AAVE in Writing

Bell Hooks' essay about the Language of Power, stresses how the English language is a tool for oppressing. "It has been hardest to integrate black vernacular in writing, particularly for academic journals. When I first began to incorporate black vernacular in critical essays, editors would send the work back to me in standard English. Using the vernacular means that translation into standard English may be needed if one wishes to reach a more inclusive audience," the author writes. This means that standard English is preferred in academic fields, as it demonstrates proper grammar. Users of black vernacular, at times, take offense to this practice as they yearn to use their own dialect to communicate. Hooks' quote can be applied to Jenna Graham's article, "I’m Black And I Refuse To Change The Way I Speak In Front Of My White Friends." In the text, Graham expresses her emotion towards her 8th grade teacher's opinion on black vernacular. “Oh, so a bunch of you could do reports on those ghetto books that you read? Absolutely not,” her teacher said. "He then rambled about how he didn’t want his students writing book reports on poorly written books filled with improper English. Those books were meant for entertainment, not learning purposes." These quotes, along with Hooks' quote, imply that black vernacular is not accepted in the academic environment, purely due to the improper grammar. Graham was put in the same situation, therefore the two women have similar approaches to the situation. This is an issue that causes controversy. Black vernacular speakers do not want to accept the non-use of their dialect in academics. However, it is still accepted to be spoken in their own community. Within the learning environment, it is debated that standard English should be used for academic purposes, to have proper sentence structure and spelling. This is an argument that clearly has two sides. Teachers are not accepting of the dialect, but speakers want them to be. Yet, we wouldn't expect a French speaker to come into a standard English learning environment and expect to speak French. Despite the controversy, Graham writes in standard English with hope of one day writing her reports in black vernacular, about black vernacular. The audience she is aiming at, I believe, is young adults in school. This is due to her academic context and formal style. The purpose of her article is to express her feeling towards the issue, and suggests solutions. Altogether, both of the articles demonstrate the impact of standard English on AAVE speakers through the expression of real life examples in academic/journalism fields.

Jenna Graham's article: http://elitedaily.com/life/culture/im-black-refuse-change-way-speak-front-white-friends/1774257/