Date:    Fri, 20 Feb 1998 23:02:33 -0500
<br>From:    "Bethany K. Dumas"  dumasb[AT SYMBOL GOES HERE]UTK.EDU 
<br>Subject: Definition of "ebonic"?
<br>
<br>I just received a post from someone on another list with the ff. text
<br>embedded in it; please note the use of "ebonic vocabulary and
<br>structure." (I don't think that Robert Hall is resposible for this!)
<br>
<br>  I took a linguistics course or two at Cornellin the early 70's when I
<br>  was studying French and comparative literature -- Robert Hall was still
<br>  around then.  In a French philology course he gave us one factoid that
<br>  has truly stuck with me, that there are at least 4 usage levels in any
<br>  literate culture:  formal standard (educated people writing), informal
<br>  standard (educated people talking), informal substandard (what my
<br>  criminal and neglect clients use, with "ebonic" vocabulary and
<br>                                        ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
<br>  structure*), and best of all, formal substandard, found in every police
<br>^^^^^^^^^^^^^
<br>  report I've ever read.
<br>
<br>Bethany
<br>