ectly or said in proper form.In Georgia and other southern states there were blacks who were not brought from Africa and quite a few knew how to speak standard English. Around 1858 over 400 slave from Africa were brought straight to Georgia and none of them knew a word of English.(Smitherman) Being that these two groups merged together they adapted each others language whether it was correct or incorrectOn the east coast of America, the Blacks spoke a different degree of Ebonics which was discovered in newspaper articles.(Lewis p.2)In 1744 The New York Evening Post read: "Ran away...a new Negro Fellow named Prince, he cant scarce speak a Word of English"1n 1760 an ad in the North Carolina Gazette read: "Ran away from the Subscriber,..., African Born..., speaks bad English."In 1734, the Philadelphia American Weekly Mercury read: Run away...;hes Pennsylvania Born and speaks good English,"These articles show where each person came from and what there English was like. It is obvious that masters kept tabs on how well their slave could talk. It was one of the ways that the masters could identify their slaves when they had many of them. They also used the slaves that new good English to translate or explain what the other slaves were saying. In the Mid 1800s slaves tried to use their language to help them escape from slavery. They would sing spirituals which their masters could not understand. Harriet Tubman and many others communicated in Ebonics which their masters couldnt understand and escaped through the underground railroad.North Carolina Discoveries cited: O Canaan, sweet Canaan,I am bound for the land of CanaanWe meant to reach the north- and the north was CanaanThere were lions. in the way,I dont expect to stayMuch longer hereRun to JesusNshun the dangerI dont expect to stayMuch longer here.UnknownThis is one of the spiritual song during slavery. It is not written in Ebonics but when the slaves song the song their masters still had n...
