Black English Vernacular

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Black English

or Black English Vernacular

1. See African American Vernacular English.

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

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

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

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

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References in periodicals archive ?

The unease about the "manner of speech" of inner-city workers suggests that poor blacks pay a heavy price in the labor market for speaking what sociolinguists call Black English Vernacular. French sociologist Pierre Bourdieu asserts that people who are unable to master the official language are doomed to inferior positions because dialect is devalued in school and the workplace.

Stories Employers Tell: Race, Skill, and Hiring in America

Black dialect is referred to by many names: Ebonics, Black American dialect, Black English Vernacular, and African American dialect.

A Content Analysis of the Style of Speeches of Black College Students

A good place to begin this discussion is with the highly problematic label Black English Other expressions and terms that have been used, and sometimes continue to be used, in the literature, to refer to Black English include the now-dated Nonstandard Negro English, Black English Vernacular, African American Vernacular English, and Ebonics, among others.