The Importance of AAE Research Through Zora Neale Hurston's Novel Preparation

Zora Neale Hurston’s Their Eyes Were Watching God reflects the in-depth research that Hurston had done to form a well-adapted representation of the African American English (AAE) dialect in Central Florida.

The importance of Hurston’s dialectical research reflects on the misrepresentation of dialects that teeter on the verge of racist or stereotypical. The history that revolves around Ebonics or AAE is often looked down upon as being a sign of being uneducated or illiterate. Often the criticism is rooted in America's long, dark history of racism. However, Hurston develops her novel by examining, authenticating, and embracing the distinctive features of vocabulary, grammar, and pronunciation of Central Florida’s AAE dialect by immersing herself in the culture and having grown up in the area.

According to Barry Betsy, Hurston reportedly spent multiple years in Eatonville, Florida collecting folklore from the residents while secretly identifying the dialectical nuances of their speech. This methodic practice enhanced the Central Florida AAE dialect without giving cause to the real nature of her research.

Hurston’s dialect reflects the standardized forms for AAE while touching on the variations that the Eatonville AAE dialect has. Rather than assuming that the dialect spoken in Central Florida uses the standardized “rules” of AAE, Hurston defies those standards by documenting and researching the town. As Manuela Coppola argues, she notes that Hurston includes the elements of speech, but also the idioms, metaphors, and prominent variations in sentence structures.

1937 News Article Documenting Hurston's New Anthropological Research

This news article reports on Hurston’s anthropological studies that she conducts prior to writing her novels. Her novel was Tell My Horse: Voodoo and Life in Haiti and Jamaica (1938) and it was published one year following Their Eyes Were Watching God. Hurston wastes no time when it comes to research and writing, moving from project to project, using her skills as an anthropologist, and developing numerous books.

To fully develop a concrete, credible, and realistic study on language, it is important to immerse oneself into the culture to avoid using stereotypes or assumptions. In an article written by Tracey Weldon, she cites research by Baugh (1983) that encourages linguistic researchers to study the communities of speakers who dwell in the area of research.

By immersing herself in the culture of the community she writes about, whether part of her fictional or nonfiction work, Hurston is developing a direct and true essence of the people. Having grown up in Eatonville, Florida and then later returning to the area for research, Hurston is working with two dimensions. A personal history with the town as well as the influences of other people in the community. To work solely from her own experience would not provide an accurate dialect because she would be working with only one person. In studying the community through the folklore, she not only gains a greater understanding for the AAE dialect in Eatonville, but also gains a sense of phrases, history, and tradition that adds flavor to the language.