingojam.com/TrueEbonics
I GameBoy
You gotsta …