Short for African American Vernacular English, it is is a variety of American English spoken by many African Americans.
“Black English is often not recognized as a distinct dialect in the United States, this causes people to assume that it is broken or less-educated English, which is not the case.” - Preshuslee Thompson
Hey, Im Aaliyah
I have always had a deep love for art, even as a little girl I found myself drawn to exploring my creative side. In addition to art, I am very passionate about comfortability within oneself and different environments, this is something that I take very seriously within my personal life. I also strongly believe that it is important for those who don't fit society's standards, that often looked over and underrepresented know that there is room for them at the table. As a young black woman, I have experience with feeling ostracized or outofplace and I hope that young people like me don't have to feel that way, even in places where they might be different.
The focus of my project is the destigmatization of African American Vernacular English. Across the United States, the use of AAVE is looked down upon and equated with unintelligence in schools, the workplace, and many other professional settings. Due to the stigma of using any language other than Standard American English in these places people are often forced to codeswitch to protect themselves, their culture, and their reputation. The negative perception of this dialect in addition to the code-switching can take a toll on someone's mental health no matter the age.
In my project, I will be creating a children's book regarding the topic of code-switching and linguistic profiling, in a way the young children could understand. I want the kids at this age to know that the way they speak isnt wrong, it is just different. Although the book surrounds AAVE it will contain a lesson that all people can learn from and relate to, there is nothing wrong with being different.
