Ebonics

Ebonics may refer to:

• African American Vernacular English, a distinctive lect, or variety, of English spoken by African Americans, sometimes called Ebonics
• Ebonics (word), a term that is used for what linguists far more often term African American Vernacular English, and that was originally used with strong connotations of the African origin of this language

Ebonics is a derogatory American English term referring to poor black people who do not speak proper English, or who may use "street slang." The term signifies lower social class and lack of education. The term has been adopted for people living on the fringes of the social order, who are seen as dangerous because they may be criminal, unpredictable, and without respect for authority whether it be political, legal, or moral. The term is usually racially motivated in its usage.

• Oakland Ebonics controversy, generated by the recognition in December 1996 by the Oakland, California school board of "Ebonics" (i.e. African-American Vernacular English) as a distinct language
• Ebonics: The True Language of Black Folks, a 1975 book by social scientist Robert Williams
• "Ebonics (Criminal Slang)", a song by rapper Big L from the album The Big Picture