African American Vernacular

English in public schools

Meagan Lund
Social issue research project
Eths 2410
Spring 2014
My social issue
I wanted to do my project over this because it
fascinates me and I would love to learn African
American Vernacular English.
The language is often thought to just be
broken English but it is recognized as an
official language
We watched a documentary in class over code
switching which applies in AAVE as well and its
very fascinating.
Scholarly Research
Center for applied linguistics: AAVE
This article was mainly about how there has been
different terms for the language over the years
and how the language has changed.
It taught me of previous terms that the language
had been called and a little bit of history to go
with it.
I could use this information to introduce my topic
in my forum, very useful facts about the history
of the language.
Scholarly Research
AAVE is not Standard English with mistakes: by
Geoffrey k. Pullum; Stanford University
This article makes valid points in why AAVE is
not a flawed language like most people think
it might be
I could incorporate this into my forum because
the article makes valid points as to why this is
not broken english.
Scholarly Research
What is Ebonics? By Written by John R.
Rickford,Stanford University
This article explains ebonics, what it is, what it
looks like, and where it came from.
This information is useful in my forum so we
can give the audience examples of the
language and talk about how this language is
beneficial to society and that is important.
Discussing my intervention.
I created a forum to discuss and educate individuals on
why AAVE should be taught in schools.
Public Forum held at Salt Lake City Library
Open to the public
Me, Corey, and Coreys pastor also I would invite
faculty of local schools as well.
The goal is to educate people on AAVE and possibly
propose that schools incorporate it into their learning
agendas.
All together the event would only be about $200.00
mostly towards advertisement for the event.
Resistance to the intervention
Where we might encounter resistance in the
Forum is with the parents mostly, solely on the
fact that before we educate them about the
language they are most likely thinking it is broken
English that should not be taught or spoken at all.
I would address the issue by talking about
positive facts on AAVE to prove that it is not just
for people who are of a lower class/income or
even a certain ethnicity, it could benefit multiple
ethnicities and races.
Support for the intervention

I believe I would have a lot of peoples support
mainly of the African American community and
also from the students that attend the schools it
should be implemented in.
I believe people have a genuine interest in
learning a new language, and also being more
accepting and open of other cultures and races.
My interview with Corey went well and he totally
agrees that yes it should be taught in schools and
also taught to both young and old generations so
that we can become closer culturally.
Impact of my intervention
I would like to leave an impact that people are at
least educated on the topic. A lot of people have
not even learned of the language so if I inform
them and at least get them to think about it or
possibly change their view in a positive way I feel
it would be successful.
It could be important for the African American
Community because I feel they would be more
accepted and bringing their culture into schools
could motivate them and make them want to
come to school and be excited to learn.
Bibliography
http://www.linguisticsociety.org/files/Ebonics.pdf
http://www.cal.org/topics/dialects/aae.html
http://www.stanford.edu/~zwicky/aave-is-not-se-
with-mistakes.pdf
http://www.stanford.edu/~zwicky/aave-is-not-se-
with-mistakes.pdf
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z3e5G3T6lWI
&list=PLA2QG4MbF38nHgOHRxF5zEUCpX3ugg0x
h&feature=share