by Tamiko Teshima, M.A., CCC-SLP
Practice Owner and Speech-Language Pathologist
Duncan Lake Speech Therapy, LLC
All accents and dialects follow rules. No accent is random. No dialect is broken. Also, everyone has an accent. However, there seem to be an underlying thought that accents aren’t “proper”. Today, we’re going to focus on African American English.
African American English (AAE) is a rule-governed language variety with its own grammar, sound patterns, and sentence structures. It is not “incorrect English,” and it is not a sign of poor education, low intelligence, or language delay. The same is true for all accents and dialects, including Southern American English, Appalachian English, Chicano English, and many others.
“Standard” American English isn’t better. It’s just more “powerful.”
As a culture, we tend to treat Standard American English (SAE) as the “correct” or “neutral” way of speaking. In reality, we simply associate SAE with whiteness, institutional power, and access to opportunity. Requiring proximity to Standard American English in schools, workplaces, and healthcare settings is not about clarity or intelligence. It is about whose language is valued and whose is punished.
When we expect children or adults to abandon their natural dialect to sound “more professional,” we are often enforcing racist and classist standards, even when that harm is unintentional.
A language difference is not disordered.
In speech and language evaluations, this distinction matters deeply. People often misidentify features of AAE, such as changes in verb tense marking or sound patterns, speech or language disorders when evaluators are unfamiliar with the rules of the dialect.
A language difference does not require correction. A language disorder requires support. Confusing the two leads to an over-identification of Black children for special education, unnecessary or inappropriate speech therapy, and long-term academic and emotional harm.
Speech therapy isn’t about erasing identity.
Ethical, culturally responsive speech therapy does not aim to “fix” accents or dialects.
Instead, affirming care:
- Respects a client’s home language and identity
- Recognizes multiple valid ways of speaking
- Supports communication without demanding assimilation
- Teaches code-switching only when it is chosen and useful, not required for acceptance
The goal is communication and autonomy, not conformity.
Why does this matter?
As humans, our language is tied to identity, culture, and belonging. When we label certain ways of speaking as “wrong,” we send the message that the people who speak that way are also wrong. At its core, demanding proximity to Standard American English as a measure of intelligence or professionalism reinforces racist systems that privilege whiteness and marginalize everyone else.
We can do better!
…and P.S. speech pathologists: ethically required to!
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