Bilingual, Multilingual, and Multicultural Education Commons^™

California Association For Bilingual Education (Cabe) Position Statement On Ebonics, Robert Berdan Ph.D., Terrence Wiley Ph.D., Magaly Lavadenz

White Papers and Position Statements

In this position statement, the authors write in support of Ebonics (also known as African American Vernacular English, Black English, Black Dialect, and African American Language) as a legitimate language. The linguistic and cultural origins of Ebonics is traced, along with its legitimacy by professional organizations and the courts. CABE asserts that the role of schools and teachers is therefore to build on students’ knowledge of Ebonics rather than replace or eradicate Ebonics as they teach standard English. This position statement has implications for teacher training.