In this text, I will be discussing Jennifer M. Cunnigham’s essay “African-American Language is Not Good English”. According to Cunningham, saying that the African American language is not good English is a bad idea because Cunningham believes that African American Language is not good nor bad English since it is technically not English. Both Cunningham and one of her sources written by Lisa Green stipulate that African American English is just another language some people have learned to speak. For example, they both know that there are different structures people use to speak. One grammatical construction being zero copula, which is the use of eliminating certain verbs. The elimination of some verbs makes African American English what it is and the pronunciation of words. 

In “African-American Language is Not Good English” Cunningham talks about several reasons and gives a lot of information as to why people should not say AAE is not good English. She argues that AAL is another form of dialect for other people. Some people think it is not good English because they are not used to it and are used to Standard American English’s structure. According to Cunningham, she states that “teachers, in particular, are more likely to correct errors related to African American Language, which is why teachers, professionals” (Cunningham 88). This shows how quick teachers are to dismiss something they are not used to. Instead of ignoring the dialect of AAE, they should learn and take time to see that AAL is different from Standard American English and not a flawed form of it. Cunningham also states, “Within the classroom or in a professional setting, these so-called errors need to be addressed in terms of language difference, code-switching, and expected conventions rather than a person’s misuse of English.” (Cunningham 88). By saying this, Cunningham indicates that the difference between AAE and SAE should not have one seem better than the other. The structure difference of AAE and SAE should not be enough to say one is wrong and one is right. Correct English is not limited to Standard American English. In “African American English: A Linguistic Introduction” by Lisa Green it informs us on the structure, origins, and grammar  of AAL. According to Green there are grammatical and phonological rules for writing and speaking AAE. Green states, “Words in AAE and general American English that have the same meanings may have different pronunciations due to constraints on sounds.” (Green). This shows that there is a different pronunciation to things and some people may be confused by that. It does not make it bad English if somebody cannot simply understand somebody else. An example Green gives is, “AAE the “th” sound in general American English (and other varieties of English) bath is produced as “f” (i.e.,baf), and the “th “sound in general American English bathe is produced as “v” (i.e.,bav).” (Green). These few changes to words lead to confusion with people who are used to SAE or leads them to think one is not as well educated as them.

With these two sources, we can see that African American Language is just another language. Both writers believe that both SAE and AAL are valid. The way someone speaks should not be based on SAE. There are many different languages and structures of languages in the world, and AAL happens to be one of them. From my perspective, I agree with Jennifer M. Cunningham’s argument for a few reasons. First, I have been in situations where people say the way I talk is incorrect English or I am not using the correct grammar. Growing up in the south is different and the dialects spoken in those areas are way different than what people think is correct, such as Standard American English. Just like Spanish, their structure of sentences is completely different from the SAE structure of sentences. With AAL there is the elimination of certain verbs. For example, in AAL people would say, “She driving”. While in SAE they would say “She is driving”. I believe that teachers should be taught about AAL to better understand students that tend to speak AAE. Later in life, I had to learn that the way I had spoken was not accepted in writing and speaking. It made people think I was not as well educated as others. I learned to speak “properly” to be able to pass and learned how to turn it on and off. This shows us how close-minded society is and that many people think about what they have learned in life is the only right way. My suggestion to try and fix this problem is to have teachers and professors learn how the AAL is spoken and the differences between AAE and SAE. 

Work Cited

1. Cunningham, Jennifer M. “2.7: African American Language Is Not Good English.” Humanities LibreTexts, Libretexts, 7 Aug. 2020, human.libretexts.org/Bookshelves/Composition/Specialized_Composition/Book:_Bad_Ideas_About_Writing_(Ball_and_Loewe)/02:_Bad_Ideas_About_Who_Good_Writers_are_…/2.07:_African_American_Language_is_not_Good_English.
2. Green, Lisa J. African American English : A Linguistic Introduction. Cambridge University Press, 2002. EBSCOhost, search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&AuthType=ip,shib&db=e000xna&AN=125093&site=ehost-live&scope=site.