Elena Larkins
African American English and Linguistic Oppression
After decades of civil rights movements, policies, and social progress, the gap
in Black-White academic achievement remains unnecessarily wide. A key factor in
the educational outcomes of African American children is language; about 90% of
African Americans don’t speak the English of our education system, rather, they
speak African American English (AAE), a dialect variation of Standard English.
(Ramirez, Wiley, de Klerk, and Wright) Because Standard English is the
institutionalized language in the United States, Standard English speakers’
perception of AAE as an unfit language has a serious influence on the outcome of
AAE speakers’ lives. Even though AAE and Standard English are compatible to
communicate, many Standard English speakers continue to dismiss AAE as an
illegitimate language. They often view it as a broken language, or a careless butchery
of ‘proper’ English. This stereotype has caused AAE to become a medium for racial
discrimination; speakers of AAE do not have equal opportunity in this country,
especially in the case of their education. Even when a California school board
recognized that, congress responded with little regard to their proposed policy on
the basis of their linguistic ideals. Even though this language standard affects
millions of Americans, this country continues to operate with an education system
that encourages racial discrimination based on language differences. This is an issue
that deserves attention. In order to reverse discrimination, the education system in
the US must respond to the underserved speakers of AAE. This paper argues that
lower education should change its approach to teaching language differently. US
schools should educate students about linguistic awareness, rather than
prescriptive grammar, in order to encourage academic growth, social belonging,
cultural awareness, and most importantly, equal opportunity. And on a larger scale,
linguistic awareness should be encouraged to prevent oppression on the basis of
linguistic differences.
Currently, it is appropriate for Standard English speakers to use language as
a medium for racism. We can get away with criticizing other people’s language for
“correctness” and “appropriateness”, but it is socially unacceptable if we criticize
someone’s race or social class. (Ramirez, Wiley, de Klerk, and Wright) Yet, we highly
associate language with race and class. Not only that, but jokes about AAE have
“functioned as surrogates for more blatantly racist ones”. (Ramirez, Wiley, de Klerk,
and Wright) Even though many people may not realize it, racism in the United States
is alive and well. It just hides among different social practices, one of the most
oppressive being linguistic judgment. In order to determine what we can do to stop
this unfair oppression, we must first look at the ideas that we use to justify it, and
view it in its current sociocultural context.
Standard English speakers’ current perception of AAE is fostering racial
discrimination. Many people critique AAE as illegitimate because it does not stem
from one specific African language. (Leon) Therefore, they believe it is just African
Americans taking English, and speaking it improperly. Though it may not stem from
one specific language, AAE became widely spoken when African slaves were brought
to the United States. There are two main theories of the origin of African American
English. Some linguists believe it began to develop when slaves (who spoke different
African dialects) were forced to create an English creole in order to communicate
with each other. Because the slaves were not allowed to interact with each other in
African languages, they had to communicate using English, though many of them
weren’t fluent in it. As a result of mixing African dialects with English, and
combining the structures of African languages with those of English, they formed
African American English. The other theory states that African American English
developed as a result of the slaves learning the English varieties spoken by their
owners and preserving the “features of preexisting nonstandard English variants”.
(Edwards) Regardless of which theory is correct, AAE has been spoken consistently
for over a century. Therefore, it’s origin does little to change the fact that many
people will continue to speak it, not out of disrespect for ‘Standard Language’, but
because it is the dialect that they grew up learning, and a result of historical
circumstances.
This is why African American English should not be considered an inferior
form of communication; its origin doesn’t define whether not it’s effective, nor does
it define whether or not people will continue to speak it. The standards for what
defines a ‘legitimate’ language should be based on more practical principles. By
deeming it a broken language, Standard English speakers are overlooking the
purpose of language in the first place. The purpose of language is to communicate.
Therefore, we must stop trying to fit African American English into the
structural mold of Standard English. By doing so, we are only defeating its purpose.
