This chapter focuses on an English dialect that is spoken by persons of African descent with a slave history in the USA. It is referred to as African American English (AAE). Its use varies with geographical location, social status, gender, discourse context and age. AAE is characterized by 24 consonants, 50+ consonant clusters, 13 vowels and 3 diphthongs. There are no phonemic tones nor is there a formal writing system. Acquisition of speech sounds and phonological rules generally follow the pattern of General American English (GAE). Research has focused mainly on children with developmental speech sound disorders without comorbidity. Speech assessments include norm-referenced standardized tests and criterion-referenced analyses of spontaneous oral language samples. Interventions include strategies for eradicating articulatory/phonological error patterns that differ from other AAE and GAE speakers, and strategies for teaching GAE as a second dialect to native-born typical and atypical AAE speakers.

Key words:
English, African American English, multilingual, communication, speech, language, children’s development, interdisciplinary, international communities, assessment, intervention

Book chapter:
Stockman, I. J. (2025). English (African American) speech development. In S. McLeod (Ed.). The Oxford handbook of speech development in languages of the world. Oxford University Press.

Language overview presentation:

• Stockman, I. J. (2024). English (African American): Multilingual children’s speech development. Charles Sturt University, Australia. https://www.csu.edu.au/research/multilingual-speech/languages
• Video: English (African American) – Children’s Speech Development
• PowerPoint: English (African American) [English version] – Children’s Speech Development (pdf)

This presentation relates to the following United Nations Sustainable Development Goals:

• SDG 3: Good Health and Well-being
• SDG 4: Quality Education
• SDG 10: Reduced Inequalities
• SDG 17: Partnerships to Achieve the Goals