H 714 Language and Identity: African American English

November 21, 2006

Kendra Winner

African American Voices http://rememberingslavery.si.edu/Rememberi

ngSlavery/chapter4.html

Agenda African-American English

Definition Features Evolution

Origins Divergence/convergence

Educational Implications

African American English: Reading and Class Objectives Understand the theoretical positions on the

origins and evolution of African American English.

Identify some of the linguistic features that characterize African American English and the patterns of their use.

Understand the social and educational implications of views on African American English

Key Ideas AAE has a grammatical system that is as systematic

as that of Standard English. It is not a substandard, uneducated or lazy way of speaking.

The debate about the origins and evolution of AAE are hotly debated with no current consensus.

Speakers of AAE face discrimination because of persistent stereotypes regarding the relationship between academic ability and ways of speaking.

Not all African Americans speak AAE, and not all speakers of AAE are African Americans.

AAE has important social functions.

Imagine that you are an African-American living in a White community in which everyone communicates using Standard English but understands AAE. You are new to this community and speak both AAE and Standard English fluently.a. Describe your experience in this community if you only used AAE.b. How would this experience change if you only used Standard English?c. Compare your responses to a. and b. Were there aspects of these questions that were more difficult than others? Why or why not?

DefinitionLabov, W., & Harris, W. (1986). … the full range of language used by African

Americans in the United States. … refers to the highly consistent grammar, pronunciation, and lexicon …

Morgan, M. (1996) Prosodic features:

Loud talking Marking Pitch Timing/rhythm

Interactional Eye gaze Parallelism Rights to a topic Turn-taking, overlaps

Genres of African American discourse

Signifiyin Instigatin Breakin bad Markin Soundin Dissin Bein cool Readin someone Jonin Snappin Loud-talkin

he-said-she-said Jivin Frontin Rappin Suck-teeth Talkin trash Testifyin Shoutin Woofin Playin the dozens Droppin remarks Talkin that talk…

Varieties of AAE in North PhiladelphiaMiddle class man Well, I hadn’t become a director at that time. This

was prior to the – this was prior to my becoming a student director to the Student Patrol. It was in my sophomore year. (Were you scared when all this happened?) No, I wasn’t scared because I knew I hadn’t done anything! But it was getting somebody to believe you, that was the horrifyin’ thing, and you know, you just – when you’re falsely accused, it was had to say how you feel, because you try to get people to believe that you didn’t do this, and that’s the hard thing to do.”

Varieties of AAE in North PhiladelphiaTeenage girl ‘Cause, like, my li’l cousin, right? He is like, six

years old. They was playin’, next thing you know, he come – the li’l boy he comes an hit me, right? I hits him back, now. All the time my brother and him was hittin’ each other an everything, an’ he started cryin’ and run an’ my grandmother never said nothin’. But then, when he hit me and I went to hit him back an’ he told, my gradmother come snappin’ out on me, picks up the cane an’ getting’ ready to hit me with it, and tha’s when my mother snapped out on her.

Is there “one” African American English? Gender Social Class Geographic/regional locations Age Location in time Ethnicity Individual meaning/interpretation/function Social Meaning/interpretation/function Contexts

AAE Features Verb System

Habitual be or be2 An aspect marker. Indicates that what is being

described is not a one time thing. It is an habitual, usual or regular state. “But the teachers don’t be knowing the problems like the

parents do.” “He be walkin’” (vs. “He walkin’” meaning he’s walking

right now).

Mary: How’d you like pastor’s sermon today? Katrina: Oh Momma! He be preachin’ bout curing

world hunger every week! Sometimes, his sermons be getting’ me so hungry!

Mary: Oh, now stop it! You’re gettin’ on my nerves today. I’m gonna fix dinner as soon as I can. I tell you, child – it’s a good thing I be prayin’ for you.

Katrina: Sorry, Momma. I know you always be telling me to think before I speak. It’s just – when it come to food, I be forgettin’ myself. The pastor is a nice man, and you’re the best momma ever!

AAE Features Verb System

Remote time, stressed “been” (BIN) Marks remote time, an action happened or a state

came into being long ago “I been knowing that” (I’ve known that for a long time) “He been been there” (He was there a long time ago) “I been had it there for years” (I’ve had that there for years) “She been married” (She has been married for a long time --

and still is)

AAE Speech Events Communicative, rule governed sequences.

Playing the dozens Rules Meaning

Origins African Language

Distinctive features represent imports from Africa Dialectologist (or Eurocentric)

English learned from white settlers, AAVE features reflect dialects of English, Irish, or Scotch-Irish settlers

Creolist In acquiring English, a pidgin language developed – a

simplified fusion of English and African languages – from which AAVE evolved

Rickford, 1999

Evolution The Great Migration

Divergence More categorical use of forms that are not shared by

other dialects AAEV and SE innovations are very different

Convergence AAEV and SE are becoming more like each other

Decreolizing Characterizing AAE

Syntax Direction of language change

Educational Implications“A language is a dialect with an army.”

Landmarks Creation of Ann Arbor Decision

Martin Luther King Junior Elementary School children v. Ann Arbor School District Board (1977)