African American Vernacular English

1. African American Vernacular English Ebonics

2. 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.

3. 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

4. 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-American Vernacular English in Relation to Standard English

5. 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

6. AAVE in relation to other Englishes • African-American Vernacular English is a subsystem of English • Phonology • Syntax • African-American Vernacular English incorporates Southern phonology. • African-American Vernacular English was derived from a creole similar to Caribbean creoles. • African-American Vernacular English has a highly developed aspect system unlike Standard English.

7. 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.

8. Consonant reduction comparison • Dialects overlap • Speakers form a continuum of styles

9. 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.

10. 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

11. 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]

12. 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.

14. Copula Deletion by Class and Gender • Data are from Detroit • Women’s speech is closer to standard. • Middle class is close to standard

15. 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.

16. 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

17. Will Smith (Men in Black):“It be rainin’ black people in New York City.”

18. Invariant be in the classroom • Pupil uses aspect precisely

19. More invariant be in the Classroom

20. Be done uses the invariant be

22. Multiple negation is also called”negative concord.”

23. 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

24. Black Standard English • Standard English syntax • AAVE Pronunciations • Drop postvocalic /-r/ • Reduce clusters • But retain past tense /Id/, future /l/, and 3d person /-s/

25. 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

26. 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.

27. Attitudes to Vernacular • Oakland, California • Parents reject use of AAVE in school.

28. Vernacular Culture Index: Detroit (Edwards)

29. AAVE Linguistic Variables (Detroit)

30. Correlations to Vernacular Culture Index

31. 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.

32. 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.

33. 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.

34. 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

35. Obstacles to Classroom Success • AAVE pronunciation produces different homonyms than SE. • Reading teachers need to know students’ homonyms. • 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.