The Handbook of World Englishes, 2nd Edition

18African‐American English

WALT WOLFRAM

1 Introduction

In the study of ethnic dialect in the history of English, no dialect has received more attention than African‐American English. It is by far the most scrutinized dialect of American English (Schneider 1996) and has now become widely recognized throughout the English‐speaking world. Within the last several decades, it has gone through a number of name changes, which include Negro Dialect, Nonstandard Negro English, Black English, Black English Vernacular, Afro‐American English, African American (Vernacular) English, African‐American Language, and Ebonics. To some extent, these name changes simply have been aligned with changes in naming practices related to the classification of black Americans, but their significance goes deeper than that; in fact, they often relate to underlying issues of racial politics and ethnic ideologies in American society. Though most popularly referred to now as Ebonics, thanks to a widely publicized and highly controversial school board resolution adopted in Oakland, California, in the late 1990s, most linguists prefer terms such as African‐American English (AAE) or African‐American Language because of the strong emotional reactions and racist parodies sometimes engendered by the use of the term Ebonics.

The literature on AAE is vast and covers a full range of issues – from AAE’s origin and early development to its current social capital and educational vulnerability. Its controversial nature ...