It is difficult to approximate how many people use AAVE because there is no clear and exact definition of what it means (Zang). People may use different aspects of the dialect, such as distinct pronunciation and vocabulary. Still, most sociolinguists designate the term AAVE to speakers with specific grammatical structures unique to the dialect (Zang). Despite this, it is still tough to determine AAVE among speakers because there are many alterations to the standard grammatical procedure in the dialect (Zang).  

Brief History of AAVE

There is no clear origin for AAVE. Some scholars suggest that AAVE was developed through the connections and interactions between the speakers of West African languages and English vernacular speakers (Sidnell). Furthermore, this idea supports the view that West Africans learned English on plantations through indentured laborers (Sidnell). While others suggest that the grammatical structures of AAVE have similarities with African West languages and Creole English, some of which may have origins in the Caribbean (Sidnell).

Many academics disagree with this. The standards for the creation of a full creole language were not satisfied in the United States, and scholars actually argued that they were quite different in the Caribbean, whereas distinctive features today have various varieties (Sidnell).