Academic report on the African American Vernacular

English sociolect |1

Academic report on the African

American Vernacular English
sociolect

Written by Ellis Bentley

Submitted 20th April 2023
 Academic report on the African American Vernacular
English sociolect |2

Contents
Terms of Reference......................................................................................................................3
Research Methodology................................................................................................................3
Findings........................................................................................................................................4
Comparing two written and two oral texts..............................................................................4
History and social variation......................................................................................................4
Assess the impact of three examples of social variation on language in relation to the AAVE
sociolect...................................................................................................................................6
Conclusions..................................................................................................................................6
Recommendations.......................................................................................................................7
Reference list...............................................................................................................................7
Bibliography.................................................................................................................................7
 Academic report on the African American Vernacular
English sociolect |3

Terms of Reference
This report is written to demonstrate my understanding of the African American
Vernacular English sociolect (within this academic report, African American
Vernacular English will be acronymized to AAVE in most places). Other names used
interchangeably in cited sources and quotes include African American Language, Black
English or Ebonics (“Ebonics” can be considered controversial). By comparing and
contrasting the vocabulary and style utilised in two written texts and two oral texts, this
paper will analyse AAVE sociolect. Additionally, it will look at the historical and
cultural influences on AAVE and evaluate how social variety in language affects the
AAVE sociolect. AAVE differs from Standard American English (SAE) in terms of its
lexicon, grammar, and pronunciation.
Just as a preface to the report, I am White British. The uncensored n-word is used in
quotes within this report as I felt that was important. When not in a quote it will just be
referred to as the n-word as respect to the deep-rooted origin of the word.

Research Methodology
When researching for this paper, my goal was to ingest as much content as possible to
fully familiarise myself with AAVE. My main research included literature which
heavily features AAVE as well as the Oxford Handbook of African American Language.
African American English: A linguistic introduction (Green, Lisa J 2002) was also used
for research.
My goal was to get a grasp on something I did not know much about and to try and
wrap my head around not only the intricacies of AAVE but also of the shortcomings of
modern-day society when trying to accept differences in the way people speak.
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English sociolect |4

Findings
Comparing two written and two oral texts
The writings of Zora Neale Hurston, particularly "Their Eyes Were Watching God" and
Toni Morrison's "Beloved" are two great example of AAVE. Both books use AAVE for
dialogue and narrative within the novels, and both are set in the rural South.
Hurston uses AAVE in "Their Eyes Were Watching God" to accurately depict the
rhythm and cadence of the African American characters' speech. For instance, the
character Tea Cake utilises AAVE to describe his profession as a migratory worker in
the following passage: "Ah'm movin' round over de state lak de wind. Woman, you got
yo' laigs uh de righ' shape, is all Ah kin say." In this section, the character's regional
identity and social standing are inferred through the use of AAVE.
AAVE is also used by Morrison in "Beloved" to represent the perspective and
experiences of African American slaves. "They came, they left, they came again, but
each time they entered her space, they entered the terrible vacancy, her stretched
emptiness, that place where her heart had been, before it got broke. That place where the
idea of Baby Suggs had lived for years, long before the sons and their grief arrived."
In contrast, two oral texts that exemplify AAVE are rap music and stand-up comedy.
Rap music, a popular genre in African American communities, often uses AAVE to
express social and cultural commentary. For example, in the following lyrics from
Kendrick Lamar's "Alright," he uses AAVE to describe the challenges faced by African
Americans: "We hate po-po / Wanna kill us dead in the street for sure / I'm at the
preacher's door / My knees gettin' weak, and my gun might blow but we gon' be
alright." Lamar's use of AAVE in this passage conveys the urgency and emotion behind
his message, it also adds a unique aspect to a lot of rap music as the intonation and
rhyme is different compared to non-rap music; this can be attributed to AAVE.
Another oral art form that frequently uses AAVE to engage audiences of African
Americans is stand-up comedy. For instance, comedian Richard Pryor frequently
employed AAVE to talk about racial and socioeconomic concerns. In the following clip
from his stand-up routine, he uses AAVE to describe his experiences with police
brutality: "And the police would stop you and beat you in the head and say, 'What you
running for, n-word?'"

