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Hearing Rachel Jeantel and Vernacular Speakers

via Zoom

Rachel Jeantel was the leading prosecution witness when George Zimmerman was tried for killing Trayvon Martin. Despite the importance of her testimony, her speech was scrutinized and read as uneducated and incomprehensible. Contrary to the belief that Rachel’s speech was “ungrammatical,” we show that, like other African American Vernacular English (AAVE) speakers, Jeantel follows systematic […]

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