African American Vernacular English

African American Vernacular English (AAVE) is a dialect of English spoken mostly by Black Americans. AAVE is a form of Black English (BE) or African American English (AAE), and it has developed throughout American history. AAVE is spoken most often in urban areas, though it is common in other majority Black communities in the country. AAVE has unique grammar and pronunciation rules that differ from standard English, though it is not its own language. Even though AAVE follows specific linguistic rules and has a particular style, it has been stigmatized, most likely because of racial stigmatization in the United States. Many Americans, including many Black Americans, view AAVE as slang or as being inferior to standard English. Studies indicate that people who use AAVE may have more negative outcomes in school and in the workplace. Many researchers believe that these negative outcomes are due in large part to much of American society having a negative view of AAVE.

Overview

Scholars disagree about the origins of AAVE, though they agree that it has developed over time. One of the most popular theories about AAVE’s origin is that it developed partially from, or was influenced by, West African languages. This so-called creole hypothesis asserts that languages that enslaved Africans used influenced the way they spoke in the United States. When researchers first developed the creole hypothesis in the 1960s, many supporters believed that enslaved Africans developed a unique creole based on African languages and English. (A creole is a language that develops when people who speak different languages develop a unique way of communicating with each other.) However, modern supporters of this theory generally believe that the West African languages influenced AAVE, but they do not believe that speakers developed an entirely separate creole based on the languages.

The other main theory about the development of AAVE is called the English origins hypothesis. This hypothesis asserts that AAVE developed when enslaved African Americans communicated with European colonists and early Americans on plantations in the South. Some of the supporters of this theory believe that the dialect now known as AAVE was used only in the South before the early twentieth century. However, the Great Migration that started at the end of the nineteenth century and lasted until the mid-twentieth century caused the dialect to spread to urban areas in the North and West. Supporters of this theory believe that the dialect became strongly identified with race only after it spread North because of the migration.

Although scholars disagree about the origins of AAVE, most scholars agree that AAVE developed as a separate dialect because of social conditions. Namely, racial discrimination and segregation allowed African Americans to develop a dialect that was different from other dialects, including standard English. Although AAVE is far from the only non-standard English dialect used in the United States, it has a unique history, in part because it is strongly associated with a particular racial group.

AAVE has unique grammar rules and pronunciations, and many of the attributes that differentiate AAVE from other English dialects are common in other languages. One phonological feature of AAVE is deletion of particular letters in pronunciations. For example, the letter r is often deleted from the ends of some words. For example, the r sound might be deleted from the end of a word such poor. Similar deletions can also happen with the letter l. For example, the word all might become “aw.” Linguists point out that such deletions are common in other dialects. For example, English speakers in parts of New England (such as Boston) also delete the r sound from the end of certain words. AAVE speakers may also drop the pronunciation of multiple letters at the ends of words. For example, the word told could become “toll” or even “toe,” which does not have any ending consonant sound. Another common phonological trait of AAVE is the change of certain sounds to other sounds. For example, a th sound might be replaced with an f sound or a v sound (e.g., truth being pronounced as truf).

AAVE also has some common morphological differences compared to other American English dialects. For example, an s may not be necessary to create subject-verb agreement. Another common feature of AAVE is the use of double negatives. For example, in the sentence, “I didn’t see no sign,” the double negative indicates the person did not see any sign. Such double negatives are common in other languages, such as Spanish. Another common feature of AAVE is to use the word be to indicate something is that usual or permanent. For example, in the sentence, “He be doing that every day,” the be acts to stress that the person does the action all the time.

Although AAVE has rules and structures, studies have indicated that AAVE itself had regional differences (Holt, 2018). Some of the regional differences are related to common regional pronunciation differences. Other differences are most likely to related to the degree to which people in an area adhere to AAVE or to a mixture of AAVE and another dialect.

Although AAVE has clear rules, it is sometimes considered merely slang. Furthermore, sometimes people who use AAVE are viewed as using “broken English” or making mistakes using standard English. However, the general consensus among linguists is that these views are flawed. The consensus among American linguists is that AAVE follows its own rules and does not need to follow the rules of standard American English to be considered correct. Many scholars believe that people who use AAVE are particularly maligned for being “incorrect” or for having “poor grammar” because of racism. Since AAVE is used almost exclusively by Black Americans, scholars believe that racism has affected how people view AAVE and its use.

