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Black Americans have long contributed to the ways in which the English language is used, and now a new research project aims to compile the first Oxford Dictionary of African American English. The research project is a collaboration between Harvard University's Hutchins Center for African and African American Research and Oxford University Press.

At its most literal level, Ebonics simply means 'black speech' (a blend of the words ebony 'black' and phonics 'sounds'). The term was created in 1973 by a group of black scholars who disliked the negative connotations of terms like 'Nonstandard Negro English' that had been coined in the 1960s when the first modern large-scale linguistic studies of African American speech-communities began. However, the term Ebonics never caught on among linguists, much less among the general public. That all changed with the 'Ebonics' controversy of December 1996 when the Oakland (CA) School Board recognized it as the 'primary' language of its majority African American students and resolved to take it into account in teaching them standard or academic English.

Africanized versions of the Arabic alphabet are collectively called "Ajami." Much as the Latin-based alphabet is used to write many languages, including English, Ajami is not a language itself, but the alphabetic script used to write a language: Arabic-derived letters to write a non-Arabic-in this case, African-language. "Ajami" derives from the Arabic a'jamiy, which means "foreigner" or, more specifically, "non-Arab." Historically, Arabs used the word to refer to all things Persian or non-Arab, a usage they borrowed from the ancient Greeks. Yet over the last few centuries, across Islamic Africa, "Ajami" came to mean an African language written in Arabic script that was often adapted phonetically to facilitate local usages and pronunciations across the continent, from the Ethiopian highlands in the east to the lush jungles of Sierra Leone in the west. The use of Ajami is tied to the religious spread of Islam. From its beginning, Islam was a literate religion. Iqra' ("read") is the first word of God's revelations to Muhammad that became the Qur'an. Knowledge of Islam meant knowledge of the revealed word of God: the Qur'an. Consequently, wherever Islam went, it established centers of learning, usually attached to mosques, where children learned to read and write Arabic in much the same way that European and American children have often been taught literacy by using the Bible. For members of African societies where oral tradition predominated, Arabic was the first written language to which they had been exposed.

Noted African-American author James Baldwin makes an argument for the legitimacy and dignity of African-American Vernacular English (AAVE) as a real and rich language that defines one's identity, that it is not to be dismissed as a mere "dialect."

This website highlights a 5-part documentary series which explores the most controversial and misunderstood language variety in the United States: African American Language (AAL). With the perspectives of everyday people and the guidance of historians, linguists, and educators, the series showcases the history of the language, the symbolic role it plays in the lives of African Americans, and the tremendous impact on the language and culture of the United States. Contains video clips, educational resources.

This article discusses how the African American Diaspora affected the vernacular of Black English. I found it interesting how black people in Canada have a different English vernacular than those in the South. The difference was astounding. You could hear some audio clips in the article.

This article talks about how one's genetics and one's language could possibly be connected. This study took place in Cape Verde, where people speak Kriolu, a mixture of European and African languages that formed with the trans Atlantic slave trade. Researchers recorded multiple individual's speech and compared the recordings to the individual's DNA. They found that there was a significant correlation between one's ancestry and the words they use - for example, those with more African genetic ancestry used more African derived words. While this doesn't necessarily conclude that linguistic traits are passed on like genetic traits are, it is interesting that in a language that is a mix of other languages, individuals still use more words that are derived from their ethnic backgrounds.

Tracing the linguistic path of mmhmm, and many other words commonly used today, from West Africa to the U.S. South is difficult, is riddled with controversy - and experts say it has lingering effects on how the speech of African-Americans is perceived. In a 2008 documentary, Robert Thompson, a Yale professor who studies the effect of Africa on the Americas, said the word spread from enslaved Africans into Southern black vernacular and from there into Southern white vernacular. He says white Americans used to say "yay" and "yes." However, other historians and linguists disagree.

This webpage, associated with a 2005 PBS 3-hour program of the same name, addresses several Words R Us Related issues, including African American English, perspectives on written & spoken English, regional dialects, Spanish & Chicano English, communicative choices & linguistic style, prescriptionist vs. descriptionist philosophies towards language, etymology, and slang. It also has hyperlinks to various credible academic sources for applied linguistics.

Immigrant groups from every part of the world have routinely brought their languages to the United States, save one: African Americans. John Baugh explains how the African slave trade impacted this unique variety of American, and how the term "Ebonics" came into being.

Interesting NPR story on the use of "ax"--apparently not simply the oft-maligned African-American Vernacular English version of "ask". That particular pronunciation of the word has a more distinguished pedigree, dating back to Chaucer.

This article talks about how the usage of African American Vernacular English, or AAVE can be influenced based on location. This "bidialectal competence - the ability to speak two different dialects - potentially makes them less subject to dialect discrimination on both educational and economic fronts." This is due to AAVE being commonly associated with being of lower class or intelligence.

CNN has looked at the Penn Center to learn more about the Gullah language and what people are doing to preserve it and its culture. (https://glc.yale.edu/sites/default/files/files/Gullah%20Language.pdf) Gullah is a creole English based language that has been influenced by African languages. Gullah is also known to be from the "target language" of English. This means that the words they use are what the dominant and economically well group of people often used.

Interesting article exploring the rise of emoji as a "language", also how African American Vernacular English Twitter users may be creating their own subcultural emoji language, where emoji have acquired unambiguous, shared meanings that're different from mainstream meanings.

This essay talks about code switching of African American students in school and how educators should deal with the situation. By reconsidering attitudes towards non-Standard English, communicating speech expectations, demonstrating what is expected, affirming students language, and making assignments that are culturally reflective. This is sort of relevant to Hawai'i as the same can be said about Hawaiian Creole English.

Michel Martin, NPR journalist, discusses code-switching, the practice of altering communication style to more closely identify with one's audience or setting at any given moment. Guests: Ta-Nehisi Coates, a writer for The Atlantic, and Marc Lamont Hill, a syndicated columnist and professor of education and African-American studies at Columbia University.

This essay compares the controversies surrounding actions taken by two school boards-one in Hawai'i and the other in Oakland-in their attempts to help students in their districts attain fluency in standard English. Public reactions expressed during each of these two incidents demonstrated a general lack of understanding about languages and nonstandard dialects. The myths and characterizations about Hawai'i Creole English and African American Vernacular English, and the issues these two stigmatized dialects have raised, point to educational policy implications concerning academic achievement and the politics of language.

This is a really useful essay in highlighting linguistic research re: how to effectively instruct speakers of non-standard varieties of English, e.g. AAVE and HCE. Nice find!

A South African scientist who was pregnant wanted to document what sounds actually reached the fetus during pregnancy. She designed a waterproof microphone that was put inside next to the fetus' neck. Outside music was recorded by the microphone proving that music can be heard in the womb. Music also stimulates the brain more than anything else scientist have tested and has been used in some cases to coax parts of the brain to take over the job of other, dead parts of the brain in stroke patients

The Rap Genius website annotates rap lyrics: creators hope to provide a hip-hop Wikipedia. You can listen to songs, read lyrics, and click the lines that interest you for pop-up explanations. Like Wikipedia, you can also create and annotate entries.