Vernacular English

Language can differ in many ways, and even though there are over 1 billion English speakers in the world, it's likely everyone will use the language slightly differently.

This article is all about English vernaculars, an informal variety of English. It will:

• Introduce vernacular languages
• Give an example of vernacular English
• Discuss the features of African American Vernacular English
• Talk about the prejudices vernacular Englishes face
• Discuss the differences between language, dialect, and vernacular.

Vernacular Language Definition

As we start off this article, let's look at a quick definition for 'vernacular language':

The term 'vernacular' came from ‘vernaculus’, which means ‘national’ or ‘domestic’ in Latin.

Vernaculars are typically considered the everyday language used by people within a community and in informal situations. Vernacular languages have their speech patterns, grammar, vocabulary, and pronunciation that have developed over time and differ from the standard form. Typically speaking, people speak vernaculars far more than writing them down.

Standard Form of a Language

Standard languages have undergone significant regularisation and are often deemed the ‘correct’ way of speaking and writing. They are usually used in formal and official settings such as education, government, media, law etc.

Fig. 1 - British English and American English are seen as the standards.

Vernacular English

We usually talk about vernacular English in terms of register, meaning formal or informal language. Vernaculars are the informal use of a language and don’t have to abide by the prescriptivist ‘rules’ of grammar, syntax, spelling, etc.

Vernacular Englishes are simply the usual day-to-day language people within a community use in their daily lives. This includes the slang they use, the changes in pronunciation that may occur, contractions (e.g. shortening ‘you all’ to y’all’), and different word choices.

Vernacular Englishes typically develop over time as people change and develop the language to fit their needs. As previously mentioned, vernacular languages are usually spoken, rather than written. Few dictionaries dedicated to specific vernacular exist, making it difficult to standardise, regulate, or even accurately describe their features.

It's important to note here that more than one vernacular English exists, and, like with most aspects of language, it's best to think of vernaculars in a plural form!

African American Vernacular English (AAVE)

African American Vernacular English (AAVE) is one of the most well-known English vernaculars. AAVE is predominantly spoken by Black Americans. It is believed to have originated in the southern states of America in the 17th and 18th centuries. At this time, the British had colonised the USA, and the transatlantic slave trade was taking place, meaning thousands of Africans were brought to the southern states of the USA and forced into slavery. Here, the enslaved African people would have been exposed to many different British dialects, especially when working alongside indentured servants (poor British and European people who worked for a minimal amount of money). Over time, the language changed and developed due to the influence of British dialects, creating the English vernacular we now call AAVE.

Today, AAVE has its own grammatical rules, lexicon, and pronunciation and is a fully-fledged vernacular.

Some linguists state AAVE began life as a pidgin or creole language (a basic mix of African languages) created out of necessity when people from across Africa were forced to communicate with speakers of other languages during slavery. However, it is generally more accepted that AAVE originated from the British dialects found in the southern USA.

African American Vernacular English Features

Here is a list of some common African American Vernacular English features.

• Use of double negatives, e.g. ‘Ain’t nobody got time.’

• Frequent removal of copula verbs (linking verbs), especially the verb ‘to be’, e.g. ‘He goin’ shop.’ (Some people view this as ‘lazy’, although we see this in Russian, Arabic, and Mandarin too!)

• Frequent contractions, e.g. ‘Y'all gotta go.’

• Use of the word ‘done’ to show the perfective aspect (an action that’s completed). For example, standard English would read ‘He has walked’ compared to AAVE ‘He done walked’

• ‘Th’ sounds (/θ and ð) are pronounced as a /d/ sound at the beginning of a word. E.g. 'them' is pronounced as 'dem'.

All of these language features are commonly used in African American Vernacular English, but are not necessarily exclusive to AAVE.

Fig. 2 - 'Eyebrows on fleek' was a popular internet-slang term in the mid-2010s, and it came from AAVE.

African American Vernacular English examples

Although we've got some brief examples of each of the key features of African American Vernacular English in the section above, we'll now look at some specific examples of AAVE in literature.

First up, we have an excerpt from Angie Thomas' novel The Hate U Give² (which was also adapted into a film in 2018):

This next example is from Toni Morrison's novel Beloved³:

Vernacular English and Prejudice

Vernacular Englishes are deemed non-standard varieties of English as they differ from standard Englishes. As a result, Vernacular Englishes are often deemed ‘incorrect’ or ‘low-prestige’ and are associated with being under-educated. However, not everyone agrees with this view, and many linguists argue that vernaculars are complex adaptations of a language unique to communities and essential markers of individuals’ identities.

Peter Trudgill (2016), a linguist who studies vernacular languages and dialects, stated that we shouldn’t discriminate against individuals and communities because of their accent, dialect or native language, as this is linguistic prejudice.¹

Many people who use vernacular Englishes, such as AAVE, state that they feel discriminated against in certain environments and often need to use standard English in more formal situations, such as applying for jobs.

Language, Vernacular, or Dialect

As you’re reading this, you might be wondering what the difference between a language, a vernacular and a dialect is. Well, the answer isn’t that simple.

You’re probably aware by now that languages are pretty fluid things. Even though attempts have been made to regulate and standardise them, i.e. standard British English, they are constantly changing. Hence, deciding how to define all these different varieties – especially when talking about a global language such as English – is pretty tricky.

Let’s take AAVE as an example. It can be considered a dialect, a sociolect (a social dialect), an ethnolect (an ethnic dialect), a vernacular and, by some, a language named ebonics. Confusing aye!

Here is a brief outline of the general understanding of the differences between the three terms.

Language

You're probably thinking 'I know what a language is, thanks!' but just to cover all bases:

Languages differ worldwide, but they all have a structured component (grammar) and a free component (vocabulary). The English language has many varieties, such as American English, Indian English, Nigerian English, etc. There is no ‘correct’ or ‘wrong’ variety of language. Within each language variety, there are different dialects.

Dialect

This is another term you've probably come across before in your English Language studies.

The group of people are usually connected by a social factor, such as geographical location, age, gender, occupation, or ethnicity.

Dialects that form due to other social factors, such as age, are called sociolects. Dialects influenced by ethnic groups are called ethnolects.

Vernacular

Just like dialects, they are informal and the everyday language spoken by community members. However, they are usually more established than most dialects and have their own grammatical rules and generally agreed-upon vocabulary, syntax, and pronunciation.

How and when a dialect can be defined as a vernacular and when a vernacular can be defined as a language isn’t so clear and is usually politically motivated.

Do you think it’s a matter of time before AAVE is considered a language, or do you think other factors will prevent this from happening?

Fig. 3 - AAVE is widely spoken in African American communities and could be on its way to becoming its own language.