Studies have indicated that a stigma against the use of AAVE exists in the United States. The negative stigma against AAVE is harmful to Black Americans because people who are viewed as using poor grammar are more likely to be viewed as uneducated. People are more likely to make negative assumptions about a person’s intelligence or education if that person is using a non-standard American English dialect, such as AAVE. In the United States, standard American English is often seen as a more prestigious dialect, and people who speak in that dialect are often considered to be more intelligent or better educated. However, following the grammar and syntax of a non-standard dialect requires the same understanding of language as following the standard dialect.

In the mid-twentieth century, linguists began studying various Americans’ dialects more closely. In the 1960s linguists began their first in-depth study of AAVE. White linguists—who were conducting most of the published researched on the topic at the time—referred to the dialect as Nonstandard Negro English when these studies first began. However, the African American community had a better direct understanding of the dialect because they had experience speaking it and transitioning from that dialect into standard dialects. As Black scholars began to have more influence in the field, they made scholarly contributions and helped to better explain AAVE and its development. In the 1973, a Black scholar named Dr. Robert Williams coined the term “Ebonics” to refer to AAVE. He created the term by combining the words ebony with phonics to create a word that meant “Black sounds.” The next year, the Conference on College Composition and Communication (CCCC) adopted a resolution called the Students’ Right to Their Own Language. The resolution indicated that individuals and groups use different types of language, and they should be able to use language that deviated from standard dialects.

The term Ebonics was meant to help make AAVE more accepted and reduce the negative connotation of Nonstandard Negro English. Although social scientists used the term Ebonics between the 1970s and 1990s, the term was not widely used in popular culture. However, in 1996 the term became better-known when some educators in Oakland, California, approved the use of Ebonics as a tool for reading instruction, stating that education should aim to use a student’s “primary language” in instruction. These educators did not suggest teaching AAVE to students, and had no intent to replace the teaching of standard American English with the teaching of AAVE. Nevertheless, media reports about the policy created significant controversy. Political pundits and government officials around the country maligned the plan and accused the school board of teaching students “slang.” The term Ebonics became a cultural meme, and, often, a target of ridicule. For example, a political cartoon suggested that Jewish people could start teaching “Hebrewonics.” In response to the cultural uprising, numerous schools around the country banned the use of AAVE in education. The schools board in Oakland never adopted the plan.

Further Information

The dialect that linguists generally call AAVE has been labeled with different names throughout its history. After the 1970s, Ebonics was often used to describe the dialect that is also called AAVE. Nevertheless, some people use the term Ebonics to refer to styles of speaking English across the African diaspora. For example, some people include styles of speaking English common in the Caribbean as part of Ebonics. However, AAVE is not the same dialect as the dialects spoken in the Caribbean.

Furthermore, linguists use different terms for the different ways Black people in the United States speak English. In the United States, the terms AAVE and Ebonics are usually used interchangeably. These terms refer to a specific dialect spoken by many African Americans. However, not all African Americans use AAVE, and not all dialects spoken by African Americans are the same thing as AAVE. Linguists view the AAVE as part of a larger language group called African American English (AAE). AAE is itself sometimes called Black English. Linguists believe that this is differentiation is important for several reasons. One reason is that not all African Americans use AAVE, so AAE is a broader term that can be more inclusive of styles of speaking.

Viewpoints

The stigma that exists against AAVE in the United States can negatively impact people who speak AAVE. Studies have shown that people who speak AAVE are more likely to experience negative outcomes in school and in the workplace.

In part because of the stigma against AAVE, some African Americans who use AAVE use what is called code-switching. Code-switching is when a person changes their styles of speech, dress, or behavior so that they will be treated in a different way. Many people take part in code-switching because they have noticed that they are treated with more respect when they “code” their behavior or dress in ways that are less explicitly associated with the Black community. Research indicates that code-switching happens most commonly in areas where negative stereotypes of Black people are common. Furthermore, code-switching happens more commonly in places that are considered more prestigious.

