Black English Vernacular
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Black English
or Black English Vernacularn.
2. Any of the nonstandard varieties of English spoken by black people throughout the world.
Our Living Language In the United States, Black English usually refers to the everyday spoken varieties of English used by African Americans, especially of the working class in urban neighborhoods or rural communities. (Some linguists use the term African American Vernacular English.) It is an error to suppose that Black English is spoken by all African Americans regardless of their background. In fact, the English spoken by African Americans is highly varied—as varied as the English spoken by any other racial or ethnic group. · Sometimes Black English is used to refer to other varieties of English spoken by black people outside of the United States, as in the Caribbean and the United Kingdom.
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 | 1. | Black English Vernacular - a nonstandard form of American English characteristically spoken by African Americans in the United States AAVE, African American English, African American Vernacular English, Black English, Black Vernacular, Black Vernacular English, Ebonics gangsta - (Black English) a member of a youth gang |
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