AFRICAN AMERICAN VERNACULAR ENGLISH (AAVE)
Ella Mateos, Mariem Khiari, Tifaine Poupon
Start
index
01
Dialect Overview
05
Cultural Impact
06
02
Audio Extract
Conclusion
07
03
Bibliography
Lexical and Grammatical Features
04
Phonological Characteristics
01. Dialect Overview
Culturally
Geographically
Historically
- Has deep roots in the African American communities across the United States. - Emerged during the era of slavery when African languages and English varieties blended, creating a unique linguistic expression that has evolved over time.
- Holds immense cultural significance. It is a language of resistance, resilience, and identity. - Understanding AAVE is not just about language ; it's about the exploration of the cultural identity, creativity, and community bonds of African Americans
- The roots can be traced back to the forced migration of African people to America. - The language that emerged in the slave quarters reflected a fusion of African languages and English spoken by the white population. - Over the centuries, AAVE has continued to evolve, shaped by historical events, migration patterns, and cultural influences.
02. Audio Extract
“I been here a long time. But I'm from Cuba. Lot of black folks in Cuba,
you wouldn't know that from being here, though. I was a wild little shorty, man, just like you. Running around with no shoes on when the moon was out. This one time...
I run by this old... this old lady. I was running, hollerin'... cutting a fool, boy. This old lady, she stopped me. She said...
"Running around, catching up all that light.
In moonlight... black boys look blue. You blue. That's what I gon' call you. Blue." "So your name Blue?" "Nah.
At some point you gotta decide for yourself who you gon' be.
Can't let nobody make that decision for you.”
Moonlight | Decide for Yourself (2016)
Lorem Ipsum
03. Lexical and Grammatical Features
I. Lexical Features
II. Grammatical Features
Omission of the copula ‘be’ with ‘is’ and ‘are’
In front of a phrase showing location, a noun phrase, an adjective or the present progressive -ing
- 'Ella is pretty.' --> 'Ella pretty.'
- 'You are my type.' --> 'You ma type.'
- 'They are dancing.' --> 'They dancin'.'
However, ‘is’ and ‘are’ should be pronounced at the end of sentences like ‘I hate how men are.’ or ‘It is what is is.’
Habitual 'be'
‘He be bossin’ me around.’ --> indicates a repeated process unlike ‘He bossin’ me around.’
Intensification markers 'stay' and 'steady'
‘Stay’ : an intensified habitual marker ‘Steady’ : an intensified continuous marker.
- She stay eatin’ junk food.’ --> ‘stay’ marks the habit of the girl to eat junk food.
- ‘I’m done with ya. You steady annoyin’ me.’ --> ‘steady’ isn’t necesseraly habitual but it goes over a long period of time.
Completive 'done'
Stressed Been
Either means that the action occured a long time ago or that the action has been continuing for a long time
Either intensifies an activity or shows an action has been completed and gives the feeling that the situations before and after are different
- ‘You done talkin’ out loud.’
- 'They BEEN married.' --> In this case, adding a phrase like 'for a long time' is ungrammatical
Lack of a subject-verb agreement in present tense
Most of the time, the use of -s in AAVE is for carrying emphasis.
Standard English has an agreement in a number of irregular and frequently used verbs such as 'has' and 'have', 'is' and 'are' and 'was' and 'were' but in AAVE these distinctions are not always made
- She sleeps like a baby. --> She sleep like a baby.
- They were so drunk last night. --> They was so drunk last night.
-s used a an emphasis in AAVE :
- ‘I gots t’ go.’ --> contraction of ‘have got to’ like ‘gotta’ but it is more emphatic.
Future Contractions
Fixin’ to (= about to) --> Finna
Going to --> Gonna / Gon
I’m gonna --> I’ma
- ‘We gon to the cinema next week.’
- ‘I’ma go shopping right now.’ --> indicates an immediate action
Negation
Follows the omission of the third person singular’s -s in the negative form and frequently expresses negation with ‘ain’t’ in present continuous, past and present perfect tenses.
- Tifaine don’t like sushi.
- Mariem ain’t skipping class.
- Ella ain’t seen the Barbie movie.
Negative Inversion
Auxiliary verb is found in the negative form at the beginning of the sentence
- ‘Nobody’s allowed to yawn during this presentation.’ --> ‘Ain’t nobody allowed to yawn during this presentation.’
