A Critique of the Literature on Ebonics

A review of the literature of Ebonics was made in order to determine the information available & its credibility. The review covered the years 1865 to 1975 & listed over 75 informative documents. The linguistic forms of Ebonics were broken down into phonological (vowels, cons), & syntactical & lexical (Ns, Vs, etc) categories. Most of the features were traceable to West African langs. Ebonics appears to be spoken by individuals who retain some features of their West African linguistic heritage. Thus, Ebonics characteristics are considered evidence of the continuity of West African linguistic features, demonstrating cultural transmission from West Africa to African-Americans. 2 Tables. R. Minerd