African American Vernacular English

E10112

dialect of English ethnolect language variety sociolect vernacular

African American Vernacular English is a systematic and rule-governed variety of English historically associated with African American communities, characterized by distinct phonological, grammatical, and lexical features.

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All labels observed (11)

Label	Occurrences
African American Vernacular English canonical	14
African American English	8
African-American Vernacular English	4
Black English	4
Black Vernacular English	2
Ebonics	2
African American Vernacular English is a legitimate language variety	1
African American Vernacular English is not broken English	1
African American Vernacular English is rich and expressive	1
African American Vernacular English: Features, Evolution, Educational Implications	1
African American vernacular theory	1

How this entity was disambiguated

This entity first appeared as the object of triple T101303 — resolving that mention is where its identity was fixed. The disambiguator weighed these candidate entities and picked the highlighted one (or “None”, minting a new entity). This is how homonymy is resolved: the same surface form can point to different entities.

NED1 Entity disambiguation (via context triple) gpt-5-mini-2025-08-07

Target entity: African American Vernacular English
Context triple: [American English, hasVariant, African American Vernacular English]

A. Chicano English
Chicano English is a distinct, rule-governed variety of American English commonly spoken by Mexican Americans, characterized by unique phonological and syntactic features influenced by Spanish and regional dialects.
B. South African English
South African English is the variety of English spoken in South Africa, characterized by distinctive pronunciation, vocabulary, and influences from Afrikaans and indigenous African languages.
C. American English
American English is the set of English language varieties spoken in the United States, characterized by distinctive pronunciation, vocabulary, and grammar compared to other forms of English.
D. Australasian English
Australasian English is the group of English varieties spoken primarily in Australia and New Zealand, characterized by distinct accents, vocabulary, and regional usage.
E. Antillean Creole
Antillean Creole is a French-based creole language spoken primarily in the Lesser Antilles, notably in Martinique, Guadeloupe, and surrounding islands.
F. None of above. chosen
G. Unsure - the case is ambiguous/there is not enough information to decide.

NED2 Entity disambiguation (via description) gpt-5-mini-2025-08-07

Target entity: African American Vernacular English
Target entity description: African American Vernacular English is a systematic and rule-governed variety of English historically associated with African American communities, characterized by distinct phonological, grammatical, and lexical features.

A. Chicano English
Chicano English is a distinct, rule-governed variety of American English commonly spoken by Mexican Americans, characterized by unique phonological and syntactic features influenced by Spanish and regional dialects.
B. South African English
South African English is the variety of English spoken in South Africa, characterized by distinctive pronunciation, vocabulary, and influences from Afrikaans and indigenous African languages.
C. American English
American English is the set of English language varieties spoken in the United States, characterized by distinctive pronunciation, vocabulary, and grammar compared to other forms of English.
D. Australasian English
Australasian English is the group of English varieties spoken primarily in Australia and New Zealand, characterized by distinct accents, vocabulary, and regional usage.
E. Antillean Creole
Antillean Creole is a French-based creole language spoken primarily in the Lesser Antilles, notably in Martinique, Guadeloupe, and surrounding islands.
F. None of above. chosen

Statements (58)

Predicate	Object
instanceOf	dialect of English ⓘ ethnolect ⓘ language variety ⓘ sociolect ⓘ vernacular ⓘ
alsoKnownAs	AAVE ⓘ African American Vernacular English ⓘ surface form: African American English African American Vernacular English ⓘ surface form: Black English African American Vernacular English ⓘ surface form: Black Vernacular English African American Vernacular English ⓘ surface form: Ebonics
associatedWithEthnicGroup	Black Americans ⓘ surface form: African Americans Black Americans ⓘ
developedFrom	varieties of English spoken by enslaved Africans in North America ⓘ
hasCharacteristic	distinct phonology ⓘ distinct prosody ⓘ distinct vocabulary ⓘ recognized as legitimate variety by linguists ⓘ rule-governed syntax ⓘ stigmatized in some contexts ⓘ systematic grammar ⓘ
hasFeature	absence of third person singular -s in present tense ⓘ consonant cluster reduction ⓘ copula deletion in certain contexts ⓘ different patterns of subject–verb agreement ⓘ distinct intonation patterns ⓘ double negatives ⓘ final consonant devoicing in some words ⓘ habitual aspect marked by invariant be ⓘ lexical items specific to African American culture ⓘ use of been as remote past marker ⓘ use of done as completive aspect marker ⓘ zero plural marking in some noun phrases ⓘ zero possessive -s in some contexts ⓘ
hasIssue	subject of debates about language and education policy ⓘ subject of debates about linguistic prejudice ⓘ
hasOrthography	usually written using standard English spelling with nonstandard conventions in representation ⓘ
historicalInfluence	Southern American English ⓘ West African languages ⓘ
influences	global popular culture ⓘ mainstream American English slang ⓘ
languageFamily	English language ⓘ
notOfficialLanguageOf	any country ⓘ
recognizedBy	Linguistic Society of America as systematic and rule-governed ⓘ
region	Southern United States ⓘ United States of America ⓘ surface form: United States urban areas in the United States ⓘ
spokenBy	many African Americans across social classes ⓘ some non–African American speakers in close contact communities ⓘ
studiedInDiscipline	applied linguistics ⓘ education ⓘ sociolinguistics ⓘ
subfamilyOf	American English ⓘ
timePeriod	emerged during slavery era in the United States ⓘ
usedIn	African American literature ⓘ hip hop music ⓘ informal communication ⓘ oral tradition ⓘ
usedInCountry	United States of America ⓘ

