There is some controversy about the origin of AAVE. Some people believe that the Black people, who were brought to America as slaves, picked up English from the English-speaking' Southerners they came in
             contact with. The proponents of this theory, also known as the dialect hypothesis, note that the AAVE and the English is spoken by the American Southerners have many features in common, such as the Southern Vowel Shift, vowel lowering, and double modals. (Sidnell, background) The theory contends that the white Southerners in the 17th century spoke a distinct "Virginian" dialect that had its origins in a family of regional dialects spoken in the south and west of England in counties such as Sussex, Surrey,
             Hampshire, Dorset, Devon, Wiltshire, Oxford, and Gloucester during the 17th century. (Williams, 24)
             Although the use of such a dialect in polite conversation quickly disappeared in England by the end of the 18th century, most of its characteristics persisted in the American South. According to this theory, the incorrect' English picked up by the Blacks from the Southern whites was passed down through subsequent generations. In other words, this theory (also known as the dialect hypothesis') about the
             origins of AAVE contends that the present form of the dialect is simply "bad English" and has nothing to do with the native, Western African languages of the slaves. In answer to the question as to why this type of English does not currently exist among its originators, the proponents of this theory argue that most people avoid using "bad" English when they get educated. They contend that the Englishmen from the south and west counties of Britain and the white Southerners discontinued the use of such an incorrect' form of English after being educated; the African Americans continued to persist with such bad' as they did not benefit from similar
             The second and perhaps more commonly held theory about the origins of
             AA...