Watch Your Language

By Nicolaj Arroyo

Arts & Entertainment Editor

November 2021

Do you know what AAVE is? Out of those surveyed, only around 30 percent did. African-American Vernacular English (AAVE) is a dialect of English created by Black people during and following slavery. African-American Vernacular English has long since been deemed by society as improper English for being grammatically incorrect. AAVE is a language created by Black people in the face of adversity. African-Americans forbidden from reading or writing were not able to learn “proper English” the way white people were. As those beaten down are wont to do, literally and figuratively, African-Americans made their own way. The majority of linguists in America agree that AAVE is a historically and culturally significant linguistic system.

On the subject of the public hostility towards AAVE, students were asked their opinions.

“It’s different than the ‘standard.’ People generally criticize things that are different from what they think is normal or traditional to them, whether or not that language may be traditional and normal to another person.” Said a Junior.

There are many variations of English that are spoken in America, but AAVE remains the most stigmatized. Historically, critics of the dialect have claimed that it is improper due in most part to their racist tendencies and differing socioeconomic status’. Although many people across racial lines do not speak Standard American English, people continue to look down their noses at the African-American language. Standard American English is itself a dialect of British English, so what is defined as “proper English”?

“You can’t define [it],” said senior Nahcere Abeur-Rasheed.

What do modern youth think ? Some students believe AAVE is criticized because “it just isn’t a ‘white’ way of speaking, so it’s seen as a wrong way of speaking,” according to Sophomore Norah Saladar.

Some feel that AAVE is criticized for having “been picked up by many people that weren’t brought up with it...”, said an anonymous student.

This brings into question whether or not use of AAVE by non-Black people is cultural appropriation or not. A language born from struggle, from obstacles overcome as a group, and looked down upon to this day is referred to often as “stan language” by non-black people, discrediting the years of history and cultural significance this language has for the Black community.

A member of the Increscent spoke with one Doctor Candace Link on the subject of discrimination and gatekeeping of language when it comes to those who speak African-American Vernacular English. Doctor Link is a scholar, teacher, and well-versed in the realm of African-American history and culture. During the conversation, we went into depth about the history of the African-American language’s history. In reference to the teaching of Standard English to students only familiar with AAVE, there is “nothing wrong with the language that you speak, we’re trying to make you a polyglot,” said Dr. Link.

The use of AAVE, and the people who use it (more often than not, Black people), is often seen as lowly, informal, and “ghetto”. It is often seen as on par with slang. To this, Dr. Link said: “Every language has a slang, AAVE is not slang.”

AAVE is a different language from Standard English, with different spellings, grammatical rules, and history. However different AAVE may be from Standard American English, according to Dr. Link, it does not “have the prestige of being seen as a different language.”

The discrimination against the language created by and primarily used by Black people builds a barrier in the way of success for students only fluent in AAVE. The stigma against it acts as a bouncer at the door of further education, employment, and acknowledgment for brilliance. The language one speaks can discredit their intelligence, and their vision, simply because of the societal racism they were born into and forced to deal with.