AAVE Grammatical Features Worksheet
Instructions: You will be presented with either an AAVE sentence or a sentence en Standard English and you must translate the sentence into the opposing dialect and give the reasoning for the translation. An answer sheet will be attached.
AAVE: “She don’t believe nothing I tell her”
SE: _______________________________________
Reason:
AAVE: “She keep her distance. I keep mine”
SE: _______________________________________
Reason:
AAVE: “I ain’t there yet”
SE: _______________________________________
Reason:
AAVE: ____________________________________
SE: “We were watching television”
Reason:
Answer Sheet
AAVE: “She don’t believe nothing I tell her”
SE: “She doesn’t believe anything I tell her”
Reason: Multiple negation
AAVE: “She keep her distance. I keep mine”
SE: “She keeps her distance, and I keep mine”
Reason: Third person singular “s”
AAVE: “I ain’t there yet”
SE: “I am not there yet”
Reason: Usage of “ain’t”
AAVE: “We was watching television”
SE: “We were watching television”
Reason: Generalization of “is” and “was”
Monday, April 20, 2009
DW4b Part 1
Report: Five Steps to Incorporate AAVE into Your Lessons
Released April 2009
African American Vernacular Enligsh (AAVE) has been widely discriminated against in the United States. In order to become the nation we are perceived to be, we must learn to acknowledge other dialects other than Standard English, the only dialect deemed to be appropriate. And it starts in the schools, which is where we must learn to teach and understand AAVE. Kids speak their home language with their friends, then they struggle in school and often times fail out. Only 56% of African American students graduate from high school due to the discriminating of AAVE and their lack of code switching. This statistic demands that we change the status quo. We need to revamp our vision of AAVE and also learn how to accept it starting with educational policy.
Educational policy can take several forms, it can be in the form of writings, such as literature and scholarly essays, or it can be teaching K-12 students, or it can go as far as college classes such as an Ebonics class. Teaching the development of AAVE and appreciating it in the high school years may prove to be very effective, as most kids are easily persuaded by their teachers at this point. The first step is educating the teacher, one of the biggest obstacles teachers face while dealing with AAVE is ignorance. People tend to make bad judgments about linguistic features associated with AAVE. Teachers should educated themselves about the apparent stereotypes of AAVE and then learn to combat them by working in the students home language, which will in turn help them achieve academic success. This is the first step in attempting to change the status quo of only 56% of African Americans graduating from high school.
The second step is incorporating multiculturalism into the classroom, In order to have AAVE in the classroom; we must first create a learning environment which emphasizes diversity in language, experiences, and culture. Kim Brian Lovejoy integrated this into his classroom by allowing his students to bring in nonmainstream varieties of writings and speech. This allowed for in depth class discussion, as well as cultural and linguistic learning. Multiculturalism makes school more relevant and effective for minority students, thus increasing their ability to succeed and have successful lives and careers. Educators must not give their students a one-sided view of the world as they are doing now, and that they should be given more cultural opportunities.
The third step is to create a learning environment rich in oral language, reading texts aloud to students can help immerse them into a learning environment that is rich in oral language. The way a student speaks and is spoken to is very closely related to the way a student writes, so if one can illustrate that AAVE is a natural way to speak, then the student will feel more comfortable using AAVE in the classroom. In-class debates, readings, and discussions can help integrate the students into the oral classroom environment and puts an emphasis on the home language. Knowing the structural differences between AAVE and Standard English is a very useful concept to teach students, as discussed in the fourth step of this plan; emphasizing and demonstrating code switching in the classroom.
It is true that not every language type is useful in every situation, some situations call for more formal speaking while others have a more laid back setting. And it is important to know when and how to do this. When teachers work with students to contrast the differences between non-Standard English and Standard English, students are less likely to use AAVE in their academic writing. And research by Rickford’s proves this, when students were taught the structural differences, their writing in Standard English improved by 59%. This 59% increase in writing is something that is at the core of getting African Americans a higher graduation rate and thus changing the status quo.
