A better idea…African American Language is not Good English  

There are a lot of stereotypes about reading and writing and if the way people talk affects the way they write. There are a lot of arguments in debate whether or not African American language is a good language. In her essay “African American Language is not Good English” Jennifer M. Cunningham (Bad Ideas about Writing), Cunningham gave us a little background information as to what some might refer to as “African American” English. African American language can range from large, to Ebonics, to broken English, according to Cunningham.

Cunningham proves a point as to why the African American language is in a class by itself and is not related to regular English. Based on the things that Cunningham studied and the sources that she pulled information from and came up with a better idea of the topic’s approach. While explaining her approach to this writing, Cunningham gets into what a lot of people might say “African American” language is. As stated before, she says that “(also called Ebonics, African American Vernacular English, black English, broken English, bad English, or slang) has been discounted as a lesser form of communication than other forms of spoken and written English.” She talks about the different types of African American language or what people think the African American language is. One of the sources that Cunningham uses to better get her point across is Talkin and Testifyin: The language of Black America by Geneva Smitherman. Throughout Smitherman’s writing, she looks inside to black culture and lifestyle to better get her point across. She talks about how African American culture and the lifestyle that is lived and endured had a lot to do with the African American language. She states that African American English is its origin of language and it dates way back to slavery days. Cunningham takes some of Smitherman’s points to further help her point across. They give a better idea rather than saying that African American language is a bad language. 

In writing this, Cunningham puts her ideas and the sources that she studied to make a good idea. In her writing, she explains how African Americans often replace the th sound with other vowels or sounds. “African American Language speakers tend to replace a voiceless th sound (such as with) with another voiceless sound, usually a /d/ or /t/, which produces wif or wit.” She never said that this kind of English was incorrect, she states that African American speakers tend to change the way that things are spelled/pronounced. Another source that Cunnigham used and pulled information from is African American English: A Linguistic Introduction by, Lisa J. Green. Green uses a lot of her viewpoints and what she thinks the African American language is. Cunningham uses some of her points as well in her argument. 

In conclusion, Cunningham gave a new outlook on the topic. She turned something that was looked down on into educating people on what some might say African American language is. The author marched the source’s ideas, plus some of her own, to come up with a better idea and a new approach to the topic. Cunningham informs us that African American Language is in a class all by itself and it is not necessarily bad English, more so different English. Cunningham broke down the reason as to why people have this assumption about African American language and gives background information as to why African American language is not bad English. 

Work cited 

“Lexicons and Meaning.” African American English: a Linguistic Introduction, by Lisa J. Green, Cambridge Univ. Press, 2009

“Talkin and Testifyin.” Wayne State University Press, 1 Jan. 1986, https://www.wsupress.wayne.edu/books/detail/talkin-and-testifyin. 

Cunningham, Jennifer M. “African American Language is Not Good English.” Bad Ideas About Writing, edited by Cheryl E Ball and Drew M Loewe, West Virginia University Libraries, 2017