African-American Vernacular English

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2021-07-23 14:00:13

African-American Vernacular English (AAVE, /ˈ ɑː v eɪ , æ v / [1]), also referred to as Black (Vernacular) English, Black English Vernacular, or occasionally Ebonics (a colloquial, controversial term),[2] is the variety of English natively spoken, particularly in urban communities, by most working- and middle-class African Americans and Black Canadians.[3]

Having its own unique grammatical, vocabulary, and accent features, African-American Vernacular English is employed by Black Americans and Canadians as the more informal and casual end of a sociolinguistic continuum; on the formal end of this continuum, speakers switch to more standard English grammar and vocabulary, usually while retaining elements of the nonstandard accent.[4][5]

As with most African-American English, African-American Vernacular English shares a large portion of its grammar and phonology with the rural dialects of the Southern United States,[6] and especially older Southern American English,[7] due to historical connections of African Americans to the region.

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