Module Eight Paper
Name
Institution
Date
African American English (AAE)
AAE is a variety of English that is formerly referred to as Vernacular Black English or Black English Vernacular among sociolinguists. While some attributes of AAE are apparently distinct to this variety, its structure and composition also shows many similarities with other dialects including several nonstandard and standard English varieties spoken in the United States (Bailey, Baugh, & Mufwene, 2013). AAE have been at the center of a number of public debates and its analysis has sustained and sparked debates among sociolinguists (Bailey, Baugh, & Mufwene, 2013). It is difficult to explain how many individuals speak AAE since it is unclear about its exact meaning. …show more content…
Lexically, AAE is not distinct from the dialects surrounding it, and majority of the vocabulary that is commonly linked to AAE is in reality young individuals slang spread through popular culture and rap (Lacombe, 2014). While there exist some words that are lexically unique to AAE, for example, “homey” and “crib,” the majority of AAE’s contrast with other dialects of the American English lies in grammar and phonology. These are the most regular and lasting features of the African American English.
Phonology. Phonology can be defined as the sounds that made up a particular language (Lacombe, 2014). One of the most prominent phonetic feature of AAE is consonant clusters at the end of words. In situations where two consonants appear together at a word’s end, speakers of AAE usually drop one of the consonants (Lacombe, 2014). This happens in almost every dialect of English, die to the fact that it is relatively difficult to pronounce two successive consonants. In AAE, the reduction is systematic, meaning that it occurs according to specific rules. The first rule is that if the word that follows a consonant cluster begins with another consonant, it is more probable to reduce the as opposed to when the word following it begins with a vowel (Lacombe, 2014). For example, West Side=” Wes side” or West End. The second rule is that a final -d or -t is less likely to be eliminated if it forms part of a past-tense marker
Name
Institution
Date
African American English (AAE)
AAE is a variety of English that is formerly referred to as Vernacular Black English or Black English Vernacular among sociolinguists. While some attributes of AAE are apparently distinct to this variety, its structure and composition also shows many similarities with other dialects including several nonstandard and standard English varieties spoken in the United States (Bailey, Baugh, & Mufwene, 2013). AAE have been at the center of a number of public debates and its analysis has sustained and sparked debates among sociolinguists (Bailey, Baugh, & Mufwene, 2013). It is difficult to explain how many individuals speak AAE since it is unclear about its exact meaning. …show more content…
Lexically, AAE is not distinct from the dialects surrounding it, and majority of the vocabulary that is commonly linked to AAE is in reality young individuals slang spread through popular culture and rap (Lacombe, 2014). While there exist some words that are lexically unique to AAE, for example, “homey” and “crib,” the majority of AAE’s contrast with other dialects of the American English lies in grammar and phonology. These are the most regular and lasting features of the African American English.
Phonology. Phonology can be defined as the sounds that made up a particular language (Lacombe, 2014). One of the most prominent phonetic feature of AAE is consonant clusters at the end of words. In situations where two consonants appear together at a word’s end, speakers of AAE usually drop one of the consonants (Lacombe, 2014). This happens in almost every dialect of English, die to the fact that it is relatively difficult to pronounce two successive consonants. In AAE, the reduction is systematic, meaning that it occurs according to specific rules. The first rule is that if the word that follows a consonant cluster begins with another consonant, it is more probable to reduce the as opposed to when the word following it begins with a vowel (Lacombe, 2014). For example, West Side=” Wes side” or West End. The second rule is that a final -d or -t is less likely to be eliminated if it forms part of a past-tense marker