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Also called African-American Vernacular English (AAVE)Black English, Black Vernacular, or Black English Vernacular (BEV). A creole of the American English language. Known colloquially as Ebonics, Ebo, or Jive. With pronunciation that in some respects is common to that of Southern American English, as the majority of the slaves' descendants first lived in the South. Spoken by many people of African descent in the United States and ethnic minorities worldwide. Shares many characteristics with various Creole English dialects spoken by people of African descent in much of the world. NOT simply "bad English", as it has grammatical origins in, and pronunciation characteristics in common with, various West African languages. NOT the same as urban or hip-hop slang ("izzle's", crack-a-lackin'), although urban slang has been greatly influenced by AAVE
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