History and social variation

There is still contention in the world of linguistics regarding the origin of AAVE, two
main theories exist; one is more widely accepted, and the other is more widely debated.
The most widely accepted theory today is that AAVE has always been a part of English.
The other theory that AAVE was naturally developed from creole languages that were
used by African captives of the Atlantic slave trade. Because the captives spoke many
 Academic report on the African American Vernacular
English sociolect |5

languages, they needed a new way they could all communicate together easily. Oxford
Handbook of African American Language (Bloomquist, Green & Lanehart, 2015)
People in this category are still likely to refer to AAVE as a language rather than a
sociolect.
We know that a lot of the signature parts of the intonation and tone of AAVE came
from the South as that is where most of the African American slaves were, in
plantations. As people later fled due to things like the KKK, AAVE began to develop in
different parts of America, creating different subsections of the dialect.
AAVE has adapted over time to situations. African Americans moving across America
and subsections of the language evolving is just one example of that. Words and phrases
have often come about in times of history. Like words for police in the 1980s and more
words that are used in the current climate of police brutality in the 21st century. My
point is that as a form of English it has adapted to fit different situations, that is clear
enough to see in the origins of the language alone. In the 1980s and 1990s things further
developed with the emergence of the rap and hip-hop scene where there had once been a
jazz and soul scene. Words came into fashion and words dropped out again. Constantly
evolving with the culture, constantly changing, and constantly redefining what it means
to be an African American.
AAVE is a considered a dialect (a form of language which is unique to a specific
region), ethnolect (A form of language specific to an ethnicity) or sociolect (the dialect
of a particular social class). As a note this is still widely debated much like a lot of the
ins and outs of AAVE. Something so large and so important is very hard to put into a
box and categorise what AAVE is. Not quite a language but something so much more
than a dialect.
(Word meanings retrieved from Oxford English Dictionary, ed. Online)
Much like English as a whole, AAVE can be summarised as a melting pot. Something
that has arisen from a mixing together of so many things but also of circumstances and
bad situations and code words needing to be used to stay safe.
In the current day AAVE is often miscredited as just words that People use on Tik-Tok
or something that has naturally grown since the birth of gen-Z. As a matter of fact,
though it is something that has been used for generations. It has been used as something
that kept the identity of an entire race alive when oppression was at its peak. Examples
of words that originate from AAVE and are now in mainstream internet culture include
simp, hella, deadass, no cap, woke, fam, and snatched. Many of these words also
originated from early queer and drag culture. There is a lot of crossovers between the
two, but this research report will solely focus on AAVE; it is just important to mention
that they are intertwined. It is important to mention that phrases that originated from
AAVE are in modern internet culture as some argue that it is cultural appropriation.
Young people pick up the words from the internet because they are popular and use
 Academic report on the African American Vernacular
English sociolect |6

them in a way that seems disingenuous. People most of the time are certainly not hateful
but misinformed of the origins.