Many African Americans have learned that by code-switching they will receive more respect and get better outcomes, especially in school and at work. Although code-switching can help Black Americans get more desirable results in social settings, the act of code-switching can also have negative psychological impacts on people. People who use code-switching often feel as though they are not being true to themselves, and they often they have to hide who they truly are. This obfuscation can be mentally tiring and can have negative effects on people’s self-esteem. Furthermore, African Americans who code-switch to avoid negative stereotypes about Black people may be viewed negatively by other African Americans.

Regardless, some people believe that educators should help students who use AAVE learn to code switch. Their argument for code-switching is that it can help students and workers receive positive outcomes, and they can still use AAVE outside of academic or professional settings. For example, studies have shown that code-switching allows people to identify similarities with leaders in organizations. People who create such relationships can often benefit from having connections with people in positions of power. Furthermore, people who code-switch can often avoid negative stereotypes that people might identify with other members of a particular group.

However, other people argue that students should not be encouraged to code-switch. Some of these people feel that schools and teachers, not students, should adjust the way they speak. Some education professionals have argued that schools and teachers should change their method of teaching to reduce the amount of code-switching that is necessary in classrooms. This might include—like the infamous plan in Oakland in the 1990s—teaching in AAVE to help students make connections between AAVE and the dialect that is more commonly used in the schools. Just as the Oakland school board indicated they wanted to make the change so that students could receive instruction in their own language, advocates who called for using AAVE in classrooms today cite the success of English language learners who have been taught in their own language and to help them learn English. Some people believe that using AAVE during instruction can help students who are used to the AAVE dialect to better learn about their own dialect as well as standard American English.

Bibliography

"African American Vernacular: Why It Matters In Language Learning." International Center for Language Studies, 30 Apr. 2024, www.icls.edu/blog/african-american-vernacular-why-it-matters-in-language-learning. Accessed 27 Jan. 2025.

Baker-Bell, April. "Dismantling Anti-Black Linguistic Racism in English Language Arts Classrooms: Toward an Anti-Racist Black Language Pedagogy." Theory Into Practice, vol. 59, no. 1, 2020, pp. 8–21, doi.org/10.1080/00405841.2019.1665415. Accessed 27 Jan. 2025.

Brennan, William. "The Code-Switcher." TheAtlantic, vol. 321, no. 3, 2018, pp. 18–20.

Durkee, Myles I., and James Williams. "Accusations of Acting White: Links to Black Students’ Racial Identity and Mental Health." Understanding Black Mental Health, vol. 41, no. 1, 2015, doi.org/10.1177/0095798413505323. Accessed 27 Jan. 2025.

Holt, Yvonne F. "Mechanisms of Vowel Variation in African American English." Journal of Speech, Language & Hearing Research, vol. 61, no. 2, 2018, pp. 197–209, doi.org/10.1044/2017‗JSLHR-S-16-0375. Accessed 27 Jan. 2025.

Koenecke, Allison, et al. "Racial Disparities in Automated Speech Recognition." Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, vol. 117, no. 14, 2020, doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1915768117. Accessed 27 Jan. 2025.

Kirkpatrick, Keith. "Natural Language Misunderstanding: How Do We Eliminate Bias in Automated Speech Recognition?" Communications of the ACM, vol. 63, no. 11, 2020, pp. 17–18, doi.org/10.1145/3422600. Accessed 27 Jan. 2025.

Leo, John. "Ebonics? No Thonics!" U.S. News & World Report, vol. 122, no. 2, 1997, p. 20.

Luu, Chi. "Black English Matters." Lingua Obscura, JSTOR, 12 Feb. 2020, daily.jstor.org/black-english-matters/. Accessed 27 Jan. 2025.

McCluney, Courtney L., et al. "The Costs of Code-Switching." Harvard Business Review, 15 Nov. 2019, hbr.org/2019/11/the-costs-of-codeswitching. Accessed 27 Jan. 2025.

Mufwene, Salikoko S. "English Origins of African American Vernacular English." The Evolution of Englishes, edited by Sarah Buschfeld, John Benjamins Publishing Company, 2014.

.