African American English/Ebonics"What It Is"

African-American English or what is commonly know as "Ebonics" has its roots in the pidgin English spoken by West Africans during the slave trade During the time of slavery, it was commonplace and even advisable for Africans of different languages to work together on a single plantation, these Africans were hard pressed to develop a means by which to communicate with their slave owners and fellow Africans.