This theory states that African slaves developed a pidgin or Creole before they were brought over to the US. The pidgin that was created in West Africa was a result of the trade languages brought over from Europe. The main European languages that were brought over were Portuguese, Dutch, French, and English. Before these languages were introduced in West Africa, there were already many other languages being spoken there. All of these languages mixed because Africans had to have a way to communicate between themselves and with the European traders. Leslie Frieden states "the standard format of these languages is European lexicon (the vocabulary of a language, and individual speaker or group of speakers, or a subject) with African grammatical rules."

II. THE CREOLE THEORY

This is the oldest hypothesis on AAVE. The creole hypothesis is the belief that ebonics was derived from a mix of West African languages, English and a few island languages. John R. Rickford states "Creole languages (are) similar to Gullah (spoken off the coast of Georgia and South Carolina) or the English base Creoles of Jamaica, Trinidad, Guyana, Hawaii or Sierra Leone." (http://www.cal.org/ebonics) The Creole that is spoken now in the US is called ebonics or AAVE. In this theory, the Creole was created from pidgin that was developed by mixing West African vocabulary, the familiar language, with English. This pidgin was passed on from generation to generation in the US and eventually became the creole called Ebonics.

III. THE CURRENTLY DIVERGING DIALECT THEORY

This is the theory that the African slaves derived AAVE primarily from English after being brought over to the US. In a sense it is the thought that AAVE is plainly, 'English learned wrong' and is still changing today. This is the less popular theory among linguists because there is no 'proper English'. Every language is continually changing, just English has changed so much, since it left England. Actually English was originally the language of the peasants in England, but was learned by the bourgeois so they could communicate with their servants. It is also proven that 'standard vernacular' is different all over the country, it is the same with Ebonics. The CAL says that 'written standard English contrasts with both with oral standard English used for many informal purposes and with AAVE.' One man described this theory as a 'belief that African slaves upon arriving in the US, picked up English very slowly and learned it incorrectly, and the mistakes have been passed down from generation to generation."

IV. EXAMPLES OF CREOLE PRESENCE IN THE US-

SOUTHEASTERN ISLANDS-

On the islands off the coast of Georgia, South Carolina, and northeastern Florida, there is presence of a vernacular called Gullah. Gullah is "an English-based creole spoken by the Gullahs that is marked by vocabulary and grammatical elements from various African languages." It evolved from the African slaves that worked on the islands. Since these islands have not really been influenced by the melting pot in the rest of the United States, there is a unique culture and vernacular there. Since the culture there has remained so untouched, the Gullahs have 'retained a more pure version of the games and songs brought over from Africa.'

V. EXAMPLES OF EBONICS-

A. The following is an example I found written by Leslie Frieden:

From Detoe's Life of Colonel Jacque; it is simple structure but shows Africanisms along with English words: the use of 'me' as subject.

"Yes, yes... me know, me know but me want speak, me tell something. O! Me no let him makee do great master angry." (http://www.members.aol.com/LKFrieden/ebonics.html)

B. Frieden says the sound 'th' does not exist in African tongues. This is what 'dem', 'dis', and 'dat' stem from. Also 'Uh, Huh!' and 'Y' all' stem from West African languages.

C. On the East Coast, in Baltimore, there are some words that are used more frequently than in other areas of the country. Here are two examples of Ebonics.

"What's up? Why you all up in my shit!?!"

This would sound different in the 'standard vernacular'. The younger speakers of the 'standard vernacular', would not speak like that usually, but would be able to understand what it means. In the 'standard vernacular' it might be stated:

"Knock it off" or "Why do you have to give a shit?"

Another example:

"Homey-Boo was dropping phat beats."

This is a way of sayin that 'my friend Boo was playing was playing really good music.'

VI. DIFFERENCES IN TERMINOLOGY

There are big differences in terminology in different regions of the country. They are sayings that are not exclusive to Ebonics. These are examples of general regional differences within the United States.

When people on the East Coast want to drink a carbonated beverage, they would ask for a 'soda'. When people in the Mid-West and West ask for a carbonated beverage they ask for a 'pop'.

People on the East Coast call athletic shoes 'sneakers'. When referring to athletic shoes in the Mid-West and West Coast they are called 'tennis shoes.'

When you attend an athletics class in the Northeast, you are going to 'gym'. When you attend the same class in the Mid-West and West Coast, you attend 'PE'.

When you smoke marijuana on the East Coast, you 'smoke-up'. When you smoke marijuana in the Mid-West or West Coast, you 'smoke-out'.

When you are about to leave to go somewhere, or do something in the Mid-West, you are 'fixin to'. This seems to be a middle of the country term.