The fifth and final step of the plan is to allow students to write like real writers, educators need to teach students how to write to different audiences. Different audiences react differently to each writing techniques and each is effective in a different way. When students are aware of their intended audience, they can critically reflect on their choice of words. Educators should make students aware of how to change their writing based on who they are trying to write to. This would help in many facets of revamping our views on AAVE, this will help African American kids get into college with better writing skills, it will help them get scholarships that require essays because they can write better, it will help them gets jobs, and overall help them earn a better lifestyle. This five step plan is a good start to revamping our educational policy and helping our African American students with AAVE, and also helping our teachers teach and deal with AAVE more effectively.
Released April 2009
African American Vernacular Enligsh (AAVE) has been widely discriminated against in the United States. In order to become the nation we are perceived to be, we must learn to acknowledge other dialects other than Standard English, the only dialect deemed to be appropriate. And it starts in the schools, which is where we must learn to teach and understand AAVE. Kids speak their home language with their friends, then they struggle in school and often times fail out. Only 56% of African American students graduate from high school due to the discriminating of AAVE and their lack of code switching. This statistic demands that we change the status quo. We need to revamp our vision of AAVE and also learn how to accept it starting with educational policy.
Educational policy can take several forms, it can be in the form of writings, such as literature and scholarly essays, or it can be teaching K-12 students, or it can go as far as college classes such as an Ebonics class. Teaching the development of AAVE and appreciating it in the high school years may prove to be very effective, as most kids are easily persuaded by their teachers at this point. The first step is educating the teacher, one of the biggest obstacles teachers face while dealing with AAVE is ignorance. People tend to make bad judgments about linguistic features associated with AAVE. Teachers should educated themselves about the apparent stereotypes of AAVE and then learn to combat them by working in the students home language, which will in turn help them achieve academic success. This is the first step in attempting to change the status quo of only 56% of African Americans graduating from high school.
The second step is incorporating multiculturalism into the classroom, In order to have AAVE in the classroom; we must first create a learning environment which emphasizes diversity in language, experiences, and culture. Kim Brian Lovejoy integrated this into his classroom by allowing his students to bring in nonmainstream varieties of writings and speech. This allowed for in depth class discussion, as well as cultural and linguistic learning. Multiculturalism makes school more relevant and effective for minority students, thus increasing their ability to succeed and have successful lives and careers. Educators must not give their students a one-sided view of the world as they are doing now, and that they should be given more cultural opportunities.
The third step is to create a learning environment rich in oral language, reading texts aloud to students can help immerse them into a learning environment that is rich in oral language. The way a student speaks and is spoken to is very closely related to the way a student writes, so if one can illustrate that AAVE is a natural way to speak, then the student will feel more comfortable using AAVE in the classroom. In-class debates, readings, and discussions can help integrate the students into the oral classroom environment and puts an emphasis on the home language. Knowing the structural differences between AAVE and Standard English is a very useful concept to teach students, as discussed in the fourth step of this plan; emphasizing and demonstrating code switching in the classroom.
It is true that not every language type is useful in every situation, some situations call for more formal speaking while others have a more laid back setting. And it is important to know when and how to do this. When teachers work with students to contrast the differences between non-Standard English and Standard English, students are less likely to use AAVE in their academic writing. And research by Rickford’s proves this, when students were taught the structural differences, their writing in Standard English improved by 59%. This 59% increase in writing is something that is at the core of getting African Americans a higher graduation rate and thus changing the status quo.
The fifth and final step of the plan is to allow students to write like real writers, educators need to teach students how to write to different audiences. Different audiences react differently to each writing techniques and each is effective in a different way. When students are aware of their intended audience, they can critically reflect on their choice of words. Educators should make students aware of how to change their writing based on who they are trying to write to. This would help in many facets of revamping our views on AAVE, this will help African American kids get into college with better writing skills, it will help them get scholarships that require essays because they can write better, it will help them gets jobs, and overall help them earn a better lifestyle. This five step plan is a good start to revamping our educational policy and helping our African American students with AAVE, and also helping our teachers teach and deal with AAVE more effectively.
