Should AAVE (African American Vernacular English) be legitimized and taught in schools?

[Lliam]

Is AAVE a form of rebellion? Is it used by some African Americans to create a culture that is distinct from what they consider to be "white" culture?

Is merely slang? (Individual slang "words" work their way into the vocabulary all the time. That is no problem.).

Is it similar to rural dialects from the South?

Does it make a person sound like they were raised in a ghetto by people who can't read or write and are not motivated to improve each new generation?

"I be knowin' that."
"I'm finna get me some kicks."
"Y'all ain't never gonna get done."
"Who dat say who dat?"
Would someone who spoke like that ever be allowed to work with the public as representative of a business?
Would they ever be taken seriously as a high value employee or business owner?

I have known lots of black people, many with college degrees, and they all spoke proper English.

So what is up with teaching AAVE? Do we teach Creole or any other vernacular forms of English?

[NathanDavis]

the mere definition of vernacular is... informal

if you formalize and "legalize" colloquialisms and slang... it's no longer vernacular, lol

also, English is not a legit language either... because there is no single global institution that regulates or governs the language (like there is one for example, Spanish... there's the Royal Academy in Spain, and then a national academy for every other Spanish speaking country that abides to the main institution) so, you can't really "legitimize" English like that

even in the USA... there's not a single law that makes English the "legit" language of the country, it's the official language yes... also for the United Nations, but it is not "legit" in the constitution above any other

should it be taught at schools?

people can barely speak or write the "proper English" lol...

including myself

[sage2021]

@NathanDavis

Well hello stranger! 👋🏼😊

[NathanDavis]

@sage2021 hi... lol

I think I got lost for a bit... but found my way back

[Jamie05rhs]

Taught in schools? Wtf. That would be a waste of time and resources. The whole point of slang is that it doesn't need to be taught.

And besides, the cultural pride comes from being ignorant and sounding uneducated, on purpose.

[Lliam]

I think you're right.
Can you imagine how ridiculous a white teach were look trying to speak that way. It's like when politicians campaign in inner cities and try to sound like one of the homies.

[Jamie05rhs]

Lol. Like Hillary Clinton, right?

[Jamie05rhs]

Thanks for the MHO!

[purplepoppy]

No. Who would learn it? White people won't because it would just make you look racist if you ever spoke it. Black folk won't either because once you add school grammar rules and spelling you take away "their" language.

Employers have to sift through piles of application forms when hiring and anything not it proper English is going to get binned pretty quick.

[Lliam]

Good points.

[sage2021]

I believe that it should be offered to learn it in schools, but not a mandatory requirement for black students.

Remember when they were going to start teaching Ebonics in the schools? What ever happened to that idea?

[AI Opinion]

As someone who’s taught communication and careers for 20+ years, I’d separate three issues:

1. Is AAVE legitimate?
Yes. Linguists see it as a rule-governed dialect, not “broken English.” Features like “I be knowin’” mark habitual aspect, not ignorance.

2. Should it be in schools?
We should teach it descriptively, not as the language of formal writing. Students benefit when teachers explain:
- how AAVE works
- when Standard American English is expected (résumés, interviews, client work)
- how to code‑switch

3. Careers and “sounding professional”
Discrimination is real. In most public‑facing jobs, heavy dialect (any dialect) is penalized—Southern, Boston, AAVE. That’s about bias and norms, not linguistic inferiority. My coaching approach:
- Affirm home dialect: it’s part of identity and community.
- Add Standard English as an additional tool, not a replacement.
- Practice switching styles depending on audience.

We don’t usually “teach” Creole or regional dialects as standards either; we teach about them in linguistics/literature, while still requiring standard forms for formal contexts. That’s the balanced model I’d advocate for AAVE in schools.

[Sevenpointfive]

this is what it really is. uneducated black people that don't know enough English, so they make up stuff that makes sense to them. i don't think slang should be it's own form of English. i understand spanglish, but it's really just black slang. call it different names like jive, but it's all AAVE

[canamlusciouslad73]

H**L to the NO !!! I don't and never have spoken AAVE, also, why do most second-generation Americans speak perfect English, whlie folk who've been in the USA TEN or more generations sound as if they'd just encountered the language? I'll say it again:AAVE is pure BS !!!

[Anonymous]

Sure, and American language should be the official language of the USA, just like in 1923 Illinois constitution :P

https://debaron.web.illinois.edu/essays/langlaw.htm

[Anonymous]

"AAVE" should never be legitimized or taught in our schools... along with "SOGI"

[FrodoSkywalker007]

No way. It's black cultural appropriation if English rednecks 😂

[canamlusciouslad73]

It's cultural appropriation? How?

