Black English

Hammad S. N'cho

Black English, also referred to as Black English Vernacular (BEV), African American Vernacular English (AAVE), or Ebonics, is a dialectal adaptation of Standard American English found primarily within the African American community. The term refers primarily to patterns of speech that some scholars believe developed during the slavery period in America, as Africans learned English by adapting it to the linguistic patterns of their native dialect. Other scholars argue that Black English developed out of pidgin English, an amalgamation of Standard American English and several African dialects, which facilitated communication within a culturally heterogeneous slave population. It is largely held that this method of communication, while varying regionally, gained a level of permanence throughout the African American community because of ...

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