For ESL educators, the subject of slang can indeed be a touchy one, 'fo sho.' Students seem to not want American idioms and slang so much as they want to learn "black people slang." So when they come to #mr.ford and ask me to hook then up with a little slang, I tell them, "Sure my nizzles, I got ya'll fo shizzles."
At first glance, this app can present itself in an offensive manner as the cover boasts an unkept brother with horrible grammar teaching a class of white students, but I firmly believe that is for marketing purposes. Surely, ebonics is looked down upon by many African American intellectuals and scholars of English alike. But the old sambo like rationling of misspelled words that at one time was emberassing to black people has now become the language of choice for social media and text; especially in a younger and more social media active generation. Hip Hop is taking over in Asia, South Africa, the Middle East, and all of Europe. Names like Eminem, Tupac, Jay-Z, Lil Wayne, and 50 Cent are most common amongst my incoming students. And all over the world, Ebonics is becoming more and more popular in texts, merchandise, TV, video, and everday talk.
The app doesn't have a stop button and this thing is PAINTED with too many adds. But the terms and definitions are perhaps the most accurate I've seen as of today. I'm not certain yet as to whether or not you are allowed to add terms and definitions, but the developer claims to update the dictionary twice a month. Download it yourself today and see what you think and share.
Best,
#mr.ford
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