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!