ASS Constructions
To emphasize an adjective
- 'This is a long-ass presentation.'
Together with a possessive to replace a pronoun
- ‘Yo’ass gon empty the dishwasher.’ (You’re going to empty the dishwasher) --> urgency or warning
To replace ‘self’
- 'Get yo’ass ready for Pride.'
04. Phonological Characteristics
I. Consonent
Metathesis
Sounds or letters are swapped in a word
- Ask : GA : /æsk/ --> AAVE : /æks/
- Wasp : GA : /wɑːsp/ --> AAVE : /wɑːps/
R-less
AAVE tends to be r-less at the end of words
- Daughter : GA : /ˈdɑː.t̬ɚ/ --> AAVE : /ˈdɑː.t̬ə/
- Door : GA : /dɔːr/ --> AAVE : /dɔː/
- Your : GA : /jɚ/ --> AAVE : /jə/
Changes in 'th' sounds
Labialization of Interdental Fricatives
The interdental fricative [θ] replaced with the labiodental fricatives [f] and [v]
- Teeth : GA : /tiːθ/ --> AAVE : /tiːf/
- Thin : GA : /θɪn/ --> AAVE : /fɪn/
- Brother : GA : /ˈbrʌð.ɚ/ --> AAVE : /ˈbrʌv.ə/
Interdental Voiceless Fricative stop
When preceded by a nasal consonant, [θ] can be replaced by [t]
- Ninth : GA : /naɪnθ/ --> AAVE : /naːnt/
- Warmth : GA : /wɔːrmθ/ --> AAVE : /wɔːrmt/
Interdental Fricatives Stop
Sometimes, [θ] becomes [t] or [t̬] and [ð] becomes [d] or [d̪]
- This : GA : /ðɪs/ --> AAVE : /dɪs/
- With : GA : /wɪð/ --> AAVE : /wɪt/
Final consonant cluster reduction
When a word ends with two consonants, the last one is dropped
- Almost : GA : /ˈɑːl.moʊst/ --> AAVE : /ˈɑːl.moʊs/
- Land : GA : /lænd/ --> AAVE : /læn/
Omission of initial consonant
Sometimes, initial consonants are dropped
- ‘I don’t care’ --> ‘I ‘on care’
II. Stress
Some words have different stress patterns
- Police : GA : /pəˈliːs/ --> AAVE : /ˈpəliːs/
- Hotel : GA : /hoʊˈtel/ --> AAVE : /ˈhoʊtel/
III. Vowel
Monophthongization of /aɪ/
The diphthong /aɪ/ turns into the long vowel /aː/
- Pride : GA : /praɪd/ --> AAVE : /praːd/
- Like : GA : /laɪk/ --> AAVE : /laːk/
Monophthongization of /aʊ/
The diphthong /aʊ/ turns into the short vowel /a/
- Down : GA: /daʊn/ --> AAVE : /dan/
- House : GA : /haʊs/ --> AAVE : /has/
Merger before Nasals
Before final-syllabic nasals, /ɪ / and /e/ merge to /ɪ /
- Pen : GA : /pen/ --> AAVE : /pɪn/ (The words 'pin' and 'pen' become homonymous in AAVE.
- Again : GA : /əˈɡen/ --> AAVE : /əˈɡɪn/
05. CULTURAL IMPACT
I. Music
A centerpiece of self-expression and creativity
The blues, rather than being a hybrid of European aesthetic forms, constitute an expressive matrix that reflects the complexities of African American culture.(Plum, 1993, p. 561)
A musical form that makes use of rhyme, rhythmic speech, and street vernacular, which is
recited or loosely chanted over a musical soundtrack.(Keyes, 2004, p.1)
It is generally believed that jazz developed from a fusion of West African, black Creole and Euro-American cultures.(Conyers, 2001, p. 55)
II. BETWEEN CULTURAL APPROPRIATION AND APPRECIATION
HISTORICAL REMEMBRANCE AND ACKNOWLEDGMENT IS A NECESSITY !
- Decontextualization and dilutation of the heritage and cultural significance
- Inequality of accreditation
- Social prestige in certain contexts, situations and areas --> Instrumentalization of the variety for personal advantages
- Branding and marketing strategies
- Notion of the aesthetic
- AAVE appropriated into memes
- AAVE mistakenly reduced and associated to “Gen-Z slang”
AAVE is NOT an internet slang
III. “Broken english”, “white talking” : AAVE in Academia / Job Sectors
CODE SWITCHING
- Stereotypes / misconceptions around AAVE : deemed as “broken english”
- There is no dialect or variety more correct than another !
