What does Ebonics sound like?
To many people, the first examples that come to mind are slang words like phat ‘excellent’ and bling-bling ‘glittery, expensive jewelry’, words that are popular among teenagers and young adults, especially rap and hip hop fans. But words like kitchen ‘the especially kinky hair at the nape of one’s neck’ and ashy ‘the whitish appearance of black skin when dry, as in winter’ are even more interesting. Unlike many slang terms, these ‘black’ words have been around for ages, they are not restricted to particular regions or age groups, and they are virtually unknown (in their ‘black’ meanings) outside the African American community. Ebonics pronunciation includes features like the omission of the final consonant in words like ‘past’ (pas’ ) and ‘hand’ (han’), the pronunciation of the th in ‘bath’ as t (bat) or f (baf), and the pronunciation of the vowel in words like ‘my’ and ‘ride’ as a long ah (mah, rahd). Some of these occur in vernacular white English, too, especially in the South, but i
To many people, the first examples that come to mind are slang words like phat ‘excellent’ and bling-bling ‘glittery, expensive jewelry’, words that are popular among teenagers and young adults, especially rap and hip hop fans. But words like kitchen ‘the especially kinky hair at the nape of one’s neck’ and ashy ‘the whitish appearance of black skin when dry, as in winter’ are even more interesting. Unlike many slang terms, these ‘black’ words have been around for ages, they are not restricted to particular regions or age groups, and they are virtually unknown (in their ‘black’ meanings) outside the African American community. Ebonics pronunciation includes features like the omission of the final consonant in words like ‘past’ (pas’ ) and ‘hand’ (han’), the pronunciation of the th in ‘bath’ as t (bat) or f (baf), and the pronunciation of the vowel in words like ‘my’ and ‘ride’ as a long ah (mah, rahd). Some of these occur in vernacular white English, too, especially in the South, but i
