African American Vernacular English is rule-bound, complex, and legitimate
<p>If we think about African American history in this country, it’s easy to see how a group of people can develop their own language.</p>
<p>For centuries, white people enslaved African Americans and denied them access to education and literacy lessons, forcing them to learn how to communicate with each other all on their own. Many of them turned to <a href="https://thewire.in/the-arts/jubilee-slave-songs-america" rel="noopener ugc nofollow" target="_blank">song</a>, singing ballads such as “Go Down Moses” and “Certainly, Lord” while toiling in the fields.</p>
<p>Even after their “freedom” came with the passing of the Emancipation Proclamation in 1863 (it took two years for the news to reach slaves in Galveston, Texas that they were free), <a href="https://www.history.com/topics/early-20th-century-us/jim-crow-laws" rel="noopener ugc nofollow" target="_blank">Jim Crow laws</a> forced white and Black people apart, dividing their cultures and further dividing their means of communication.</p>
<p><a href="https://medium.com/language-lab/african-american-vernacular-english-is-rule-bound-complex-and-legitimate-156683bcd3c0"><strong>Website</strong></a></p>