African American Vernacular English

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Related to African American Vernacular English: Ebonics

African American Vernacular English

n. Abbr. AAVE

The set of vernacular or nonstandard varieties of English spoken by working-class African Americans and often by other African Americans in informal contexts. See Note at Black English.

American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

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Noun

African American Vernacular English - a nonstandard form of American English characteristically spoken by African Americans in the United States

AAVE, African American English, Black English, Black English Vernacular, Black Vernacular, Black Vernacular English, Ebonics

American English, American language, American - the English language as used in the United States

gangsta - (Black English) a member of a youth gang

References in periodicals archive ?

As mentioned by a participant, understanding the utilization of African American Vernacular English is a necessary skill for White teachers of African American students.

African American History and Culture: What White Teachers Should Know

2004: 'African American Vernacular English: Phonology'.

Alvarez Mosquera, Pedro 2012: Identidad y Language Crossing. El uso de ingles afroamericano por raperos blancos

For instance, slang could be contrasted with colloquialism, non-standard language, vulgarism, taboo, euphemism, jargon, idiom, neologism or dialect, while African American could be compared to African American Vernacular English, Afro-American Vernacular English, Black English Vernacular, Ebonics or Gangsta Talk.

Semantic change in African American slang

While the use of African American Vernacular English (AAVE) challenges the literacy conventions expected in many academic settings, "traditional" teaching practices have often failed to address this vital matter of language diversity (Hollie, 2001; Moore, 1996; Ogbu, 1999; Wheeler and Swords, 2004).