The decision by the Oakland, California school board to declare "Ebonics" the official language of their African American students unleashed a firestorm of controversy with overtly racial overtones. While the vast majority of linguists were caught off guard by these events, equivocating over technical distinctions between a language and a dialect, journalists, legislators, and the public demanded to know more about Ebonics and the controversial claims being asserted by its proponents. In Beyond Ebonics, John Baugh sifts through the volatile circumstances and evidence that triggered this debate and provides detailed comparisons of the notorious resolutions that brought it to global attention. This highly accessible book avoids technical linguistic jargon as it traces Ebonics from its obscure origin through its eventual public demise, considering a host of legal, educational, and theoretical issues that still linger today. Baugh's investigation exposes flaws in competing definitions of Ebonics, as well as racial tensions that flared throughout the controversy. This thorough depiction of Ebonics dispels linguistic myths with previously untold facts that will be of considerable interest to linguists, educators, scholars, and legislators.
