ABSTRACT
The features of African American Vernacular English (AAVE) that distinguish it from other varieties of American English have to do with phonology and the grammatical or syntactic structures. Green provides a detailed look at AAVE pitch range, tone, intonation and syllable structure, all contributing to the understanding of AAVE as a language with a unique rhythm. Middle-class African Americans may seldom or never use grammatical features of AAVE, but such persons can still signal solidarity with the greater African American community by careful engagement of discourse strategies, intonation contour, and pitch. With increasing wealth and the growth of the Black middle class, the community becomes more socially complex, and AAVE keeps pace. The threat is real enough: Black children who don’t learn white English will have limited choices; what he claims is demonstrably true. The experts invited to contribute to the conversation were two black women (Dr. Geneva Smithermann, linguist specializing in AAVE) and Dr. Bernadette Anderson, professional accent reduction specialist.