African American English is just as legitimate as Standard English; it’s just slightly
different. We can understand this by asking ourselves, what makes us believe that
Standard English legitimate? A ‘proper’ language exists when its speakers can
identify improper uses of it; without the concept of improper language, a language
has no point of communicative reference. After studying the features of AAE
thoroughly, linguists have determined it’s a “structurally valid and rule-based
linguistic system that differs in some ways from Standard English but is in no way
deficient”. (Ehri, Fogel) Critics of AAE often discuss it as Standard English with
mistakes, but AAE has its own grammatical system it follows- people can speak
African American English incorrectly, just as people can make mistakes while
speaking Standard English. Rather than trying to morph AAE into the mold of
Standard English, or focusing on correcting either variation, we need to
acknowledge the differences between the two. AAE differs from Standard English in
“how words are pronounced, how sentences are structured grammatically, and
which words are chosen to express certain ideas”. (Ehri, Fogel) We can see the
legitimacy in AAE based on the fact that it is a consistent system that people can use
to communicate effectively. Its variation from Standard English does not reduce its
credibility as a language, or make it any less legitimate as any other example of a
standard language.
By dismissing AAE as illegitimate, we are passively ignoring the intellect of
its speakers. Rather than hearing language, Standard English speakers hear a series
of errors. As put by linguists Ramirez, Wiley, de Klerk, and Wright: “the real
challenge between speakers of the ‘standard’ and speakers of the ‘accented’ English
is not to comprehend the other; rather, it is to overcome social judgments made on
the basis of language”. Even though Standard English speakers can understand AAE,
it is the prescriptive nature of Standard English education that affects the
relationship between the two. This relationship between dialects begins during the
early years of children’s education. Because students learn in lower education that
Standard English is the ‘right’ English, Standard English speaking students feel
linguistically superior at the point of entry into the educational system. (Ramirez,
Wiley, de Klerk, and Wright) As a consequence, education is excessively more
difficult for students who entered lower education with limited experience using
Standard English. Not because AAE speaking students have difficulty understanding
Standard English, but because the mismatch between their home language and the
manor of Standard English used to teach in class has a variety of educational
consequences. It negatively impacts the students’ attitude toward their education,
encourages linguistic discrimination (social prejudice), and decreases teachers’
expectations of their AAE speaking students. (Ehri, Fogel) This results in poor
academic performance of AAE speaking students.
Teaching a prescriptive approach to Standard English in US classrooms is
underserving students who speak both African American and Standard English. It
fosters a communicative barrier between students who are perfectly capable of
interacting by encouraging social judgments, which encourages children to
segregate themselves based on their dialects. (Ramirez, Wiley, de Klerk, and Wright)
It also encourages an inferiority complex to African American children, which may
start as early as kindergarten. When we treat AAE as an inferior language in the
classroom, we are communicating to the children who speak AAE that their
language marks both them and their family as socially inferior. (Ramirez, Wiley, de
Klerk, and Wright) The effects of that message are hardly conducive to the child’s
education; we cannot encourage students to improve any aspect of their
communicative skills by putting them down. By doing so, we put the burden of the
linguistic differences on the students. It’s as if we are teaching students math, while
also communicating that they have poor math skills; the students will respond with
feelings of frustration, lack of motivation, and loss of self-worth. In order to succeed
in their academic environment, students need encouragement and appropriate
attention. But, because every academic subject is taught in Standard English, these
negative perceptions carry over causing AAE speaking students to have difficulty
excelling in all academic subjects.
The results of this inconsiderate approach to teaching African American
students are devastating. There is a large academic gap, which directly corresponds
to race, as if one race were inherently smarter than the other. African American
students are less likely to enroll in higher education, which may contribute to a
lower socioeconomic status. Many African American students feel stigmatized as
inferior starting in their early childhood. (Ramirez, Wiley, de Klerk, and Wright)
Students are racially segregated and discriminated against because of their
language. Students experience a loss of self worth and a contagious low standard for
academic achievement. (Card, Rothstein) And, as a consequence, teachers have
“decreased expectations regarding the educability of [AAE] speaking students”.
(Ehri, Fogel)
In order to address the underserved students who speak African American
English, teaching practices must be changed. The problem begins with language
education; students should no longer be taught prescriptive grammar based on
Standard English. That fosters the idea that there is only one proper way of speaking
English, and any other variation of the language is inferior and incorrect. (Ramirez,
Wiley, de Klerk, and Wright) Instead, students should be taught linguistic
awareness, and learn the standards of both dialects. That way, students will not
identify either variety as superior or inferior, rather, they will acknowledge the
differences that make each variety unique. Also, when teaching African American
children Standard English, they should not be taught it as is they are in language arts
class. Instead, teachers should approach it as if teaching a foreign language- that
way they are encouraging biliteracy rather than one form of English over another.