Monday, April 13, 2009
DW4a
This semester has been centered on the fact that AAVE is discriminated against across almost all aspects of life and in many situations. My project 4 will be focused on how AAVE is followed by racism and discrimination, I will give four templates for this project and I will closely relate them to the racism and discrimination associated with AAVE.
The first template I will use is the compare a paper written in AAVE versus a paper written in Standard Enligsh and see how they would be graded and assessed. I will show how the paper written in AAVE will be graded poorly compared to the paper written in AAVE. Research from the last few papers suggests that it will not be hard to find evidence of this unfair grading scale. I will show the grammatical differences between AAVE and Standard English and how the sentence structure is different. AAVE has been shown to be used effectively in academic papers if used slightly and not obviously, such as repetition and talking directly to the audience using “we” and “you”.
My second template will feature a mock Facebook homepage or AIM messaging box and have one person talking in AAVE and the second person not being able to understand it. Previous interviews seen in class will be my evidence for this template. It is well known that many people think less of those who speak AAVE and I will show that in the messages from the second person. The AAVE speaker will be typing to defend his dialect and the other person will be attacking it.
My fourth template will be a collage showing how AAVE speakers are deemed uneducated and unsophisticated. There will be two sides to the collage, one showing the negative views of AAVE and another showing how AAVE is just as sophisticated and acceptable as Standard English. I hope to be able to educate the public about AAVE and how it is just as acceptable and Standard English, debunking the myths about AAVE and the stereotypes surrounding it.
My fourth and final template will be a magazine article that discusses pedagogy and teaching AAVE in the academic environment. My last paper will be the main source of my knowledge for this part of the project. I will primarily use the “Five Steps” I described in my third paper and use this magazine article as a way to educate society and more specifically teachers on how to deal with, accept, discuss, and incorporate AAVE in the classroom.
Monday, March 30, 2009
Annotated Bibliography
Annotated Bibliography
Whitney, Jessica. “Five Easy Pieces: Steps Toward Integrating AAVE into the Classroom.” The English Journal 94.5 (May, 2005): 64-69.
This article discusses five steps for teachers to accept AAVE in the classroom and how to deal with it. It goes into detail about what AAVE can do for students when supported and how it can allow for cultural relativism and language equality. This can be used because there are five direct and specific steps that Whitney provides and gives good examples and background information.
Wheeler, Rebecca S. "Codeswitching: Tools of Language and Culture Transform the Dialectally Diverse Classroom." Language Arts Vol 81. Iss 6. Jul 2004 470-481. 29 Mar 2009.
This article is about African American students speaking and writing in AAVE in the classroom setting. It is a great article because it is very closely related to the main topic of paper three. Wheeler also has another article that discusses code switching that can be tied in with this one to construct an effective argument.
Ball, Arnetha. “Expository Writing Patterns of African American Students.” The English Journal 85.1(1996): 27-36.
This article generally describes the uses of AAVE and how they are tied in with other languages. Ball follows four students and critiques their use of AAVE and how successful they are in the academic setting. This article goes into depth about how AAVE can be used in papers, but only some features of AAVE. Some AAVE features even make academic papers better due to repetition and talking directly to the audience. This can be used to show that AAVE can effectively be used in academic papers if used correctly and discreetly.
Nembhard, Judith. " Perspective on Teaching Black Dialect Speaking Students to Write Standard English." The Journal of Negro Education. 52.2 (1983): 75-82
Nembhard argues that African American AAVE users should learn to use Standard English, and students should be graded based on strict and high standards, so that students will be more successful. She argues that educators should not be afraid to fail a student if the student does not deserve to pass. Examples of new and different writing and oral exercises are given, she says that these strategies and practices should be used both inside the classroom and outside. She argues that AAVE should not be used in the academic setting unless it in being compared to Standard English, I am not sure so about this stand but I feel like I may be able to use it as an example of a possible argument in my paper.
