Have you ever heard the way someone is speaking being referred to as “broken English” and ever wondered what exactly that meant? Chances are if the person speaking was African American, this label was wrong. Racism twists what is actually a recognized dialect of speech into yet another fulcrum for superiority.
The English language consists of many different dialects that each have their very own quirks and particulars, and African American English is no different. Commonly referred to as African American Vernacular English (AAVE), African American English (AAE) or Ebonics, this dialect is spoken by many African Americans in the United States. This dialect was born out of a mix between the African languages and English during slavery and the African Diaspora. AAE is commonly seen as an incorrect way of speaking, as only slang and made-up words, but this is not the case. AAE comes with a regimented set of rules and recurring patterns that legitimizes it as an English dialect.
To those who are unaware of AAE speech, much of it is written off as not following the rules of “standard” grammar or English. Many words considered as slang such as “bling-bling” are indeed recognized forms of AAE speech. The use of terminology commonly seen as confusing, such as using “bad” to actually mean good, is also, believe it or not, a pattern of AAE and double negatives are used normally and correctly. The sounds of AAE include dropping the final consonant sound in words that end with hard consonants. For instance, ‘past’ is pronounced as ‘pas’ or ‘hand’ as ‘han’. AAE patterns even appear in white vernacular English, particularly in the South where vowels in words like ‘my’ are drawn out to sound more like ‘mah’.
White vernacular English speakers, however, are not criticized for their speech. AAE is rarely ever respected as a dialect and African American speakers face more problems because of that. Many racists refer to AAE as broken and laugh at the very things that make it unique and a respected dialect. A large debate on whether or not it should even be a recognized dialect has been burning since the 1980’s and is still debated by sociolinguists and associated fields. One of the most recent and publicized stirrings of this debate were the Oakland School Board resolutions in 1996.
This resolution decided to formally recognize AAE in the classroom as a way to better accommodate the majority Black student body. These resolutions garnered much attention not only for Oakland but for Ebonics and AAE. Maya Angelou, a famous African American poet, jumped in on the conflict to surprisingly devalue the disrespected dialect. Angelou, famous for being outspoken and a champion of the rights of African American Women, looked down upon the 1996 resolutions even though she uses Ebonics in many of her own works (see “The Pusher”).
AAE still remains a dialect even after conflict and criticism. AAE also still lacks the proper respect and credence it deserves. AAE should not be used as a tool for racists, but seen legitimately as the dialect it is.
