African American Vernacular
English
Ebonics
AAVE Origins
• African slaves learned
Pidgin English before
leaving Africa.
• Pidgins developed into
creoles as slaves had
no community that
understood their
African languages.
• Creole acquired
English features with
education and
urbanization.
Prevalence of African-American Vernacular English
Significant proportions of African-Americans have a vernacular way of
speaking that shares features with other African-Americans.
•Individual speakers differ in frequency of non-standard forms.
–Females use fewer than males
–Middle class use fewer than Working class
African-American Vernacular English in
Relation to Standard English
• African American Vernacular
English is clearly a dialect of
English
– Phonology and syntax are closely
related to Standard English
– ‘Ebonics’ is a term advocated by
Afrocentrists who emphasize
African influences on AAVE and
minimize English influences.
• Social contexts require
vernacular or standard
English,
– African Americans need two
dialects: AAVE and SE.
– Home often requires vernacular
but school requires standard.
African-Americans shift to a standard style of English
they use in formal situations.
• AAVE is used when participants are very familiar.
– Type 1 is family, Type 4 is to white stranger.
– AAVE includes dropping final /-s/
– Data are from Los Angeles
AAVE in relation to other Englishes
1. African-American Vernacular English is a
subsystem of English
•
•
Phonology
Syntax
2. African-American Vernacular English incorporates
Southern phonology.
3. African-American Vernacular English was derived
from a creole similar to Caribbean creoles.
4. African-American Vernacular English has a highly
developed aspect system unlike Standard English.
Features of AAVE
• Reduction of Word-Final consonant Clusters
– Other vernaculars also reduce clusters before consonants
• [læsnayt] “last night”
– AAVE reduces clusters even at ends of sentences
• She came in las’
– Dropping suffix /-s/ is correlated to syntactic function.
Consonant reduction comparison
• Dialects overlap
• Speakers form a continuum of styles
More Consonant cluster comparison
• Whites and and Blacks both simplify if cluster
followed by consonant.
• Blacks continue to simplify when cluster is followed
by vowel but whites pronounce complete clusters.
Consonant cluster reduction must be
addressed when teaching reading.
• Consonant reduction produces homonyms.
• Not all speakers have all of the homonyms below.
– 14 of the examples result from vowels, 5 from consonants
Variation of /r/
• Post vocalic /r/ is pronounced as extra
length on the preceding vowel.
– [pa:k yo: ka:] “park your car”
– Similar to New York and Southern dialects.
– Different in dropping postvocalic /r/ even when
it is prevocalic.
• ‘Carol’ [ka:ol]
• ‘Interested’ [inte:ested]
Contraction and Deletion of the Copula
• Copula is sometimes contracted in rapid Standard
English.
– “She’s smart.”
• Copula is sometimes deleted in AAVE.
– “She smart.”
• Exposed copula is not contracted in Standard
English and not deleted in AAVE
– “She is.”
• Copula deletion is rule governed.
• Copula function affects deletion.
Copula Deletion by Class and Gender
• Data are from Detroit
• Women’s speech is closer to standard.
• Middle class is close to standard
Hypercorrection
• Hypercorrection is producing standard forms in
greater profusion than the standard
• AAVE
– “They act like they think I really likes to go to school.”
• Third person singular -s is usually dropped
– Attempt to produce standard produces missing feature in places
where standard would not.
– “lookted” [l ktId]
• Past tense /-Id/ is usually dropped
– Attempt to produce standard produces /-Id/ after past tense
allomorph /-t/
• Hypercorrection occurs more often in formal
contexts.
AAVE Aspect
• Aspect is the manner in which events occur.
– Aspect is sometimes marked on verbs.
• Standard English has few aspect markers
– /-ing/ progressive
• AAVE has six aspect markers (an aspect
system)
– African languages generally have aspect
systems
Will Smith (Men in Black):“It be rainin’ black people in New York City.”
Invariant be in the classroom
• Pupil uses aspect precisely
More invariant be in the
Classroom
Be done uses the invariant be
• Multiple negation is also called”negative concord.”
AAVE Style Shifting
• Speakers use AAVE when they have rapport
or solidarity with the audience.
• In the presence of school authorities African
American children avoid speaking
• Some African American adults shift to
Black Standard English in formal situations
Black Standard English
• Standard English syntax
• AAVE Pronunciations
– Drop postvocalic /-r/
– Reduce clusters
• But retain past tense /Id/, future /l/,
and 3d person /-s/
African-Americans shift to a standard style of English
they use in formal situations.
• AAVE is used when participants are very familiar.
– Type 1 is family, Type 4 is to white stranger.
– AAVE includes dropping final /-s/
– Data are from Los Angeles
School Rejects AAVE
• Children who use AAVE in school are classed as
hostile or handicapped.
• African American children who do well in school
are often shunned by peers.
– Labov found inverse relation of popularity and reading
scores.
• Parents want children to learn standard but they still
value AAVE.
• Parents who have mastered Standard English have
higher opinion of AAVE in all contexts.
Attitudes to Vernacular
• Oakland, California
• Parents reject use of AAVE in school.
Vernacular Culture Index:
Detroit (Edwards)
AAVE Linguistic Variables (Detroit)
Correlations to Vernacular Culture Index
Ann Arbor School Case
• African American children in Ann Arbor were
classed as learning disabled due to reading
problems.
• Parents sued the school board in 1977.
– Labov was expert witness
• Parents won case by proving that AAVE was so
distinct from Standard English that teachers
needed to understand differences.
• Outcome was that teachers had to take instruction
in AAVE.
Oakland School Board Resolution
• In 1996 the Oakland School board resolved
to acknowledge AAVE as distinct in order
to improve student reading.
– Their plan included instructing teachers about
AAVE and instructing students in AAVE.
Using AAVE in school is controversial
• African American children do better on Boehm Test
of Basic Concepts when it is presented in AAVE.
• The 1970s “Bridge” reading program used AAVE
– There were three stages beginning material was entirely
AAVE, then half AAVE and half SE and finally all
standard English
– Four months of “Bridge” instruction improved reading
scores by 6.2 months compared to 1.6 months without
“Bridge”
– Publisher stopped printing texts because of pressure.
• Oakland resolution was criticized for using AAVE in
the classroom.
Ebonics Controversy
• The Oakland School board resolution undercut its
persuasiveness with erroneous statements about
AAVE.
• The resolution claimed that African American
language is not a variety of English and should be
called Ebonics, emphasizing its African roots.
– Linguists have determined that AAVE is a variety of
English.
• The resolution claimed that Ebonics is
“genetically based.”
– Linguists have found each language to be learned rather
than hereditary
Obstacles to Classroom Success
• AAVE pronunciation produces different homonyms than
SE.
– Reading teachers need to know students’ homonyms.
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Teachers mistake AAVE aspect for grammar errors.
Educators stigmatize African American children’s speech.
Some African American children resist Standard English.
Acknowledgement and respect for home speech may help
students learn.
– Learning Standard English does not require surrendering the
language of home.
– Elsewhere students learn standard language different from their
home dialect. (e.g. Switzerland)
– L.A. teaches “codeswitching,” acknowledging other codes.