- Seen as “uneducated” and “informal” in professional / academic arenas.
- “ungrammatical” DOES NOT equal “uncorrect”
Switch mode of communication to adapt / adjust to the setting : a necessary tool for survival in professional spaces
Might stir up internalized racial discrimination
WHITE TALKING
strategy of linguistic profiling
Alternate dialects and “smoothen out” accents for more job opportunities
“ Instead of changing the way we speak, maybe we should change the way we listen.”
CONCLUSION
Thanks for listening !!
07. Bibliography
- Insider, 2018, Is "Talking White" Actually A Thing?, YouTube.
- Langfocus, 2020, AAVE - African American Vernacular English, YouTube.
-Storied, 2021, What People Get Wrong About African-American English | Otherwords, YouTube.
- Cara Judkins, May 27th 2020, AAVE: The “Other” American English Variety, Medium.
- Arianna Peoples, 2023, AAVE: Dismantling Standard American English (Part 1), San José State University.
- Macy Alcido, Maria McCallen and Kamini Ramdeen-Chowdhury, February 11th 2022, How ‘Blaccents’ Appropriate Black Culture — And Why They’ve Flown Under the Radar for Decades, theSkimm.
- Jack Sidnel, African American Vernacular English (Ebonics), University of Hawaii.
- Babbel USA, 2021, AAVE Explained: A Dialect That Transcends Internet Culture, Youtube.
- Erik R. Thomas, 2007, Phonological and Phonetic Characteristics of African American Vernacular English, North Carolina State University.
AAVE PRESENTATION
tifaine ppngy
Created on November 25, 2023
Start designing with a free template
Discover more than 1500 professional designs like these:
View
Urban Illustrated Presentation
View
KPOP Presentation
View
Snow Presentation
View
Corporate Christmas Presentation
View
Historical Presentation
View
Scary Eighties Presentation
View
Memories Presentation
Explore all templates
Transcript
AFRICAN AMERICAN VERNACULAR ENGLISH (AAVE)
Ella Mateos, Mariem Khiari, Tifaine Poupon
Start
index
01
Dialect Overview
05
Cultural Impact
06
02
Audio Extract
Conclusion
07
03
Bibliography
Lexical and Grammatical Features
04
Phonological Characteristics
01. Dialect Overview
Culturally
Geographically
Historically
- Has deep roots in the African American communities across the United States. - Emerged during the era of slavery when African languages and English varieties blended, creating a unique linguistic expression that has evolved over time.
- Holds immense cultural significance. It is a language of resistance, resilience, and identity. - Understanding AAVE is not just about language ; it's about the exploration of the cultural identity, creativity, and community bonds of African Americans
- The roots can be traced back to the forced migration of African people to America. - The language that emerged in the slave quarters reflected a fusion of African languages and English spoken by the white population. - Over the centuries, AAVE has continued to evolve, shaped by historical events, migration patterns, and cultural influences.
02. Audio Extract
“I been here a long time. But I'm from Cuba. Lot of black folks in Cuba, you wouldn't know that from being here, though. I was a wild little shorty, man, just like you. Running around with no shoes on when the moon was out. This one time... I run by this old... this old lady. I was running, hollerin'... cutting a fool, boy. This old lady, she stopped me. She said... "Running around, catching up all that light. In moonlight... black boys look blue. You blue. That's what I gon' call you. Blue." "So your name Blue?" "Nah. At some point you gotta decide for yourself who you gon' be. Can't let nobody make that decision for you.”
Moonlight | Decide for Yourself (2016)
Lorem Ipsum
03. Lexical and Grammatical Features
I. Lexical Features
II. Grammatical Features
Omission of the copula ‘be’ with ‘is’ and ‘are’
In front of a phrase showing location, a noun phrase, an adjective or the present progressive -ing
However, ‘is’ and ‘are’ should be pronounced at the end of sentences like ‘I hate how men are.’ or ‘It is what is is.’
Habitual 'be'
‘He be bossin’ me around.’ --> indicates a repeated process unlike ‘He bossin’ me around.’
Intensification markers 'stay' and 'steady'
‘Stay’ : an intensified habitual marker ‘Steady’ : an intensified continuous marker.
