New African American English Dictionary Could Change How We Work
The Oxford Dictionary of African American English could help Black workers feel more valued in predominantly White workplaces.
Black English has influenced the American English language as a whole. Photographer: Amy Sussman/Getty Images
Photographer: Amy Sussman/Getty Images North AmericaWhen it was announced last spring that the Oxford Dictionary of African American English was in the works, I thought about the times a Black colleague and I would commiserate about how White copy editors would replace or remove words she had purposefully used in columns about people living on the "backroads" of South Carolina. She wanted the flavor of their speech to shine through, to give readers a deeper understanding and appreciation for folks who rarely made the newspaper's front page.
Many of those subjects were Black and did not speak the King's English often. I wish there had been a dictionary the copy editors could reference. The Oxford one is coming in 2025, and the first 10 words were released late last month. The project has the potential to shift how Black employees are viewed and see themselves in predominantly White workplaces.