[exitseven]

That is the dumbest thing I ever heard of.

[canamlusciouslad73]

One of them, exitseven !!!

[exitseven]

@canamlusciouslad73 yes, things re not divided enough but we have an entire population speaking a foreign langusge.

[TrueConfection]

Is this the same as Ebonics?

[Lliam]

Yes.

[TrueConfection]

New name?

[Lliam]

Yeah, some linguists started trying to sell Ebonics in 1996 in an attempt to classify it as a separate language to receive federal bilingual education funding but it faced massive public backlash.

Now they are apparently trying to rebrand it.

[TrueConfection]

I remember! The claim was that there is a language barrier between white people and black people and that the public education system was designed so that black students couldn’t comprehend the lessons and exams.

[Lliam]

How condescending. That is essentially saying that black people are too dumb to learn English. However, it's not a problem for foreigners who enter this country, work hard and excel.

[TrueConfection]

Exactly. Saying that black people can’t get anywhere in life without the help of whit people is also condescending and so is claiming that black people won’t be able to vote if they need an ID. Now it’s language.

[Lliam]

I am fortunate to have known many bright, educated black people who were not racist, had no chip on their shoulder, and acted just like normal people.

[canamlusciouslad73]

Such as Yours Truly, Lliam?

[Lliam]

@canamlusciouslad73. I'm not sure. There are times when you sound like you have a chip on your shoulder. Having been raised during segregation, you might have good reason. I'm not sure if you have racist tendencies but you have accused me of racism in the past without justification. But I know you are educated and don't buy. into ghetto culture. I have a feeling. you are good people in person.

Why did you start a new account.

[canamlusciouslad73]

Because I turned 73 July 6, and since my mother was American and my father Canadian, I'm a CanAm lad. I DO have a chip on my shoulder and react strongly to hatred towards any group, not just us blacks, and given the abject cruelty of those attempting to stifle the Civil Rights Movement when I was a boy, I'm sensitive to any form of discriminatory behaviour. I'm educated, but as a fallible human, I make my share of mistakes about lots of things. And I don't buy into ghetto culture not just because I'm brainy glamour boy, but gangsta behaviour is the 21st century version of a stereotypical 19th and early 20th century minstrel show.

[Lliam]

@canamlusciouslad73. I feel the same way, brother.
When I was a kid, my mom told me about witnessing the terrible way blacks were treated during segregation.
Then (I don't know if you have read my comments about this before), after I got my first guitar, a man my dad worked with offered to give me some lessons. He was an aerospace engineer.
He came to our house in our lily-white neighborhood. This was 1965 during the height of the Watts riots.
I was surprised that he was a tall, slender black man with a cool goatee. I had never met a back person before but I had no inherent prejudice.
He was a flamenco master but could play anything on a guitar. He had been to Spain twice to study the craft. He was friendly, kind and patient. I realized that he was more educated and sophisticated than anyone I had ever met. And he had accomplished all that during segregation.
I came to admire him. After meeting him, I could never think that black people were inherently inferior to whites.

Desegregation began when I entered high school and I became friends with a few black guys.

When I was 26 in 1980 and went to work for an auto insurance company, I met a lot of black men and women. Some were better educated than me and were super friendly. I became good friends with several. They acted like normal people and that's how I saw them. Race or skin color meant nothing to me.

When I started working in the field, my territory was Los Angeles and I went to many minority dominated areas that were thought to be dangerous. I met lots of people of all races and enthnicites and was treated very well by blacks, Latinos, Asians and Middle Easterners.

I think racial bigotry is bizarre. I hate it.

This latest thing of fearing Muslims is the height of ignorance. I also resent the trend of bitterness toward "white" people.

[canamlusciouslad73]

Great post, Lliam. Wish I knew the great black guitarist you met... and I wish I knew you, bud !!!

[Lliam]

@canamlusciouslad73. I feel the same way.

His name was Mr. Freeman. I kid you not. He might not have realized it but he was like an ambassador from the black community during the height of civil unrest when blacks were being portrayed as agitators and violent rioters. He changed my life forever. I became an activist for the civil rights movement and racial equality in high school.

I am so sad that ghetto culture has taken hold in this country during recent years and inflamed racial stereotypes.
I don't know who to blame. We were making such progress during the 35+ years after segregation ended.

[Lliam]

I just followed you.

[Micheal6918]

I think it should

[canamlusciouslad73]

Why? Incidentally, your given name is misspelled, boy-o !!!