Sunday, March 29, 2009
DW3b
"Five Easy Pieces: Steps toward Integrating AAVE into the Classroom." By Jessica Whitney
Whitney starts out the paper by stating how she is confused about AAVE in her classroom, and how she thinks we should approach the AAVE barrier and start accepting it more. She acknowledges her power in the classroom as a facilitator or learning and a physical representation of what is good, and she questions herself about how to adequately deal with AAVE in the academic setting. She goes on to give five steps on how to integrate AAVE into the classroom and acknowledge its presence.
Step 1: Teacher, Educate Thyself
One of the biggest obstacles teachers face while dealing with AAVE is ignorance. People tend to make bad judgments about linguistic features associated with AAVE. Teachers should educated themselves about the apparent stereotypes of AAVE and then learn to combat them by working in the students home language, which will in turn help them achieve academic success.
Step 2: Incorporate Multiculturalism into the Classroom
In order to AAVE in the classroom, we must create a learning environment that emphasizes diversity in language, experiences, and culture. Kim Brian Lovejoy integrated this into his classroom by allowing his students to bring in nonmainstream varieties of writings and speech. This allowed for in depth class discussion, as well as cultural and linguistic learning. Whitney points out that only 56% of African American students graduate from high school, some of this due to being discriminated against due to their use of AAVE. This is a good point, she argues that the status quo of teaching AAVE is not working, as emphasized by the low graduation rate, and she writes this paper in order to educate and reverse the status quo. Multiculturalism makes school more relevant and effective for minority students, thus increasing their ability to succeed and have successful lives and careers. She states that educators must not give their students a one-sided view of the world as they are doing now, and that they should be given more cultural opportunities.
Step 3: Create a Learning Environment Rich in Oral Language
Reading texts aloud to students can help to immerse them into a learning environment that is rich in oral language. The way a student speaks and is spoken to is very closely related to the way a student writes, so if one can illustrate that AAVE is a natural way to speak, then the student will feel more comfortable using AAVE in the classroom. In class debates, readings, and discussions can help integrate the students into the oral classroom environment and puts an emphasis on the home language.
Step 4: Emphasize and Demonstrate Code Switching in the Classroom
It is true that not every language type is useful in every situation, some situations call for more formal speaking while others have a more laid back setting. And it is important to know when and how to do this. Whitney states that when teachers work with students to contrast the differences between non-Standard English and Standard English, students are less likely to use AAVE in their writing. And Rickford’s research proves this, when students were taught the structural differences, their writing in Standard English improved by 59%.
Step 5: Allow Student to Write like Real Writers
Educators need to teach students how to write to different audiences. Different audiences react differently to each writing techniques and each is effective in a different way. When students are awake of the intended audience, they can critically reflect on their choice of words. Educators should make students aware of how to change their writing based on who they are trying to write to.
Whitney starts out the paper by stating how she is confused about AAVE in her classroom, and how she thinks we should approach the AAVE barrier and start accepting it more. She acknowledges her power in the classroom as a facilitator or learning and a physical representation of what is good, and she questions herself about how to adequately deal with AAVE in the academic setting. She goes on to give five steps on how to integrate AAVE into the classroom and acknowledge its presence.
Step 1: Teacher, Educate Thyself
One of the biggest obstacles teachers face while dealing with AAVE is ignorance. People tend to make bad judgments about linguistic features associated with AAVE. Teachers should educated themselves about the apparent stereotypes of AAVE and then learn to combat them by working in the students home language, which will in turn help them achieve academic success.
