A new three-credit course on African American English will be offered at Wayne State University beginning in January.

The course is a survey of the structure, content, use and history of the communication system understood and/or used by many African Americans in general and specifically the variety known as African American English (also known as Ebonics). Topics include:

Important social and political issues related to African American English and implications for both the general population and educators;

• Understanding the Ebonics debate; and
• Understanding the role of African American English in American history, communication and literature.
  

The class is offered by the department of audiology and speech-language pathology in the College of Science and will provide the necessary background for practitioners who intend to work with African American clients.

It also will enable students to demonstrate a knowledge of arguments against common myths and misconceptions about the nature of African American language and its related cultural institutions; a general knowledge of the historical development and structure of modern varieties of African American language; knowledge of the implications of the existence of distinct African American varieties of speech for public policy, education and other aspects of American social and political life; and an understanding of the role of African American English in the overall development of American language varieties and in American literature.