African American English (AAE)
How do the labels change?
(since 60s) change with terminological trends, evolve with community, represent deeper sociopolitical and sociocultural issues
misconceptions of AAE
-"black slang" -lazy speech -uneducated speakers, inferior -grammatically incorrect, no rules -spoken only by African Americans
features of AAE
-Continuously evolving -Involve phonology, morphology, and syntax -Some features beyond these: -Prosody -Voice quality -Conversational routines
origin of AAE
-debated -often linked to its relationship to modern European American vernaculars
AAE syntax
-multiple negative (he don't know nothin') -deletion of "to be" (he my brother) -habitual "be" (repeated action) -----The coffee be cold (every day) -----The coffee cold (now)
Both pro and con videos
-not SAE -not inherently wrong but SAE is accepted
differences between pro and con videos
-slang/ dialect -need to be taught/corrected
Fixing common misconceptions (3)
1. Not all African Americans speak AAE 2. not only African Americans speak AAE 3. geographical location does not impact AAE quite the same
Goals of the resolution (3)
1. recognize AAE as home language 2. help teachers understand AAE, change attitudes 3. help teachers use AAE to teach students
Neo-Anglicist Hypothesis on AAE
questioned creole hypothesis (bc written records from slaves); not super distinct from European American varieties but since diverged
Anglicist hypothesis on AAE
traced to same source as eariler European American dialects
later description
vernacular-standard continuum
Can african americans cut across categories?
yes; can index ethnicity without accessing full continuum (may use word/phrase with certain speakers as a hint); across social classes; affilation with African americans ethnicity or character traits (stereotype)
AAE and communication disorders
Janna Oetting (LSU) studies child lang development and disorders within diversity and poverty context
What happened in 1996 in regards to AAE and education?
Oakland School Board passed the Ebonics resolution; approved by Linguistic Society of America
what is African American English?
a dialect and continuum of language varieties spoken primarily by and among African Americans
History of AAE
ancestors came to america as slaves, spoke languages other than english, and exposure to english, level of acquisition and influence of native languages disputed
pidgin
contact vernacular, facilitate communication between speakers of 2 or more languages (native to no speaker, mixed language)
AAE phonology
deletion of /r/ , /l/ (ex: Mo(re)) word-final consonant cluster reduction -both consonants voiced or not (han(d)) **exception: carries meaning like /s/ for plural
substrate hypotheses on AAE
disputes over validity of data/interpretation; used to included regional Am. English, features distinguish it from other american varieties
How did they figure out it wasn't slang?
distinctive patterns (pronunciation/grammar); complex verb tense system; shared features with Southern white dialects (heavy concentration of African Americans in the South)
Early descriptions
focused on social groups and divergent language structures; compared with ASE and anything else was "wrong"
Bidialectism
many speakers of AAE code-switch, may shift with context
Why was there negative reactions?
misconceptions; implication that AAs can't learn (wording of resolution)
What was the response to the resolution?
negative from media/public (even among AA leaders); evidence of efficacy of this approach to improve writing/learning
creole
pidgin which has become the primary or native language of its users
What happened in 1965 (linguistic study of AAE)?
AAE is regular and rule-governed; linguistic analyses refute belief that AAE was slang
Creolist hypothesis on AAE
AAE developed from a creole language (emerged during early contact between Africans and Europeans); contact created more similarities with English and creole language (decreolization)
