Vol. 10 · Portmanteaus ·Mid-century: TV and science ·1973
Ebonics
ebony phonics
- Meaning
- African-American Vernacular English considered as a distinct linguistic system.
- Source words
- ebony + phonics
- Coined by
- Robert Williams
- Year
- 1973
Background
Williams, an African-American psychologist, coined the term at a St Louis conference on Black language. The 1996 Oakland School Board resolution to teach *Ebonics* as a second language set off a national US debate.
Mid-century: TV and science
Two engines dominated: television (sitcom, televangelist) and post-war big science (pulsar, transistor). Many mid-century coinages came from scientific style sheets and industry journals.
Two words, one coinage.
Browse every portmanteau on the shelf — or cross over to the loanwords atlas.