Blog #6

Cain’t nobody tell what im sayin’

But ain’t I speaking English?

Guess I ain’t speaking proper English. But you are. We all are. African American Vernacular English (AAVE)—thought to be seen as bad English because it does not follow these common grammar rules. Ebonics has been coined to devalue this type of English because it is seen as improper and something that cannot be used academically. However, similar to our definition of standard English it has grammar rules and patterns. With language, it is not only spoken by people of that culture but can be used by those living around or those who identify with a specific culture. In the Encyclopedia of African American History it states how “80-90 percent of African Americans speak Black English at least some of the time.” This is showing not only the popularity of this English by the prevalence that it plays in the black community.  Yet it is still considered improper. This is due to the language breaking popular grammar rules that we are taught at a young age. By being able to accept AAVE as a real language we will also be telling students that what they speak at home is not lesser, but a language that has strong ties to their community and its history.

African America Vernacular English has many theories on how it originated. One of the most prominent theories was its creation through slavery. During this time many of these slaves came from different parts of Africa where they do not speak a common language. Because of that, many spoke a type of creole which was used for transactions among them and whites. This shows how during these times many Africans were considered bilingual because they were able to speak this creole that they created, but also speak their native langue. Because of that AAVE came to play because it intertwined English with a strong tie to African grammatical ties. Thus, AAVE shows a connection with English though also showing distinct differences from it.

            African American students and their ability to switch between AAVE and standard English shows this idea of code switch. Code switching is being able to switch between two or more languages. [Explain This and the patterns that are different from standard English]

            African American Vernacular English plays a major role in many forms of entertainment: hip hop and spoken word. Hip Hop was a form of music that has come to be seen as a culture. Similar to the culture of AAVE it has this negative connotation due to its ability to break most grammar rules and seen. [Go more in depth]