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.

Aliases (6)

African American English ×4
African-American Vernacular English ×2
Black English ×2
Black Vernacular English ×2
Ebonics ×2
African American Vernacular English: Features, Evolution, Educational Implications ×1

Statements (58)

Predicate	Object
instanceOf	dialect of English → ethnolect → language variety → sociolect → vernacular →
alsoKnownAs	AAVE → African American English → Black English → Black Vernacular English → Ebonics →
associatedWithEthnicGroup	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 → 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 (17)

Subject (surface form when different)	Predicate
AAVE ("Black English") → AAVE ("Black Vernacular English") → AAVE ("African American English") → AAVE ("Ebonics") → African American Vernacular English ("African American English") → African American Vernacular English ("Black English") → African American Vernacular English ("Black Vernacular English") → African American Vernacular English ("Ebonics") →	alsoKnownAs
John R. Rickford ("African American English") → Walt Wolfram ("African American English") →	researchInterest
Nevada English →	distinctFrom
AAVE →	fullName
African-American culture ("African-American Vernacular English") →	hasCulturalForm
African-American culture ("African-American Vernacular English") →	hasLanguageVariety
American English →	hasVariant
West African languages →	influenced
John R. Rickford ("African American Vernacular English: Features, Evolution, Educational Implications") →	notableWork