Definitions

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.

  • noun Any of the nonstandard varieties of English spoken by African Americans.

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

  • proper noun African American Vernacular English.

from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.

  • noun a nonstandard form of American English characteristically spoken by African Americans in the United States

Etymologies

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition

[Blend of ebony and phonics.]

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License

Blend of ebony and phonics. Ebonics was coined by Robert L. Williams in 1973 and first used in his book Ebonics: The True Language of Black Folks.

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Examples

  • Alan, As Rekrul mentions below, the term Ebonics has all sorts of history that goes with it.

    Techdirt 2009

  • But the fact of the matter is that even though Ebonics is English - I just said Ebonics, because even I've gotten into the habit, after 14 years.

    Op-Ed: DEA Call For Ebonics Experts Smart Move 2010

  • But the fact of the matter is that even though Ebonics is English - I just said Ebonics, because even I've gotten into the habit, after 14 years.

    Op-Ed: DEA Call For Ebonics Experts Smart Move 2010

  • But the fact of the matter is that even though Ebonics is English - I just said Ebonics, because even I've gotten into the habit, after 14 years.

    Op-Ed: DEA Call For Ebonics Experts Smart Move 2010

  • If you are a translator who is fluent in Ebonics, JavaScript, Elvish (dark and wood), Dylanese, Veder-speak, McDermott, mime, Grey or Voodoo economics please leave your contribution below.

    Sound Politics: Qapla' batlh je 2006

  • In terms of Negro dialect, look, Ebonics, which is Ebony Phonics, the combination of the word in 1975 by Robert Williams, is different than Negro dialect.

    CNN Transcript Jan 11, 2010 2010

  • As for what is inaccurately characterized as Ebonics in the book, I’d have to wonder if someone who could see such a shadow where none exists might not be carrying around their own collection of racial guilt or if they’ve ever even had any close friends of another race at all.

    Lauren Baratz-Logsted: “T.B.: Saying the Unthinkable in Fiction” : Edward Champion’s Reluctant Habits 2005

  • BVE aka Ebonics is not to be thought of as a separate language.

    languagehat.com: BLACK ENGLISH. 2004

  • It's not easy to find a more politically correct mayor than Quan, a UC Berkeley-educated pol who backed the disaster known as Ebonics during her stint on the Oakland school board.

    The Full Feed from HuffingtonPost.com William Bradley 2011

  • Ebonics, which is also known as African American Vernacular English, has been described by the man who coined the term as the combination of English vocabulary with African language structure.

    The Agitator 2010

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