BLACK VERNACULAR ENGLISH

ЭЛИНА НАСИБУЛЛИНА

WHAT IS STANDARD ENGLISH

General American is a major accent of American English, particularly considered the American accent that is the most neutral or lacking in distinctive regional, ethnic, or socioeconomic characteristics.

BLACK VERNACULAR ENGLISH

It is a variety of American English, most commonly spoken today by urban working-class and largely bi-dialectal middle-class African Americans.

It has its distinctive vocabulary, specific phonetic features and grammar rules.

WHAT ACTUALLY IS BLACK VERNACULAR ENGLISH?

It is the language of Black America.

However, not all 36 million of black people of the USA choose to speak Black Vernacular, especially the educated classes.

Other names for Black Vernacular English:

• Nonstandard Negro English• African American English

• African American Vernacular English

• Ebonics

• Black Communications

• Black Poverty Language

• Casual Register English

HISTORICAL BACKGROUND

• Beginning of the 17th century

• Slave Trade from Africa to America

• Origins from:

• African languages like Ghanaian and Nigerian• Carribean Creole

• First used mainly in the South

• Spread across The United States during The Great Migration (rural South – large metropolitan areas of North

• Became widely known in the 20th century

THE BVE SPREADING

STUDYING BVE• First research into the

character and rules of BVE were carried out in the 1960s

• Linguists from mainly Northern parts of the country studied BVE

• Main focus: correspondence of the use of BVE and low academic achievements at the time

William Labov (born 1927)

NORM OR DEVIATION FROM IT?INCORRECT USAGE OF LANGUAGE

• It is done on the spot

• Has no system

• Does not cover a certain group of speakers

A VARIATION/ A DIALECT OF LANGUAGE

• Has a historical background, doesn’t vary from speaker to speaker

• Has a system of rules

• A permanent group of black and non-black speakers use it every day

SPECIFIC FEATURES OF BVE: GRAMMAR

BE is dropped

When we speak about something that is happening now.

GA: She is tired

BVE: She tired

BE is preserved

When we speak about habitual actions or general states.Note! BE is not conjugated.

GA: She is funny (always)

BVE: She be funny

SPECIFIC FEATURES OF BVE: GRAMMAR

The Aspect of Number is unimportant:

General American

50 cents

They were at home

She goes to school

Black Vernacular

50 cent

They was at home

She go to school

SPECIFIC FEATURES OF BVE: GRAMMAR

Verb Conjugation

System

PRESENT

(GA) DO

(BVE) DO

PAST

DID

DONE

PAST PARTICIPLE

HAVE DONE

DONE DID

(DONE=HAVE)

SPECIFIC FEATURES OF BVE: GRAMMAR

SPECIFIC FEATURES OF BVE: GRAMMAR

NEGATION

Ain’t

It is a general auxiliary verb for negation. It is used instead of isn’t don’t, etc.

I ain’t know that

Double Negation

In BVE, is the sentence is negative, all negotiable forms are negated.

GA: I don’t know anything about it.

BVE: I don’t know nothing about it.

Also! Starting with negatives is typical: Don’t nobody know her.

SPECIFIC FEATURES OF BVE: GRAMMAR

THEM

This personal pronoun is used in Black Vernacular English instead of the demonstrative pronoun THOSE

GA: Those flowers are beautiful

BVE: Them flowers beautiful

SPECIFIC FEATURES OF BVE: LEXIS

• Lexis of BVE takes root in African languages

• Many borrowings from Southern American dialect

• Some words from general casual dialect

• Some words belonging to BVE are now of common use in General American:

• Jazz• Hip• Tote

SPECIFIC FEATURES OF BVE: LEXIS

Black Vernacular

Shine

Ice

Jigged

Wack

Word?

Hypnotic

Whip

General American

Jewelry

Diamonds

Looking good

Something crazy

Really? or Yes

Alcohol

Car

SPECIFIC FEATURES OF BVE: LEXIS

Black Vernacular

Dumb

Wifey

Daddy

Crib

Gear

Bob; Gat; Heat

General American

Excellent, very smart

Main girlfriend

Main boyfriend

Home

Clothes

Gun

Words for MONEY in Black Vernacular English

SPECIFIC FEATURES OF BVE: LEXIS

SPECIFIC FEATURES OF BVE: PHONETICS

5 sounds for TH-combination in BVE (compared to 2 in GA)

• Voiceless/initial position

GA: Thing, thank, thigh

BVE: thing, thank, thigh (no change)

• Voiced/initial position

GA: That, them, these

BVE: Dat, dem, dese

SPECIFIC FEATURES OF BVE: PHONETICS

• Voiceless/medial position:

GA: bathroom, birthday

BVE: bafroom, burfday

• Voiced/medial position:

GA: mother, brother

BVE: muvah, bruvah

SPECIFIC FEATURES OF BVE: PHONETICS

• Voiceless/terminal position

GA: with, mouth, path, both

BVE: wif, mouf, paf, bof

SPECIFIC FEATURES OF BVE: PHONETICS

1. Final B, D, G devoicing: cub cup, bed bet

2. NG-endings as N: going goin, morning mornin

3. Final consonant reduction:

• Cold col• Mask mas• Test tes

4. When 2 consonants are at the end of the word, in BVE they are often interchanged:

• Ask aks• Grasp graps

EXAMPLESFrom the Disney cartoon “The Princess and The Frog”

"You blind to what you need”

“I be tellin' you."

"Money ain't got no heart “

"You yo daddy's daughta"

EXAMPLES“Is you is or is you ain’t my baby” – Louis Jordan’s song written in 1944

Among other famous performers, Anita O’Day (1919-2006) sang it in the early 1950s

IS YOU IS OR IS YOU AIN’T MY BABY

Is you is or is you ain't my babyThe way you're acting lately makes me doubtYou’s is still my baby, babyOr has that flame in your heart done gone out

A fella is a creature that, that has always been strangeWhen you think you're sure of one He’d gone and made a change

Is you is or is you ain't my babyMaybe baby found somebody newOr is my baby still my baby true

MUCH OBLIGED FOR YOUR ATTENTION! ANY QUESTIONS? I WILL BE PLEASED TO ANSWER!