Completive 'done'
Stressed Been
Either means that the action occured a long time ago or that the action has been continuing for a long time
Either intensifies an activity or shows an action has been completed and gives the feeling that the situations before and after are different
Lack of a subject-verb agreement in present tense
Most of the time, the use of -s in AAVE is for carrying emphasis.
Standard English has an agreement in a number of irregular and frequently used verbs such as 'has' and 'have', 'is' and 'are' and 'was' and 'were' but in AAVE these distinctions are not always made
-s used a an emphasis in AAVE :
Future Contractions
Fixin’ to (= about to) --> Finna
Going to --> Gonna / Gon
I’m gonna --> I’ma
Negation
Follows the omission of the third person singular’s -s in the negative form and frequently expresses negation with ‘ain’t’ in present continuous, past and present perfect tenses.
Negative Inversion
Auxiliary verb is found in the negative form at the beginning of the sentence
ASS Constructions
To emphasize an adjective
Together with a possessive to replace a pronoun
To replace ‘self’
04. Phonological Characteristics
I. Consonent
Metathesis
Sounds or letters are swapped in a word
R-less
AAVE tends to be r-less at the end of words
Changes in 'th' sounds
Labialization of Interdental Fricatives
The interdental fricative [θ] replaced with the labiodental fricatives [f] and [v]
Interdental Voiceless Fricative stop
When preceded by a nasal consonant, [θ] can be replaced by [t]
Interdental Fricatives Stop
Sometimes, [θ] becomes [t] or [t̬] and [ð] becomes [d] or [d̪]
Final consonant cluster reduction
When a word ends with two consonants, the last one is dropped
Omission of initial consonant
Sometimes, initial consonants are dropped
II. Stress
Some words have different stress patterns
III. Vowel
Monophthongization of /aɪ/
The diphthong /aɪ/ turns into the long vowel /aː/
Monophthongization of /aʊ/
The diphthong /aʊ/ turns into the short vowel /a/
Merger before Nasals
Before final-syllabic nasals, /ɪ / and /e/ merge to /ɪ /
05. CULTURAL IMPACT
I. Music
A centerpiece of self-expression and creativity
The blues, rather than being a hybrid of European aesthetic forms, constitute an expressive matrix that reflects the complexities of African American culture.(Plum, 1993, p. 561)
A musical form that makes use of rhyme, rhythmic speech, and street vernacular, which is recited or loosely chanted over a musical soundtrack.(Keyes, 2004, p.1)
It is generally believed that jazz developed from a fusion of West African, black Creole and Euro-American cultures.(Conyers, 2001, p. 55)
II. BETWEEN CULTURAL APPROPRIATION AND APPRECIATION
HISTORICAL REMEMBRANCE AND ACKNOWLEDGMENT IS A NECESSITY !
AAVE is NOT an internet slang
III. “Broken english”, “white talking” : AAVE in Academia / Job Sectors
CODE SWITCHING
Switch mode of communication to adapt / adjust to the setting : a necessary tool for survival in professional spaces
Might stir up internalized racial discrimination
WHITE TALKING
strategy of linguistic profiling
Alternate dialects and “smoothen out” accents for more job opportunities
“ Instead of changing the way we speak, maybe we should change the way we listen.”
CONCLUSION
Thanks for listening !!
07. Bibliography
- Insider, 2018, Is "Talking White" Actually A Thing?, YouTube.
- Langfocus, 2020, AAVE - African American Vernacular English, YouTube.
-Storied, 2021, What People Get Wrong About African-American English | Otherwords, YouTube.
- Cara Judkins, May 27th 2020, AAVE: The “Other” American English Variety, Medium.
- Arianna Peoples, 2023, AAVE: Dismantling Standard American English (Part 1), San José State University.
- Macy Alcido, Maria McCallen and Kamini Ramdeen-Chowdhury, February 11th 2022, How ‘Blaccents’ Appropriate Black Culture — And Why They’ve Flown Under the Radar for Decades, theSkimm.
- Jack Sidnel, African American Vernacular English (Ebonics), University of Hawaii.
- Babbel USA, 2021, AAVE Explained: A Dialect That Transcends Internet Culture, Youtube.
- Erik R. Thomas, 2007, Phonological and Phonetic Characteristics of African American Vernacular English, North Carolina State University.