African American English

Germanic

FamilyGermanic Speakers~30M ScriptLatin CountriesUSA (African American communities nationwide) Official inNo (sociolinguistic variety) Vitalitysafe ISO 639-3eng

African American Vernacular English (AAVE) is a sociolinguistic variety of English with ~30M speakers in African American communities across the USA. Distinct grammatical features: habitual "be" (he be working = he habitually works), copula deletion (he tired), zero past tense -ed in some contexts, distinctive intonation patterns. Major influence on American popular culture, hip-hop. Linguistic legitimacy debated since the 1996 Oakland Ebonics Resolution.

Where it is spoken

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87 core words in African American English

Water

water

ˈwɑːɾɚ

Fire

fire

faːɚ

Sun

sun

sʌn

Moon

moon

muːn

Star

star

stɑː

Night

night

naɪt

Rain

rain

ɹeɪn

Snow

snow

snoʊ

Wind

wind

wɪn

Earth

earth

ɝθ

Stone

stone

stoʊn

Mountain

mountain

ˈmaʊʔn̩

Sea

sea

siː

Mother

mama

ˈmɑːmə

Father

daddy

ˈdæɾi

Daughter

daughter

ˈdɑːɾɚ

I

I

aɪ

You

you

ju

We

we

wi

Name

name

neɪm

Person

person

ˈpɝsən

Head

head

hɛd

Eye

eye

aː

Ear

ear

ɪɹ

Nose

nose

noʊz

Mouth

mouth

maʊf

Tooth

tooth

tuːf

Tongue

tongue

tʌŋ

Hand

hand

hæːnd

Foot

foot

fʊt

Heart

heart

hɑːɹt

Bone

bone

boʊn

Blood

blood

blʌd

Poop

poop

puːp

Love

love

lʌv

Tree

tree

tɹiː

Dog

dog

dɔːɡ

Cat

cat

kæt

Fish

fish

fɪʃ

Bird

bird

bɜːd

Butterfly

butterfly

ˈbʌɾɚflaː

Egg

egg

ɛɡ

Bear

bear

bɛə

Horse

horse

hɔːɹs

House

house

haʊs

Milk

milk

mɪlk

Honey

honey

ˈhʌni

Salt

salt

sɔːlt

Wine

wine

waɪn

Rice

rice

ɹaɪs

Chocolate

chocolate

ˈtʃɔklət

Iron

iron

aːɚn

Wheel

wheel

wiːl

Silk

silk

sɪlk

Book

book

bʊk

Eat

eat

iːt

Drink

drink

dɹɪŋk

Sleep

sleep

sliːp

One

one

wʌn

Two

two

tu

Three

three

fɹiː

Four

four

fɔː

Five

five

faɪv

Hundred

hundred

ˈhʌndɹəd

Hello

what's up

wʌts ʌp

Thank you

thanks

θæŋks

Good

good

ɡʊd

New

new

nu

Red

red

ɹɛd

White

white

waɪt

Black

black

blæk

Green

green

ɡɹiːn

Blue

blue

blu

Cuckoo

cuckoo

ˈkʊkuː

Woof

woof

wʊf

Cock-a-doodle-doo

cock-a-doodle-doo

ˌkɔːkəduːdlˈduː

Computer

computer

kəmˈpjuːɾə

Wi-Fi

Wi-Fi

ˈwaɪfaɪ

Sushi

sushi

ˈsuʃi

Tea

tea

tiː

Coffee

coffee

ˈkɔfi

Sugar

sugar

ˈʃʊɡɚ

Orange

orange

ˈɔɹɪndʒ

Ninety-nine

ninety-nine

ˈnaɪnti ˈnaɪn

Dopamine

dopamine

ˈdəʊpəmiːn

At sign

at

æt

Sources

Words compared

Compared with languages in the same classification: Germanic

Meaning African American EnglishAppalachian EnglishCanadian EnglishEnglishAmerican EnglishSouthern American EnglishWest Country English
Water water /ˈwɑːɾɚ/ water /ˈwɔːɾɚ/ water /ˈwɑɾɚ/ water /ˈwɔːtə/ water /ˈwɔɾɚ/ water /ˈwɔːɾɚ/ water /ˈwɔːtɚ/
Fire fire /faːɚ/ fire /faːɚ/ fire /ˈfaɪɚ/ fire /faɪə/ fire /ˈfaɪɚ/ fire /faːɹ/ fire /faɪɚ/
Sun sun /sʌn/ sun /sʌn/ sun /sʌn/ sun /sʌn/ sun /sʌn/ sun /sʌn/ sun /sʌn/
Moon moon /muːn/ moon /muːn/ moon /muːn/ moon /muːn/ moon /mun/ moon /muːn/ moon /muːn/
Star star /stɑː/ star /stɑːɹ/ star /stɑɹ/ star /stɑːɹ/ star /stɑɹ/ star /stɑːɹ/ star /stɑːɹ/
Night night /naɪt/ night /naɪt/ night /nʌɪt/ night /naɪt/ night /naɪt/ night /naːt/ night /naɪt/
Rain rain /ɹeɪn/ rain /ɹeɪn/ rain /ɹeɪn/ rain /ɹeɪn/ rain /ɹeɪn/ rain /ɹæɪn/ rain /ɹeɪn/
Snow snow /snoʊ/ snow /snoʊ/ snow /snoʊ/ snow /snoʊ/ snow /snoʊ/ snow /snoʊ/ snow /snəʊ/
Page 1/11

Word order compared

Compare with major world languages

African American English
I wanna try on a suit I seen ‌in a shop across from the hotel
I want to try on a suit I saw ‌in a shop across from the hotel
Ich möchte einen Anzug anprobieren den ich in einem Geschäft gegenüber vom Hotel gesehen habe
मैं होटल के सामने एक दुकान में देखा सूट को पहनकर देखना चाहता हूँ
私は ホテルの 向かいの お店 で 見た スーツを 試着 したいです
我 想 试穿 酒店 对面的 商店 里 看到的 那套西装
أنا أريد أن أجرب بدلة رأيتها في محل مقابل الفندق
Я хочу примерить костюм который я увидел в магазине напротив отеля

Compare with languages in the same classification

African American English
I wanna try on a suit I seen ‌in a shop across from the hotel
Ek wil 'n pak aanpas wat ek gesien het ‌in 'n winkel oorkant die hotel
I want to try on a suit I saw ‌in a shop across from the hotel
Jeg vil prøve et jakkesæt som jeg så i en butik overfor hotellet
Ik wil een pak passen dat ik zag ‌in een winkel tegenover het hotel

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