Essay On African American English Language

African American English, while only a slight variation of traditional English, provides an interesting insight on the various African American vernaculars around the country. Its history is rooted from slavery. It was a time when African Americans weren 't allowed to be taught, teach each other, nor learn to read. In fact, it was illegal. Yet, as the world has progressed from those dark days, many people are seeing the African American society as a key demographic to reach. One such group is politicians. Many parties, from Democrats to conservative Republicans, are realizing the importance of the African American vote. Politicians are able to blend the actions of the political world into one that is more relatable to the general populace. One way politicians are able to communicate with Americans from every culture, race and creed contained herein is by learning the vernacular, thereby comprehending and being able to convey emphasis of the same. By being able to accurately gauge what African American …show more content…
This is not just as simple as having politicians learn to reach the African American communities, as Dennis Baron stated “For one thing, not all African Americans speak Ebonics, and not all Ebonics speakers are African American. A significant number of whites, Hispanics, and Asian Americans who live and work closely together speak dialects that can be characterized as black English.”(Baron, 1997, 19) What politicians need to realize is that there is not just one path to reaching your constituents. If a politician is speaking to a group of urban whites, they may have to use the African American English slightly modified depending on the crowd, but, they must be prepared to understand and embrace all of the people whom they represent, no matter how different they