Step 2: Incorporate Multiculturalism into the Classroom
In order to AAVE in the classroom, we must create a learning environment that emphasizes diversity in language, experiences, and culture. Kim Brian Lovejoy integrated this into his classroom by allowing his students to bring in nonmainstream varieties of writings and speech. This allowed for in depth class discussion, as well as cultural and linguistic learning. Whitney points out that only 56% of African American students graduate from high school, some of this due to being discriminated against due to their use of AAVE. This is a good point, she argues that the status quo of teaching AAVE is not working, as emphasized by the low graduation rate, and she writes this paper in order to educate and reverse the status quo. Multiculturalism makes school more relevant and effective for minority students, thus increasing their ability to succeed and have successful lives and careers. She states that educators must not give their students a one-sided view of the world as they are doing now, and that they should be given more cultural opportunities.
Step 3: Create a Learning Environment Rich in Oral Language
Reading texts aloud to students can help to immerse them into a learning environment that is rich in oral language. The way a student speaks and is spoken to is very closely related to the way a student writes, so if one can illustrate that AAVE is a natural way to speak, then the student will feel more comfortable using AAVE in the classroom. In class debates, readings, and discussions can help integrate the students into the oral classroom environment and puts an emphasis on the home language.
Step 4: Emphasize and Demonstrate Code Switching in the Classroom
It is true that not every language type is useful in every situation, some situations call for more formal speaking while others have a more laid back setting. And it is important to know when and how to do this. Whitney states that when teachers work with students to contrast the differences between non-Standard English and Standard English, students are less likely to use AAVE in their writing. And Rickford’s research proves this, when students were taught the structural differences, their writing in Standard English improved by 59%.
Step 5: Allow Student to Write like Real Writers
Educators need to teach students how to write to different audiences. Different audiences react differently to each writing techniques and each is effective in a different way. When students are awake of the intended audience, they can critically reflect on their choice of words. Educators should make students aware of how to change their writing based on who they are trying to write to.
Sunday, March 22, 2009
DW3a
For this writing assignment I chose to read “Expository Writing Patterns of African American Students” by Arnetha Ball. She starts out by giving a great example of how AAVE is discriminated against in the academic setting; she uses the child who wrote a creative story with the word “ain’t” in it and was deducted due to it. She then goes on to say, “Yet, within some classrooms, the everyday language of AAVE speakers is "judged uneducated, sloppy, and ugly, or believed to be a debased form of so-called correct English” which reinforces the words of the younger student.
Ball went on to study four individuals, two male and two female, three of the four described themselves as being bidialectal. They spoke AAVE occasionally but for the most part they spoke and wrote in mainstream Standard English. While one said that he spoke AAVE during most settings. She emphasized how each of them were very skilled in switching between dialects based on the level of formality needed in the discussion. Five text samples were taken during this one year research study, and they were analyzed for AAVE features. She notes that AAVE features such as rhythmic language and repetition could be appropriately used in such academic writing settings. Ball analyzes a text from an essay about Emerson and Malcolm X, and explains how the writer uses the inclusive “we” and speaks directly to his audience with “you”. Ball concludes that the student effectively incorporates traditional African American discourse into his paper.
I agree with the things Ball has said and her examples are very concise and appropriate. She indirectly compares the use of AAVE of a fifth grader to the traditional African American discourse of a senior in high school, and how one can be acceptable while the other is not seen as acceptable in academics. The older student does not use words associated with AAVE, but ideas and other features, which make the AAVE harder to spot therefore apparently making it easier to accept. She proves that AAVE can be incorporated into compositional writings.
When the students were allowed to choose their own topic, they exhibited a heightened sense of personal authority, “This was evidenced by a more frequent use of AAVE idioms, double negatives, and questions embedded in sentences without using question inversion.”
Bell’s paper does make an effective argument about AAVE in compositional studies. It shows that in some cases AAVE is used and is accepted when it is not as obvious, but it is not accepted by professors when the AAVE is more obvious, such as specific words that the fifth grader used.
