As to Ebonics, maybe. I would be guess that if one could give an objective score for flexibility and range of things that can be easily expressed within a language, or a similar objective score for literary potential (word games, variation in expression, nuance), then English would probably come out significantly ahead of Ebonics.
Absolutely. English has been a literary language, and that helps a lot. It is more suitable for writing.
However, what I said was the Ebonics is part of a culture that is filth, and that if the entire culture were swapped, then they would be better off. Defending Ebonics as "part of a culture" when that culture is garbage is rather odd. It's like the best you can say for the dialect is that it isn't as crap as the rest of the things commonly associated with it.
I'm not defending it as 'culture' though. I'm defending it as a legitimate dialect, no more. The idea that some dialect is somehow better because it originated from where the political center is located is quite bizarre.
Even if only Ebonics disappeared and was replaced by standard English, they'd still be better off. But for the reasons I have stated earlier, not because there is something inherently wrong with a dialect that is not standard.
But if you happily concede that it is inferior to English and part of an inferior culture, then how can you disagree with that premise? What is the artificial preservation of a dialect with no inherent value, no great works, and no attached positive culture but an enforced anti-intellectualism?
But I'm not supporting 'preservation' of this dialect, let alone artificial preservation. If Ebonics dies out, good. I'm just saying that no dialect is inherently less 'valid' than any other.
My problem is that people sometimes portray the manner in which some people speak as 'stupid', even though these people just speak the way people from a given region have always spoken (with changes, of course). Just because it's not the language that is taught in schools, because it's not the language of the political center, does not make those people 'stupid'.
No dialect is inherently objectively better than any other, or more or less valid.
If you do think that it is, you'd have to say that French people are dumber than Italians, because their dialect unquestionably diverges more from the 'proper' language (Latin) than Italian. Clearly, Frenchies were too stupid to speak that language properly.
I agree, but that is not due to the merits (or lack thereof) of the language. It's just more useful to speak a language that more people speak.
If everyone else spoke what is now Ebonics, and they spoke Standard English, they'd be better off switching to Ebonics.
Absolutely. English has been a literary language, and that helps a lot. It is more suitable for writing.
I'm not defending it as 'culture' though. I'm defending it as a legitimate dialect, no more. The idea that some dialect is somehow better because it originated from where the political center is located is quite bizarre.
Even if only Ebonics disappeared and was replaced by standard English, they'd still be better off. But for the reasons I have stated earlier, not because there is something inherently wrong with a dialect that is not standard.
But I'm not supporting 'preservation' of this dialect, let alone artificial preservation. If Ebonics dies out, good. I'm just saying that no dialect is inherently less 'valid' than any other.
My problem is that people sometimes portray the manner in which some people speak as 'stupid', even though these people just speak the way people from a given region have always spoken (with changes, of course). Just because it's not the language that is taught in schools, because it's not the language of the political center, does not make those people 'stupid'.
No dialect is inherently objectively better than any other, or more or less valid.
If you do think that it is, you'd have to say that French people are dumber than Italians, because their dialect unquestionably diverges more from the 'proper' language (Latin) than Italian. Clearly, Frenchies were too stupid to speak that language properly.