Darren Jean Baptiste
Within the African American community, is a separate form or dialect of the English language referred to as AAVE, or African American Vernacular English. Its roots can be found in the lives lived by our Ancestors not only in the United States as Slaves, but in Africa where our ancestors started as well. We use it everyday in our lives, and in our music and the music we listen to. Common examples of AAVE are shortened forms of words, such as “I Don’t Know” rephrased as “‘ion know ” or “I’m going to do it” rephrased as “ima do it”. As a Black American, choosing when or where to use AAVE has always been a challenge especially depending on the type of environment I was in at the time. Sometimes it can be seen as acceptable when around people of my own community, and can be seen as incorrect around others, or even my own family at times.
Being an African American has allowed me to see both sides of dialect and speech in this country. One reason for this is because I grew up in a predominantly white neighborhood, so the way that I spoke either didn’t match the way that they did, or I had chosen to speak a certain way to cater to the community that I was in. During elementary school, around 5th grade I often spoke AAVE publicly in front of my white friends and teachers. Many of them would look at me funny or say things that I did not know how to speak correctly. It even got to the point where I had white friends tell me that I sounded ghetto, as if me speaking in my community’s dialect made them uncomfortable and therefore it was wrong or incorrect to them. There were times when my parents even told me not to speak in a certain dialect and instead I should speak “ normal” .This excluded me from my friends and my environment which often made me very uncomfortable. It felt like because of who I was. Then when I got into middle school and high school, I was often told that I sound white because I had learned not to speak in my own dialect. This also confused me and excluded me now from my own people. Growing up I had often battled with identity and trying to figure out where and who I am, because it seemed no matter how I choose to speak or present myself I always was excluded.
In If Black Isn’t a Language , Then Tell Me What Is By James Baldwin, he makes the argument that People evolve a language to control the circumstances that they are in, and to avoid becoming engulfed by them. This directly relates to the circumstances that many Black Americans are under in the United States, because it is such a challenge to articulate or control these circumstances, we become engulfed by them. Many see AAVE as Ghetto or improper, and this view is not only in outside communities it is also in our own. Many of our own people within the Black Community choose to ignore AAVE because it places them at a disadvantage in American Society, and those who choose to embrace their culture and their dialect are seen as unruly or like i stated before ghetto. Dealing with the outsiderness that I have experienced, it was always hard to learn to code switch when necessary, and my peers and community would look at me differently depending on if I did it properly or not. Being able to embrace my culture in a community that did not accept me was often hard, and then being able to switch when around my own. Many outsiders do not understand the dialect in which many Black Americans speak, and we are even educated in a way that benefits White America and what they believer is proper.This idea is also brought up in James Baldwin’s essay, where he says Americanever had any interest in educating Black People, if it was not to their own advantage. We are taught to look away from our own culture because it isn’t acknowledged or respected in American Society. These are the reasons why I have personally struggled with my own identity, because I must face a world that doesn’t understand or appreciate the culture that I and my community comes from.
If America were to acknowledge the culture and dialect of African Americans, that would be a step towards healing the racial and social tension of America as a whole. If America would begin to respect and accept all types of cultures and dialects, then there would be more respect for one another, and people such as me wouldnt struggle with identity, or being able to code switch in different environments, we wouldn’t feel pressured to. We would feel comfortable, and our experience would be validated, as White America understands our story. Even if it means looking into the mirror and not liking what they see. Through understanding the way and reasons for why Black dialect differs from white dialect, then maybe White America would be more open to understanding why the Black Community celebrates things such as Juneteenth, and why we fight so hard for social justice for our people. Many of us have struggled with finding our identity while being able to have the same opportunities and chances as White America despite the differences that be. Through self education and knowledge, I’ve come to learn that there isn’t anything wrong with my African American Vernacular English because it is a reflection of who I am and the community that I belong to.
Work Cited: Baldwin, James. “If Black English Isn’t a Language, Then Tell Me, What Is?”
The New York Times. 29 July 1979,