How these facts were elicited

Referenced by (39)

Full triples — surface form annotated when it differs from this entity's canonical label.

American English → hasVariant → African American Vernacular English ⓘ

West African languages → influenced → African American Vernacular English ⓘ

African American Vernacular English → alsoKnownAs → African American Vernacular English ⓘ

this entity surface form: African American English

African American Vernacular English → alsoKnownAs → African American Vernacular English ⓘ

this entity surface form: Black English

African American Vernacular English → alsoKnownAs → African American Vernacular English ⓘ

this entity surface form: Black Vernacular English

African American Vernacular English → alsoKnownAs → African American Vernacular English ⓘ

this entity surface form: Ebonics

AAVE → fullName → African American Vernacular English ⓘ

AAVE → alsoKnownAs → African American Vernacular English ⓘ

this entity surface form: Black English

AAVE → alsoKnownAs → African American Vernacular English ⓘ

this entity surface form: Black Vernacular English

AAVE → alsoKnownAs → African American Vernacular English ⓘ

this entity surface form: African American English

AAVE → alsoKnownAs → African American Vernacular English ⓘ

this entity surface form: Ebonics

Nevada English → distinctFrom → African American Vernacular English ⓘ

African-American culture → hasCulturalForm → African American Vernacular English ⓘ

this entity surface form: African-American Vernacular English

African-American culture → hasLanguageVariety → African American Vernacular English ⓘ

this entity surface form: African-American Vernacular English

Walt Wolfram → researchInterest → African American Vernacular English ⓘ

this entity surface form: African American English

John R. Rickford → notableWork → African American Vernacular English ⓘ

this entity surface form: African American Vernacular English: Features, Evolution, Educational Implications

John R. Rickford → researchInterest → African American Vernacular English ⓘ

this entity surface form: African American English

English in Louisiana → influencedBy → African American Vernacular English ⓘ

Homecoming → featuresLanguage → African American Vernacular English ⓘ

Calpurnia → language → African American Vernacular English ⓘ

Bess, You Is My Woman Now → hasTitleLanguage → African American Vernacular English ⓘ

William Labov → fieldOfWork → African American Vernacular English ⓘ

this entity surface form: African American English

hip hop culture → hasLanguageStyle → African American Vernacular English ⓘ

dozens (ritual insult game) → primaryLanguage → African American Vernacular English ⓘ

this entity surface form: African-American Vernacular English

Blues, Ideology, and Afro-American Literature → theoreticalApproach → African American Vernacular English ⓘ

this entity surface form: African American vernacular theory

Pheoby Watson → languageOfDialogue → African American Vernacular English ⓘ

Black culture → includesLinguisticForm → African American Vernacular English ⓘ

The Development of African American English → mainTopic → African American Vernacular English ⓘ

this entity surface form: African American English

Rickford → fieldOfWork → African American Vernacular English ⓘ

subject surface form: John R. Rickford

Spoken Soul: The Story of Black English → mainSubject → African American Vernacular English ⓘ

this entity surface form: Black English

Spoken Soul: The Story of Black English → argues → African American Vernacular English ⓘ

this entity surface form: African American Vernacular English is a legitimate language variety

Spoken Soul: The Story of Black English → argues → African American Vernacular English ⓘ

this entity surface form: African American Vernacular English is rich and expressive

Spoken Soul: The Story of Black English → supportsView → African American Vernacular English ⓘ

this entity surface form: African American Vernacular English is not broken English

Variation, Versatility and Change in African American English → mainSubject → African American Vernacular English ⓘ

this entity surface form: African American English

Variation, Versatility and Change in African American English → relatedTo → African American Vernacular English ⓘ

American Book Award for "Spoken Soul: The Story of Black English" → hasTopic → African American Vernacular English ⓘ

this entity surface form: Black English

American Book Award for "Spoken Soul: The Story of Black English" → hasTopic → African American Vernacular English ⓘ

this entity surface form: African American English

African-American theatre → usesLanguage → African American Vernacular English ⓘ

this entity surface form: African-American Vernacular English

All labels observed (11)

How this entity was disambiguated Show

Statements (58)

How these facts were elicited Show

Referenced by (39)

How this entity was disambiguated

How these facts were elicited