PAN-AFRICAN LANGUAGE SYSTEMS BY KATHERINE J. HARRIS

PAN-AFRICAN LANGUAGE SYSTEMS

EBONIcs & AFRICAN

ORAL HERITAGE

KARNAK LINGUISTICS/AFRICAN STUDIES

The Ebonics debate on language is linked to African cultural. heritage.

Defenders of slavery denied that captives had one. Generations born in the US had never stepped foot in their ancestral home., But Africans transported in the 16oos through I8005 knew of their families and traditions.

The Ebonics issue has a long history. The discourse is entwined with the public policy. on education and, in particular, bilingual instruction. Scholarly inquiry, moreover, requires careful analysis of African languages and the ways in which they have and have not merged with American English. Examples are offered of Africans who arrived on these shores with a rich linguistic tradition. This book also explores several related issues, probing expressions, names, vocabulary, lyrics and grammatical structures in African American speech to unravel what might not and what might remain of those ancestral African communication patterns.

KATHERINE J. HARRIS received her Ph.D. in History from Cornell University and is Assoc. Professor of African Studies at Central Connecticut State University, USA. Ms Harris has also studied African languages and French.