In my previous posts about African American Vernacular
English (here and here), I discuss the origins of AAVE and I have touched
briefly on the perceptions of those who speak it. In order to really understand
the impact that speaking AAVE has on those who speak it, it would be wise to
consult more examples or ideas.
In his article discussing the perceptions of languages and
dialects, Richard Bailey gives an example of Oprah Winfrey using AAVE:
Winfrey would introduce guests of different races with
different dialectical tones or features. She would introduce guests of African
American descent more in a AAVE dialect than she would a guest of white race.
 |
| Oprah Winfrey is suggested to introduce guests of African American descent with different, more AAVE geared language than she would a white guest. [Source] |
Bailey claims that this is because the speaker wants to
appeal to the audience; so, Winfrey is simply playing to that tune.
Being a listener to different dialects, we tend to make
assumptions, which, of course, is what my purpose on here is all about—figuring
out those assumptions. In an article by Jose Rodriguez, Aaron Cargile, and Marc
Rich, the three men found that those who spoke AAVE were found to be perceived
as “less status-possessing” than those who spoke the Standard American English,
which, we have seen from my last post, is a “standard” that has been favored by
white elitists. Rodriguez, Cargile, and Rich examine an array of AAVE dialects
and conclude that the stronger the accent, the less seriously the person is to
be taken.
This idea that those who speak AAVE are less
“status-possessing” is a social class issue that weighs heavily on classism and
racism. In her article about reactions to AAVE, Jacquelyn Rahman states that
AAVE has always been common in the working class, but AAVE is blooming in the
middle class now as well. Unfortunately, with this blooming of AAVE in the middle
class, the stereotyping and stigmas attached to AAVE speakers carries over as
well. Rahman recognizes that AAVE is a part of an identity of a person, but she
also recognizes that this can be a problem in the professional world—a world
that is controlled by mainly white males. Standard American English in African
Americans can be a major aid in the professional world, but it becomes a sort
of suspicion in the cultural world of African Americans. She states that there
are “conservative norms” in which the ideal speech pattern excludes accents of
any kind.
This leads me to the conclusion that because of the various
articles that I have mentioned and explained in this and my last post, I have
learned that the controlling powers in society, which are mainly white male
figureheads, are the group of people that determine the acceptability of
dialects. They also choose the standard that everything should be based off of.
It is because of their choice that many of us are lead to perceive AAVE
negatively and judge it as “uneducated” or “less status-possessing.”
