Conference

Hearing Blackness: African-American Vernacular English in Children's Audiobook Literature Narration Performances

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Abstract

African-American Vernacular English (AAVE) and its relationship with children’s literature is one that has been renewed over the years. Wonderful authors now use AAVE to inspire children of all races, and its use in children’s literature is cultural capital and not a tool for shaming and deeming. Along with this new cultural lease on literature, AAVE has made its way into audiobooks. The modern audiobook is more performance than narration and evokes realism for children as they listen to stories. New technology introducing AAVE to younger audiences begs a specific question: How is African-American Vernacular English narrated in Black children’s literature audiobook narration performances, and does narrator selection practices complicate authenticity and authorship within Black children’s literature? The dialogue surrounding illustrative representation in children’s literature is commonplace. It’s natural to find something attractive with your eyes, but what about with your ears? The need for Black authenticity and authorship to be explored within audiobook industry arises in the fact that there is little scholarship on the subject and left to its own devices could overlook the diverse voices of Black people and their narratives in favor of sameness in narration performances and cultural narratives. This notion of Black culture in literature in the United States and globally being a monolith is still prevalent. In books that are written by Black people, for Black people, or the masses, the accompanying audiobook should reflect literary authenticity in the narrative. African-American Vernacular English is as varied as a gradient on a color wheel. There is no one way to “sound Black,” but certain precautions are necessary to ensure that within its particular sect of Black culture, the voice of an authentically Black story is heard.