A descriptive study of African American English: Research in linguistics and education

Abstract

Very few topics related to African American English (AAE) have been the subject of debates as often as issues related to language use and the education of African American youth. This paper presents a linguistic description of some of the lexical, phonological, and syntactic/semantic patterns of AAE and discusses the educational importance of understanding that speakers adhere to well-defined rules when they use them. Linguistic descriptions of AAE are useful in discussing education-related issues such as the extent to which the use of AAE interferes with reading and other educational achievement. Further research on constructions in the different components of the AAE grammar will lead to more accurate descriptive analysis of the AAE system. Such analysis will be useful in considering AAE in terms of current linguistic theory, and it may also be applicable in areas of research in education.