The Uncovered Dialect

Growing up in the heart of Atlanta, Georgia, a predominately black city, I did not understand that the language used at home or around members of my community was different; I just knew it was considered improper. As an African American, you are taught to code-switch at an incredibly early age because how you speak at home is unacceptable and gives people a reason to look down on you. This was a common belief held in many Black households. However, with the growing popularity of the language spoken in our community, I have learned that it is an established dialect called African American Vernacular English. This acknowledgment of AAVE has benefited our community by establishing it as a legitimate dialect, changing stereotypes, and altering yet another negative connotation placed on the black community.

African American Vernacular English "specifically refers to the form of Black speech that distinguishes itself from standard English with its unique grammatical structure, pronunciation, and vocabulary". Though not officially established until 1996, this dialect has been a staple in African American culture for centuries and has developed with the community over the years without notice. For the black community, it was just how we talked. It was never a notion of whether it was an actual dialect until the rise of the term on TikTok, where it was popularized due to the overwhelming amount of cultural appropriation throughout the platform. With the growing familiarity of AAVE, the way African Americans spoke was no longer something attributed to a deficit in our community but simply a dialectal difference.

Previously before the acknowledgment of AAVE, "Black students in America were two and a half times more likely to receive special education services for speech". This was not because they did not understand English but because they were only exposed to the language used at home, which differs from the type of English taught in schools. However, with the rise of African American Vernaculars' understanding throughout the world, we started to see AAVE incorporated into schools within black communities to help these students learn what many consider proper English and how it varies from the dialect spoken around them. The incorporation of this dialect has hopefully put an end to the wrongful disorder diagnoses given to African American children, ending the negative connotations regarding the literacy of the black community.

The establishment of African American Vernacular English and its growing popularity has brought much contentment to the black community. Our language is no longer something we only speak in the privacy of our homes and are ashamed of. It has become so much more than that. It is now looked at as an essential part of black culture and is finally getting the credit it deserves as an established dialect. Now that the world knows about AAVE, it allows us to be understood and share our culture one word at a time.