Book contents
- The New Cambridge History of the English Language
- The New Cambridge History of the English Language
- The New Cambridge History of the English Language
- Copyright page
- Contents
- Figures
- Tables
- Maps
- Contributors to Volume V
- General Preface
- Abbreviations
- General Editor’s Introduction
- Introduction to Volume V
- PART I The United States
- 1 Language Change and the History of American English
- 2 The Dialectology of Anglo-American English
- 3 The Roots and Development of New England English
- 4 The History of the Midland–Northern Boundary
- 5 The Spread of English Westwards
- 6 American English in the City: The Case of Pittsburgh
- 7 New York City and Baltimore
- 8 English in the Southern United States
- 9 Contact Forms of American English
- 10 The Roots of African American English
- 11 The Great Migration and Regional Variation in the Speech of African Americans
- 12 Rural African American English
- 13 Urban African American English
- 14 Puerto Rican English
- 15 The English of Americans of Mexican and Central American Heritage
- PART II Canada
- PART III The Caribbean
- Index
- References
10 - The Roots of African American English
from PART I - The United States
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 15 April 2026
Book contents
- The New Cambridge History of the English Language
- The New Cambridge History of the English Language
- The New Cambridge History of the English Language
- Copyright page
- Contents
- Figures
- Tables
- Maps
- Contributors to Volume V
- General Preface
- Abbreviations
- General Editor’s Introduction
- Introduction to Volume V
- PART I The United States
- 1 Language Change and the History of American English
- 2 The Dialectology of Anglo-American English
- 3 The Roots and Development of New England English
- 4 The History of the Midland–Northern Boundary
- 5 The Spread of English Westwards
- 6 American English in the City: The Case of Pittsburgh
- 7 New York City and Baltimore
- 8 English in the Southern United States
- 9 Contact Forms of American English
- 10 The Roots of African American English
- 11 The Great Migration and Regional Variation in the Speech of African Americans
- 12 Rural African American English
- 13 Urban African American English
- 14 Puerto Rican English
- 15 The English of Americans of Mexican and Central American Heritage
- PART II Canada
- PART III The Caribbean
- Index
- References
Summary
While the origins of African American English (AAE) have been the focus of debate among linguists for nearly a century, such interest has been aimed primarily at the vernacular end of the continuum, with dialectologists pointing to the retention of features from early British English, while creolists trace the origins to a Gullah-like creole spoken on the US plantations. Though no consensus has been reached regarding the origins of African American Vernacular English (AAVE), a focus on the socio-historical evidence suggests that diverse ecological conditions likely yielded a range of linguistic outcomes within the context of the plantation economy. The modern-day development of African American Standard English (AASE), on the other hand, may be traced to the first half of the twentieth century, as the African American middle class emerged in racially segregated neighbourhoods, where increased economic opportunity was met by systemic efforts to disenfranchise upwardly mobile African Americans.
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- The New Cambridge History of the English LanguageNorth America and the Caribbean, pp. 303 - 328Publisher: Cambridge University PressPrint publication year: 2026
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