(Ramirez, Wiley, de Klerk, and Wright) This approach would be more effective in
promoting positivity about linguistic diversity; even the roles of teachers transform
when they are teaching a foreign language rather than correcting the grammatical
mistakes of their students. (Gopaul-McNicol, Sharon-ann)
But, before any educational changes can be made, Standard English speakers
across the country need to acknowledge the legitimacy of AAE. Without this change
in perspective, Standard English speakers will continue to put the blame for
discrimination upon African Americans. This would do little to motivate policies to
end linguistic discrimination, as shown in the following example.
In the past few decades, there has been one nationally disputed attempt at
changing teaching practices to improve the quality of education for AAE speaking
students. In 1997, the Oakland Unified School District made an attempt at
implementing a policy to decrease the test score gap. African American students had
been receiving low test scores on their state tests due to language incompatibility.
The tests were written in Standard English, and the students were required to
respond to prompts in Standard English. The Oakland Unified School District
decided it was time to “use the vernacular to teach the standard”, and therefore
teach AAE speakers to use Standard English in order to raise their test scores.
(Ramirez, Wiley, de Klerk, and Wright) It was also noted that students who do well
in English tend to do better in all other subjects, so by teaching Standard English to
AAE speakers, Oakland would be improving all aspects of academic performance.
(Ramirez, Wiley, de Klerk, and Wright)
Immediately the Oakland Unified School District caught national attention for
their policy. Despite the public attention and debate the OUSD received, congress
denied funding the policy because they declared AAE “is not a legitimate language”.
(Ramirez, Wiley, de Klerk, and Wright) As a matter of fact, congress attempted “to
legislate the ‘illegitimacy’ of [AAE] as a ‘language’”. (Ramirez, Wiley, de Klerk, and
Wright) This response shows the complete disregard for African American English
that causes it to continue to be a tool for discrimination. And even though the
intention of the school was to teach AAE speaking students to use Standard English,
rather than encourage linguistic acceptance, (which in and of itself is a problem with
many consequences), the principle of congress’ denial is extremely important. They
did not see it fit to change education because they did not see African American
English as anything but a broken language unworthy of entering the classroom.
They undervalue the education of African American students because they don’t
believe African American students speak properly.
In a country recognized for, and proud of its diverse population, language
diversity is unavoidable. But, language acceptance must be learned. In order to
exemplify educative equity, and equal opportunity, the social practices that are
oppressing millions must be changed. Standard English speakers must realize that
language is a tool used by people, and linguistic standards should be based on more
reasonable principles. Once this country accepts African American English as a
legitimate language spoken by millions of Americans, we will finally restore the
educative opportunity that has been unfairly taken from them by inconsiderate
linguistic standards.
Cited Sources:
Ramirez, David J., Terrence G. Wiley, Gerda de Klerk, Enid Lee, and Wayne E.
Wright. Ebonics: The Urban Education Debate (2nd Edition). 2nd ed. Tonawanda, NY:
Multilingual Matters Ltd, 2005. Print.
Fogel, Howard, and Linnea C. Ehri. “Teaching Elementary Students Who
Speak Black English Vernacular To Write In Standard English: Effects Of Dialect
Transformation Practice.” Contemporary Educational Psycology 25.2 (2000): 212235. Academic Search Complete. Web. 26 Feb 2014.
Edwards, Walter F. A Handbook of Varieties of English: Morphology and
Syntax. 2nd Ed. Mouton de Gruyter, 2004. Print.
Gopaul-McNicol, Sharon-ann. "African American education and the Ebonics
issue." Journal of Negro Education 1998: 2. Academic Search Complete. Web. 18 Mar.
2014.
Todd Jr., Leon W. "Ebonics Is Defective Speech And A Handicap For Black
Children." Education 118.2 (1997): 177. Academic Search Complete. Web. 18 Mar.
2014.
Card, David and Jesse Rothstein. “Racial Segregation and the Black-White
Test Score Gap.” Journal of Public Economics 91, 11-12 (December 2007): 21582184.
Jonsberg, Sara Dalmas. "What's A (White) Teacher To Do About Black
English?." English Journal 90.4 (2001): 51. Academic Search Complete. Web. 19 Mar.
2014.