Assess the impact of three examples of social variation on language in

relation to the AAVE sociolect.
Social characteristics like age, gender, ethnicity, and financial class have an impact on
language in a variety of ways. This phenomenon is known as social variation. AAVE
displays social variety in a number of ways, such as how various age groups, genders,
and socioeconomic classes use it.
The usage of double negatives, such as "I ain't got no money," is a good example of
economic variance in AAVE. This sort of sentence structure is very common in AAVE,
especially among younger speakers.
AAVE uses pronouns in a gender-neutral manner. For instance, in AAVE, the pronoun
"she" is frequently employed as a pronoun denoting either gender, whereas in SAE, it is
more frequently used to denote the feminine gender. This illustrates how gender
inclusion is valued culturally in African American communities.
Regional variations within AAVE have been noted, with some dialects being more
prevalent in certain areas. For example, the use of "yo" an as interjection is more
common in AAVE spoken in the Northeast, while the use of "y'all" as a second-person
plural pronoun is more prevalent in the South. These regional variations reflect the
impact of local cultural and historical factors on language use.
Age is another important factor that influences social variation in AAVE. Younger
speakers may use different vocabulary compared older speakers, reflecting changes in
language use over time. For example, the use of slang terms such as "lit" and "fam" may
be more common among younger African Americans, while older speakers may use
more traditional AAVE vocabulary and expressions.
The usage of language in AAVE can also be influenced by social class. Although there
is no innate relationship between language use and social class, AAVE may be more
common in populations with lower socioeconomic status. For instance, people from
lower socioeconomic origins might use the copula deletion rule more frequently than
those from higher socioeconomic backgrounds, where the "is" verb is deleted in some
instances (for instance, "He running").
Overall, the examples offered underscore the need for a deeper understanding and
appreciation of this unique sociolect by demonstrating how intricate and varied AAVE
is. They also emphasise the importance of eliminating negative AAVE stereotypes and
biases and promoting a deeper knowledge of the many linguistic and cultural
expressions of African American groups.
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English sociolect |7

Conclusions
African American Vernacular English, in conclusion, is a unique sociolect with its own
lexicon, grammar, and phonology. Historical and cultural elements including West
African languages, slavery, segregation, and discrimination have an impact on it. Age,
geography, and socioeconomic status are all important factors in social variation, which
has a big impact on how AAVE is spoken. AAVE is a significant means to celebrate
and preserve African American culture and identity in literature and popular culture.
Currently people still feel the need to have to code switch and not use AAVE at all in a
professional setting. Guilting a minority of people for the way that they speak even if
their culture is rooted in opposition and hate.
It is important to encourage the growth of AAVE. It is a part of so many people’s
cultures and it should not be stigmatised. A lot of modern internet lingo is being
misused because it is rooted in AAVE. This again proves that more education is needed
for people to understand the implications of using language that doesn’t belong to their
own culture.

Recommendations
Although it is something that has become more common. AAVE still has a stigma as
being un-educated or broken English or intrinsically wrong in some way. This is not
helped by stereotypes of the language that is often pushed by certain areas of
mainstream media. Further help should be given to schools to facilitate language and to
nourish growth without erasing the history of something that is so much more than
broken English. It should be more widely accepted in the workplace; it is not right for
Black people to have to code-switch to conform to someone else’s idea of how they
should speak.

Reference list
Zora Neale Hurston, Their Eyes Were Watching God
Morrison Toni, Beloved
Bloomquist, Green & Lanehart (2015) The Oxford Handbook of African American
Oxford English Dictionary Online Ed.

Bibliography
Zora Neale Hurston, Their Eyes Were Watching God
Morrison Toni, Beloved
[Link]
The Oxford Handbook of African American Language (2015)
Literary Black Dialect and Translation Strategy Reconsidered: The case of Alice
Walker’s The Color Purple
 Academic report on the African American Vernacular
English sociolect |8

[Link]
popularized-misuse-of-aave-online?ct=content_open&cv=cbox_latest Dipika Rao –
Published October 12th 2022. (Specifically read the article relating to code switching)
[Link]
internet-slang/ Samantha Chery – Published August 17th 2022 at 9:17 EDT
[Link] Eleanor
Tremeer
A Raisin in the Sun by Lorraine Hansburry - Published in text 20th February 2010,
opened on broadway in 1959.
The poetry of Langston Hughes
The colour purple by Alice Walker 1982
Fresh Prince of Belair (Season 4, 1993, scene with Tyra Banks and Will Smith arguing)
Obama. B. (2015) White House Correspondents Association Dinner
[Link]
of-president-obamas-white-house-correspondents-association-dinner-toast/
[Link]
[Link]
[Link] The African American
Vernacular English in Walker’s The Color Purple
[Link]