African-American English (AAE) is the umbrella term for English dialects spoken predominantly by Black people in the United States and, less often, in Canada; most commonly, it refers to a dialect continuum ranging from African-American Vernacular English to more standard American English. Like all widely spoken language varieties, African-American English shows variation stylistically, generationally, geographically (that is, features specific to singular cities or regions only), in rural versus urban characteristics, in vernacular versus standard registers, etc. There has been a significant body of African-American literature and oral tradition for centuries.
>>>PUT SHARE BUTTONS HERE<<<
👉 African-American English in the context of Y'all
Y'all (pronounced /jɔːl/ yawl) is a contraction of you and all, sometimes combined as you-all. Y'all is the main second-person plural pronoun in Southern American English, with which it is most frequently associated, though it also appears in some other English varieties, including African-American English, South African Indian English and Sri Lankan English. It is usually used as a plural second-person pronoun, but whether it is exclusively plural is a perennial subject of discussion.
In this Dossier
African-American English in the context of African-American Vernacular English
African-American Vernacular English (AAVE), sometimes formerly known as Ebonics, is the variety of English natively spoken by most working and middle-class African Americans, particularly in urban communities. This variety is also spoken amongst some Black Canadians. Having its own unique grammatical, vocabulary, and accent features, AAVE is employed by middle-class Black Americans as the more informal and casual end of a sociolinguistic continuum. However, in formal speaking contexts, speakers tend to switch to more standard English grammar and vocabulary, usually while retaining elements of the vernacular (non-standard) accent. AAVE is widespread throughout the United States, but it is not the native dialect of all African Americans, nor are all of its speakers African American.
Like most varieties of African-American English, African-American Vernacular English shares a large portion of its grammar and phonology with the regional dialects of the Southern United States, and especially older Southern American English, due to the historical enslavement of African Americans primarily in that region.
African-American English in the context of Ebonics (word)
Ebonics (a portmanteau of the words ebony and phonics) is a term created in 1973 by a group of African-American scholars who disapproved of the negative terms and stereotypes being used to describe their unique language and manner of speaking. Since the 1996 controversy over its use by the Oakland School Board, the term Ebonics has primarily been used to refer to the sociolects of African-American English, which typically are distinctively different from Standard American English. The current and correct term for "Ebonics" in the 21st century, especially for scientific lingustic research, is African American Vernacular English, or AAVE.