African American English.docx

African American English Vernacular Outline Chronology Morphology and Syntax Phonology Lexis Discussion Chronology 1619 The first African slaves arrive in Virginia. 1640-1680 Beginning of large-scale introduction of African slave labor in the British Caribbean for sugar production. 1775 The slave population in the colonies is nearly 500,000. 1787 Benjamin Franklin becomes president of the abolitionist society. 1775 April, first battles of the Revolutionary war. Black Minutemen participate in the fighting. 1787 Slavery is made illegal in the Northwest Territory. The U.S Constitution states that Congress may not ban the slave trade until 1808. 1807 U.S. passes legislation banning the importation of slaves, to take effect 1808. 1833–1870 American Anti-Slavery Society 1861 Begining of the Civil War 1863 President Lincoln issues the Emancipation Proclamation, declaring "that all persons held as slaves" within the Confederate state "are, and henceforward shall be free." 1865 (March) Congress establishes the Freedmen's Bureau to protect the rights of newly emancipated blacks. (April) The Civil War ends. (May) The Ku Klux Klan is formed in Tennessee by ex-Confederates. (June) Slavery in the United States is effectively ended. (December) Abolition of slavery, 13th amendment to the Constitution : "Neither slavery nor involuntary servitude, except as a punishment for crime whereof the party shall have been duly convicted, shall exist within the United States, or any place subject to their jurisdiction." 1870 Fifteenth Amendment to the Constitution is ratified, giving blacks the right to vote. Morphology & Syntax Negation : Use of ain’t instead of am in Standard English=> isn’t, aren’t. For example: I ain’t know that. Use of double negation: I didn’t go nowhere. But also triple or multiple negation: I don’t know nothing about no one no more -> in Standard English: I don’t know anything about anyone anymore. Nobody or nothing can be inverted: don’t nobody know the answer. Relative clause structure: AAVE sometimes use WH-pronouns (who, where, when) to introduce relative clauses naming persons, places and times. Some AAVE relative clauses can omit that and WH-relative pronouns: Sheila the woman Bill broke with. A difference between AAVE and many other English vernaculars:to bare subject relative clauses. For example: he the man got all the old records Other grammatical characteristics Be is often dropped. For example: You beautiful -> instead of You're beautiful and is also observed in questions: Who you? -> Who're you? But a stressed is cannot be dropped. The general rules are: Only the forms is and are can be omitted. These forms cannot be omitted when they would be pronounced with stress in Standard English These forms cannot be omitted when the corresponding form in Standard English cannot show contraction. There is no -s ending in the present-tense in the third-person singular.  The genitive -'s ending may or may not be used. For example: my momma brother -> my mother's brother The words it and they denote the existence of something, equivalent to Standard English there is , or there are. They altered syntax in questions: Why they ain't growing? -> instead of Why aren't they growing? there is also no need for the auxiliary DO.  Usage of personal pronoun "them" instead of definite article "those "    No mark of preterit no –ed Tense system with 4 past & 2 future Phases/Tenses of AAVE Phase Example Past Pre-recent I been flown it Recent I done fly it Pre-present I did fly it Past Inceptive I do fly it Present I be flyin it Future Immediate I'm a-fly it Post-immediate I'm a-gonna fly it Indefinite future I gonna fly it AAVE grammatical Aspects Aspect Example SE Meaning Habitual/continuative aspect He be working Tuesdays. He works frequently or habitually on Tuesdays. Intensified continuative (habitual) He stay working. He is always working. Intensified continuative (not habitual) He steady working. He keeps on working. Perfect progressive He been working. He has been working. Irrealis He finna go to work. He is about to go to work. Ernest J. GAINES A Lesson Before Dying Jefferson’s diary “mr wigin you say rite somethin but I don’t kno what to rite an you say I must be thinkin bout things I aint telin nobody an I order put it on paper but I don’t kno what to put on paper cause I aint never rote nothin but homework I aint never rote a leter in all my life cause nanan use to get other chiren to rite her leter an read her leter not me so I cant think too much to say but maybe nex time” Phonology Theories Vowelshifts Audio features of AAVE phonology Theories decreolized creole variety of southern States English unified theory Vowels Monophtongization the diphtongue /ai/ becomes monophtongized /a?/ lack of openness of certain vowels nothing nuffin’ Vowel lowering Features final consonant cluster reduction But final stops are pronounced when they are a grammatical marker ? considered to prove the the influence of West-African Languages realization of th-sounds as /d/ /t/ /f/ and /v/ interdental fricatives become alvelolar stops or labiodental fricatives Depending on the place of the fricative in the word /?/ t or f /ð/ d or v contractions voiced aveolar frictaive /z/ is pronounced as voiced aveolar stop /d/ before a nasal consonant R-lessness /r/ sometimes not pronounced ? lenghtened vowel instead ? creates homophones guard = god fort = fought court = caught absence of /r/ after initial /?/ or in unstressed syllables /b,d,g/ to plosive glottal stop syllabic plural ending words ending in /st/ pronounced /siz/ unstressed syllable deletion