Aspect marking

The most distinguishing feature of AAVE is the use of forms of be to mark aspect in verb phrases. The use or lack of a form of be can indicate whether the performance of the verb is of a habitual nature. In SAE, this can be expressed only using adverbs such as usually. ^[7] It is disputed whether the use of the verb " to be" to indicate a habitual status or action in AAVE has its roots in various West African languages.

TAKE A LOOK AT YOUR HANDOUT:

Finally, I just want to mention briefly some other characteristics of AAVE.

Other grammatical characteristics

Some of these characteristics, notably double negatives and the use of been for " has been", are also characteristic of general colloquial American English.

The copula BE is often dropped, as in Russian, Hungarian, Hebrew, Arabic and other languages.

• For example: You crazy! (" You're crazy") or She my sister (" She's my sister").
• The phenomenon is also observed in questions: Who you? (" Who're you? ") and Where you at? (" Where're you at? ").
• She write poetry (" She writes poetry").

The -s possesive ending may or may not be used. The genitive relies on adjacency. This is similar to many creoles throughout the Caribbean. Many language forms throughout the world use an unmarked possessive; it may, here, result from a simplification of grammatical structures.

Example: my momma sister (" my momma's sister")

The word it or iss denotes the existence of something, equivalent to Standard English there in " there is", or " there are". This usage is also found in the English of the US South. Examples Iss a doughnut in the cabinet (" There's a doughnut in the cabinet") and It ain't no spoon (" There isn't a spoon", also " Dey ain't no spoon ").

Altered syntax in questions: She actin' all hankty (snobbish). Who duh hell she think she be? (" She's acting like a snob. Who the hell does she think she is? ").

Note also the use of " all" as an adverb of manner or degree, as well as the omission of the dummy verb " do" (does). How you tol' him I'm try'na see her? (" Why did you tell him I want to see her? ").

Normal clause inversion of the past tense verb in forming questions is not practiced.

Use of say to introduce quotations, actual or otherwise. For example, " I thought, say, 'Why don't he just rap wit' her? '" (I thought, 'Why doesn't he just speak with her? '") Say is also used to introduce sounds where a SAE speaker might use go: He say, boom! (" It went, boom! ").

One last and very interesting aspect of AAVE is its slang. AAVE is a major source of modern American slang. This is especially true of slang from “hip hop” and “rap” music, but many other slang words are derived from earlier forms of African American culture—including the words cool, blues, and jazz.

So, as you can see AAVE is a very complex dialect with its own rules and syntax that can be extremely different from Standard English.

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Finally, let’s look at one last social variation in language--Slang

SLANG

Slang: words or expressions that are very informal and are not considered suitable for more formal situations. Some slang is used only by a particular group of people.

BRAINSTORM: What slang words do you know?

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The use of slang usually involves deviation from standard language, and tends to be very popular among adolescents. However, it is used to at least some degree in all sectors of society. It often involves the creation of new linguistic forms or the creative adaptation of old ones. It can even involve the creation of a secret language understood only by those within a particular group. As such, slang sometimes forms a kind of social dialect aimed at excluding certain people from the conversation.

Slang words tend to function initially as a means of hiding the real and intended meaning of a word from people who you do not want to understand you. Words are chosen to hide their real meaning so that people who are not part of your group can not understand your speech. It keeps people who are not in your group on the outside.

The use of slang is also a means of recognizing members of the same group, and to differentiate that group from society at large. Slang terms are frequently particular to a certain subculture, such as musicians, and members of a minority.

When slang expressions spread outside their original arena and become commonly understood then they lose their meaning for the original group, that group then has to create a new word or words; recent examples include " cool". While some such words eventually lose their status as slang, others continue to be considered as such by most speakers.

According to Bethany K. Dumas and Jonathan Lighter an expression should be considered " true slang" if it meets at least two of the following criteria:

• It lowers, if temporarily, the dignity of formal or serious speech or writing—it makes speech immediately less formal.

• Its use implies that the user is familiar with whatever is referred to, or with a group of people that are familiar with it and use the term—it is used by a particular group.

• It is a taboo term in ordinary discourse with people of a higher social status or greater responsibility.

• It replaces a well known conventional synonym. This is especially to avoid the discomfort caused by the conventional item [or by] further elaboration—it is used as a euphemism.

Functions and origins of slang

One use of slang is simply to circumvent social taboos, as mainstream language tends to shy away from explicitly evoking certain realities. For this reason, slang vocabularies are particularly rich in certain domains, such as sexuality, violence, crime, and drugs.

There is not just one slang, but very many varieties—or dialects—of it. Different social groups in different times have developed their own slang.

Slang very often involves the creation of novel meanings for existing words. It is very common for such novel meanings to diverge significantly from the standard meaning. Thus, " cool" and " hot" can both mean " very good or impressive." In fact, one common process is for a slang word to take on exactly the opposite meaning of the standard definition. This process has given rise to the positive meaning of the word " bad, " as in the Michael Jackson song of that title, for example.

SLIDE: Slang associated with other groups (10)

As you can see, these are only a few of the many variations that occur just within the ENGLISH language. Sociolinguists study variety in all languages and if we turned our attention to Russian or Ukrainian, I am sure we would have a great deal more variation in social dialects and variations among social dialects to discuss.

That concludes our discussion on different linguistic variables, variation in language, and examples of social dialects. Next week we will be discussing discrimination in language. This will be your last lecture. I hope everyone has begun researching for a possible paper topic so that they do not have to cram that final week. REMEMBER I WANT YOU TO TALK TO ME ABOUT YOUR PAPER TOPIC BEFORE YOU BEGIN!!!!!

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Lecture 6: Discrimination in Language.

Today we are going to talk about how language is used to discriminate against different groups of people. We have already discussed some of these issues briefly in passed lectures, but the topic is so important it deserves its own lecture.

As an introduction to discrimination in language, I want to read you the introductory paragraphs from one of the articles I have assigned you. I think it describes language discrimination very well:

Imagine this. You have persistently bad headaches. Aspirin and other miracle products don’t make them go away. Your family doctor decides it’s time to have a specialist’s opinion. He hasn’t said the words, but you turn the terrible possibility over in your mind –‘Brain tumor! ’

You appear at the New York City office of Dr. N.V. Cramden, Brain Surgeon; you sign in and await the beginning of the process that will reveal your fate. Cramden approaches and speaks:

‘Hey, how’s it goin’? Rotten break, huh? Ya got a pain in da noggin’. Don’t sweat it; I’m gonna fix ya up. Hey, nois! Ovuh heah! Bring me dat watchamacallit. How da hell am I gonna take care of my patient heah if you don’t hand me dem tools? Dat’s a goil.’

You still have your clothes on (it’s a brain surgeon’s office, right?), so you just head for the door, stopping at the front desk and tell the receptionist that someone in the examining room is posing as Dr. Cramden. Maybe you never return to your trusted family doctor, since he or she has sent you to a quack. Whatever your decision, you do not continue under the care of Dr. Cramden.

Linguists know that language variety does not correlate with intelligence or competence, so Dr. Cramden could well be one of the best brain surgeons in town. Nevertheless, popular associations of certain varieties of English with professional and intellectual competence run so deep that Dr. Cramden will not get to crack many crania unless he learns to sound very different.

A primary linguistic myth, one nearly universally attached to minorities, rural people and the less well educated, extends in the United States even to well-educated speakers of some regional varieties. That myth, of course, is that some varieties of a language are not as good as others.