Ebonics

African American Vernacular English (AAVE), also called African American English, Black English, Black Vernacular, Black English Vernacular (BEV), or Black Vernacular English (BVE), is a type variety (dialect, ethnolect and sociolect) of the American English language. It is known colloquially as Ebonics (a portmanteau of "ebony" and "phonics"). With pronunciation that in some respects is common to Southern American English, the variety is spoken by many African Americans in the United States and even by some non-African Americans who have grown up in predominantly black communities. AAVE shares many characteristics with various Creole English dialects spoken by black people in much of the world. AAVE also has pronunciation, grammatical structures, and vocabulary in common with various West African languages. Speakers are often bidialectal and, like any form of language, age status, topic, and setting influence the use of AAVE. For example, research has found that AAVE is used more often when discussing abstract concepts, such as feelings, and when speaking to members of one's own peer group.