“It appears that the present-day form of African American English is not the inheritance of the period of slavery, but the creation of the second half of the 20th century.”

William Labov
Tags: African | American | Appears | Century | Creation | English | Form | Half | Inheritance | Period | Present-Day | Second | Slavery
46% of people like this quote
Author details
Related authors
Other William Labov Quotes
However, research in the years that followed found that in many of its important features, African American Vernacular English was becoming not less, but more different from other dialects.
William Labov 
68% of people like this quote
I am now completing research supported by NSF and NEH that is mapping changes in the English language through all of North America, for both mainstream and minority communities.
William Labov 
53% of people like this quote
This African American Vernacular English shares most of its grammar and vocabulary with other dialects of English. But it is distinct in many ways, and it is more different from standard English than any other dialect spoken in continental North America.
William Labov 
52% of people like this quote
We focus upon pairs of words very often which are the same in some areas and different in other areas.
William Labov 
52% of people like this quote
