230149 An Introduction to African American Vernacular English (S) (SoSe 2015)

This class is an introduction to African American Vernacular English (AAVE), the language of American Blacks and the best investigated non-standard variety of English. Before exploring historical, sociological, political, cultural and educational issues connected with AAVE, we will need to have a look at the linguistic features of this language on all levels of linguistic description. This will help us to understand that AAVE is not a compilation of random deviations of Standard English but that it is a rule-governed language system in its own right. Subsequently, we will learn about the historical development of this language, its role in the educational system of the US and may possibly also investigate its present use, for instance, in literature, music, and the media.

Please note: There is a complementary class on 'The Souls of Black Folk? Literary Representations of and by African Americans - The Insider/Outsider Binary’ taught by Dr. Julia Andres, and we recommend participating in both classes.