Ball went on to study four individuals, two male and two female, three of the four described themselves as being bidialectal. They spoke AAVE occasionally but for the most part they spoke and wrote in mainstream Standard English. While one said that he spoke AAVE during most settings. She emphasized how each of them were very skilled in switching between dialects based on the level of formality needed in the discussion. Five text samples were taken during this one year research study, and they were analyzed for AAVE features. She notes that AAVE features such as rhythmic language and repetition could be appropriately used in such academic writing settings. Ball analyzes a text from an essay about Emerson and Malcolm X, and explains how the writer uses the inclusive “we” and speaks directly to his audience with “you”. Ball concludes that the student effectively incorporates traditional African American discourse into his paper.
I agree with the things Ball has said and her examples are very concise and appropriate. She indirectly compares the use of AAVE of a fifth grader to the traditional African American discourse of a senior in high school, and how one can be acceptable while the other is not seen as acceptable in academics. The older student does not use words associated with AAVE, but ideas and other features, which make the AAVE harder to spot therefore apparently making it easier to accept. She proves that AAVE can be incorporated into compositional writings.
When the students were allowed to choose their own topic, they exhibited a heightened sense of personal authority, “This was evidenced by a more frequent use of AAVE idioms, double negatives, and questions embedded in sentences without using question inversion.”
Bell’s paper does make an effective argument about AAVE in compositional studies. It shows that in some cases AAVE is used and is accepted when it is not as obvious, but it is not accepted by professors when the AAVE is more obvious, such as specific words that the fifth grader used.
Sunday, March 1, 2009
IAR Analysis 2
Taking Black Technology Use Seriously: African American Discursive Traditions in the Digital Underground
by Adam Banks
What is Invention? (What activities did the writer have to engage in to create the text?)
· AAVE research
· Quoting specific scholars, Smitherman
· Research on Blackplanet.com
What is being Invented? (What ideas, practices, arguments, etc. are created by the text?)
· People talk and express themselves differently online
· People feel more comfortable online
· How AAVE is appropriated online
· AA is going “underground”
What is being arranged? (What is being put in relation to what?)
· AAVE online and other digital mainstream sites
· “Underground” and digital divide
· “Underground” and AAVE
· AAVE and digital divide
What is arrangement? (How are things being put in relation to one another?)
· Problems to causes
· Problems to solutions
· Compare and contrast
· Examples to conclusions
What is being revised? (What is the writer trying to change (e.g. what ideas, practices, etc.)?)
· Eliminate stereotypes that AAVE is below SE
· Take away the digital divide
· Accept AAVE as a primary language just like SE, become bilingual
What is revision? (What strategies are engaged specifically to help the writer achieve the revisions?)
· Smitherman quotes
· Own quotes and examples (real life)
· Blackplanet.com examples
by Adam Banks
What is Invention? (What activities did the writer have to engage in to create the text?)
· AAVE research
· Quoting specific scholars, Smitherman
· Research on Blackplanet.com
What is being Invented? (What ideas, practices, arguments, etc. are created by the text?)
· People talk and express themselves differently online
· People feel more comfortable online
· How AAVE is appropriated online
· AA is going “underground”
What is being arranged? (What is being put in relation to what?)
· AAVE online and other digital mainstream sites
· “Underground” and digital divide
· “Underground” and AAVE
· AAVE and digital divide
What is arrangement? (How are things being put in relation to one another?)
· Problems to causes
· Problems to solutions
· Compare and contrast
· Examples to conclusions
What is being revised? (What is the writer trying to change (e.g. what ideas, practices, etc.)?)
· Eliminate stereotypes that AAVE is below SE
· Take away the digital divide
· Accept AAVE as a primary language just like SE, become bilingual
What is revision? (What strategies are engaged specifically to help the writer achieve the revisions?)
· Smitherman quotes
· Own quotes and examples (real life)
· Blackplanet.com examples
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