Abstract In the United States, many different ethnic groups and cultures mix up, and this is a significant social phenomenon. People from different ethnic backgrounds are more or less influenced by their ethnicity and characteristics of their national languages when they speak English. The term African American Vernacular English (AAVE) refers to the informal language spoken by a great number of lower-class black people in America. AAVE has distinct and systematic features and has become a unique variety of English. Over the past decades, AAVE has gradually been an important social dialect. The main reason is that African American community has taken up an important place in social class. AAVE is different from Standard American English，but there are lots of rules and regulations. That is to say, we can find certain rules in the variation of phonetics, vocabulary and grammar of AAVE. Language is considered as a carrier of culture and it can reflect the development and change of society. This thesis, based on relevant theories, origins and linguistic features of AAVE, analyzes its influence on American mainstream culture, including language, music and literature.53816

Keywords: African American Vernacular English; variety of English; cultural influence 

摘要在美国，不同的民族相融合,不同的文化相交融，这是一种非常重要的社会现象。不同背景的人说英语时或多或少会带上其本族语言的影响或特点。黑人英语是指居住在美国，处于社会底层的黑人所讲的一种非正式语言。在语音、语法和词汇方面，黑人英语都有鲜明而系统的特征。它是一种独特的英语变体。在过去的几十年，黑人英语逐步成为一种重要的社会方言，主要原因是美国黑人的社会地位变得更加重要。黑人英语虽然不同于标准美语，但是这种不同却呈现出一定的规律性。也就是说，黑人英语在语音、词汇、语法等方面的变异是有规律可循的。语言是文化的载体，它能反映社会的发展和变化。本文在借鉴美国黑人英语的起源、特征以及相关理论的基础上，探析美国黑人英语对美国主流文化的影响，主要涉及语言、音乐、文学领域。

毕业论文关键词：黑人英语；英语变体；文化影响

Contents

1. Introduction 1

2. Literature Review 1

2.1 Ethnic Varieties of English 1

2.2 The Term of AAVE 2

3. Origins of AAVE 2

3.1 The Anglicist Hypothesis 3

3.2 The Creolist Hypothesis 3

3.3 The Neo-Anglicist Hypothesis 4

4. Features of AAVE 4

4.1 Phonological Features 4

4.2 Syntactic Features 6

4.3 Lexical Features 7

5. Cultural Influence of AAVE 8

5.1 The Influence on Standard American English 8

5.2 The Influence on American Music 10

5.3 The Influence on American Literature 11

6. Conclusion 13

Works Cited 14

 1. Introduction

We have probably heard specimens of Black American English even if most of us have never been to the United States, either in American movies or in rap music. Its sounds and intonation make it very easy to identify. Black English was always discriminated and oppressed, so African Americans had hostile feelings towards white mainstream culture. In order to show their racial identity, black Americans managed to develop a new language system which was quite different from American Standard English. Before 1960s, a large number of people held that African American Vernacular English (AAVE) was “bad English”, and for many years, it has been considered as a substandard or deficient dialect. However, with the rapid development of sociolinguistics and the great improvement of black people’s social status, this view has no standpoint now. AAVE, like any other dialect, is very rigidly constructed set of speech patterns with its own distinctive features in phonetics, syntax, and vocabulary. Served as a very important tool of communication, AAVE, spoken by a large number of black Americans, has played a significant role for black Americans in striving for freedom and culture development. A great many black composers, writers and artists try to employ AAVE to finish their works and fight against racism. More importantly, due to the independence and integration of different language cultures, AAVE has exerted important influences on Standard American English and other aspects such as music and literature and these influences may last for a long time. Nowadays, with the promotion of Standard American English, AAVE also enjoys rapid development. Thus, it is of great significance to investigate the development and influence of this variety. 源/自:吹冰:;论-文'网www.chuibin.com