African American Vernacular English

E10112

dialect of English ethnolect language variety sociolect vernacular

African American Vernacular English is a systematic and rule-governed variety of English historically associated with African American communities, characterized by distinct phonological, grammatical, and lexical features.

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All labels observed (11)

Label	Occurrences
African American Vernacular English canonical	14
African American English	8
African-American Vernacular English	4
Black English	4
Black Vernacular English	2
Ebonics	2
African American Vernacular English is a legitimate language variety	1
African American Vernacular English is not broken English	1
African American Vernacular English is rich and expressive	1
African American Vernacular English: Features, Evolution, Educational Implications	1
African American vernacular theory	1

Statements (58)

Predicate	Object
instanceOf	dialect of English ⓘ ethnolect ⓘ language variety ⓘ sociolect ⓘ vernacular ⓘ
alsoKnownAs	AAVE ⓘ African American Vernacular English ⓘ surface form: African American English African American Vernacular English ⓘ surface form: Black English African American Vernacular English ⓘ surface form: Black Vernacular English African American Vernacular English ⓘ surface form: Ebonics
associatedWithEthnicGroup	Black Americans ⓘ surface form: African Americans Black Americans ⓘ
developedFrom	varieties of English spoken by enslaved Africans in North America ⓘ
hasCharacteristic	distinct phonology ⓘ distinct prosody ⓘ distinct vocabulary ⓘ recognized as legitimate variety by linguists ⓘ rule-governed syntax ⓘ stigmatized in some contexts ⓘ systematic grammar ⓘ
hasFeature	absence of third person singular -s in present tense ⓘ consonant cluster reduction ⓘ copula deletion in certain contexts ⓘ different patterns of subject–verb agreement ⓘ distinct intonation patterns ⓘ double negatives ⓘ final consonant devoicing in some words ⓘ habitual aspect marked by invariant be ⓘ lexical items specific to African American culture ⓘ use of been as remote past marker ⓘ use of done as completive aspect marker ⓘ zero plural marking in some noun phrases ⓘ zero possessive -s in some contexts ⓘ
hasIssue	subject of debates about language and education policy ⓘ subject of debates about linguistic prejudice ⓘ
hasOrthography	usually written using standard English spelling with nonstandard conventions in representation ⓘ
historicalInfluence	Southern American English ⓘ West African languages ⓘ
influences	global popular culture ⓘ mainstream American English slang ⓘ
languageFamily	English language ⓘ
notOfficialLanguageOf	any country ⓘ
recognizedBy	Linguistic Society of America as systematic and rule-governed ⓘ
region	Southern United States ⓘ United States of America ⓘ surface form: United States urban areas in the United States ⓘ
spokenBy	many African Americans across social classes ⓘ some non–African American speakers in close contact communities ⓘ
studiedInDiscipline	applied linguistics ⓘ education ⓘ sociolinguistics ⓘ
subfamilyOf	American English ⓘ
timePeriod	emerged during slavery era in the United States ⓘ
usedIn	African American literature ⓘ hip hop music ⓘ informal communication ⓘ oral tradition ⓘ
usedInCountry	United States of America ⓘ

Referenced by (39)

Full triples — surface form annotated when it differs from this entity's canonical label.

American English → hasVariant → African American Vernacular English ⓘ

West African languages → influenced → African American Vernacular English ⓘ

African American Vernacular English → alsoKnownAs → African American Vernacular English ⓘ

this entity surface form: African American English

African American Vernacular English → alsoKnownAs → African American Vernacular English ⓘ

this entity surface form: Black English

African American Vernacular English → alsoKnownAs → African American Vernacular English ⓘ

this entity surface form: Black Vernacular English

African American Vernacular English → alsoKnownAs → African American Vernacular English ⓘ

this entity surface form: Ebonics

AAVE → fullName → African American Vernacular English ⓘ

AAVE → alsoKnownAs → African American Vernacular English ⓘ

this entity surface form: Black English

AAVE → alsoKnownAs → African American Vernacular English ⓘ

this entity surface form: Black Vernacular English

AAVE → alsoKnownAs → African American Vernacular English ⓘ

this entity surface form: African American English

AAVE → alsoKnownAs → African American Vernacular English ⓘ

this entity surface form: Ebonics

Nevada English → distinctFrom → African American Vernacular English ⓘ

African-American culture → hasCulturalForm → African American Vernacular English ⓘ

this entity surface form: African-American Vernacular English

African-American culture → hasLanguageVariety → African American Vernacular English ⓘ

this entity surface form: African-American Vernacular English

Walt Wolfram → researchInterest → African American Vernacular English ⓘ

this entity surface form: African American English

John R. Rickford → notableWork → African American Vernacular English ⓘ

this entity surface form: African American Vernacular English: Features, Evolution, Educational Implications

John R. Rickford → researchInterest → African American Vernacular English ⓘ

this entity surface form: African American English

English in Louisiana → influencedBy → African American Vernacular English ⓘ

Homecoming → featuresLanguage → African American Vernacular English ⓘ

Calpurnia → language → African American Vernacular English ⓘ

Bess, You Is My Woman Now → hasTitleLanguage → African American Vernacular English ⓘ

William Labov → fieldOfWork → African American Vernacular English ⓘ

this entity surface form: African American English

hip hop culture → hasLanguageStyle → African American Vernacular English ⓘ

dozens (ritual insult game) → primaryLanguage → African American Vernacular English ⓘ

this entity surface form: African-American Vernacular English

Blues, Ideology, and Afro-American Literature → theoreticalApproach → African American Vernacular English ⓘ

this entity surface form: African American vernacular theory

Pheoby Watson → languageOfDialogue → African American Vernacular English ⓘ

Black culture → includesLinguisticForm → African American Vernacular English ⓘ

The Development of African American English → mainTopic → African American Vernacular English ⓘ

this entity surface form: African American English

Rickford → fieldOfWork → African American Vernacular English ⓘ

subject surface form: John R. Rickford

Spoken Soul: The Story of Black English → mainSubject → African American Vernacular English ⓘ

this entity surface form: Black English

Spoken Soul: The Story of Black English → argues → African American Vernacular English ⓘ

this entity surface form: African American Vernacular English is a legitimate language variety

Spoken Soul: The Story of Black English → argues → African American Vernacular English ⓘ

this entity surface form: African American Vernacular English is rich and expressive

Spoken Soul: The Story of Black English → supportsView → African American Vernacular English ⓘ

this entity surface form: African American Vernacular English is not broken English

Variation, Versatility and Change in African American English → mainSubject → African American Vernacular English ⓘ

this entity surface form: African American English

Variation, Versatility and Change in African American English → relatedTo → African American Vernacular English ⓘ

American Book Award for "Spoken Soul: The Story of Black English" → hasTopic → African American Vernacular English ⓘ

this entity surface form: Black English

American Book Award for "Spoken Soul: The Story of Black English" → hasTopic → African American Vernacular English ⓘ

this entity surface form: African American English

African-American theatre → usesLanguage → African American Vernacular English ⓘ

this entity surface form: African-American Vernacular English