Originally posted by JimmyCracksCorn
Come on guys, I know we're sheltered here on Poly, but lets be serious for a minute. Are you really trying to tell me that you've never left your neighborhood, never been anywhere where people speak English differently than you? Its a great big world out there, guys. There's room enough for everyone.
Come on guys, I know we're sheltered here on Poly, but lets be serious for a minute. Are you really trying to tell me that you've never left your neighborhood, never been anywhere where people speak English differently than you? Its a great big world out there, guys. There's room enough for everyone.
Now would you please finally answer this simple question, as you've gone back and forth: are speakers of Ebonics able to articulate themselves clearly and thoughtfully to others in the English-speaking world, or not?
In the 5 years I spent managing an "inner-city" restaurant, I never encountered a single speaker of Ebonics who was not able to communicate effectively with me. There were a few who I would have advised to prop up their linguistic skills if they wanted to enter a job field requiring good communication skills. I can't ever recall a time when someone's language skills were so bad that he/she needed a course in a 2nd language to communicate, other than Hispanics and one Iranian woman.
Want to make it part of a high school african-american history class? Fine, go ahead. Want to make it available at the college level, or extracurricular course that they pay for? No problem. Otherwise you've yet to convince me of it's worth.
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