Living in Two Worlds: Speaking BEV in a SE World

Abstract

Researchers have come to the conclusion that all English speakers speak a "dialect", or variation, of English. Linguists claim no single dialect is inherently better than another. Each is mutually intelligible to other speakers of English. The main difference lies in how each of these dialects is accepted by people outside of that particular speech community. Every dialect has a specific phonological (sound) system, grammar, and vocabulary. The most widely accepted dialect in the United States is Standard English (SE). This is, with some variation, the dialect utilized by television and radio announcers, educated people, literature , and the business world. It often comes as a surprise to people when they learn for the first time that it is no more linguistically valid than Southern English or New York English. There is no single dialect that is linguistically "better" than another. All dialects are adequate for communication, learning and speech. What makes some seem more or less accepted is the way society views them. This is often the case with the dialect known as African-American English, Black English, Black Dialect, or Black English Vernacular (BEV). BEV has existed in the United States for several hundred years, getting its start on the islands of the Caribbean and the plantations of the South. Its speakers have struggled with the question of the validity of their language and the difficulty of trying to fit into the dominant white culture. The result is often a sense of living a linguistically dual life. They use one dialect (SE) for business and socializing in the dominant culture, and another (BEV) for their home dialect and among friends. It is important to note here that not all black people speak BEV, just as it is true that not all BEV speakers are black. BEV is a dialect that may be spoken by any person who lives in a speech community where this is the primary dialect of the people, usually those in a working class environment, and, especially, the young.