Markie Rhodes
August 28, 2007
Chapter 2: What Are the Distinctive Features of African American English?
Today, it is becoming a widely accepted fact that African American English is a rule-governed variety of speech containing several distinctive characteristics that separate it from Standard English. These differences arise in categories such as vocabulary, slang, historical words to the culture, novel meanings, obscenities, pronunciation, spelling, grammar, rhetoric, and discourse strategies.
The vocabulary of AAE contains several words that are unique to West African languages. For example, Smitherman discusses several examples when he lists, “ the traditional black church (e.g., git the spirit), black music (e.g., funky), and racial oppression (e.g., the Man)” (20.) These sets of words are the first of many aspects of AAE that make it distinct.
Similar to the vocabulary of AAE is the choice of slang. Once again, there are several phrases unique to AAE that are not used in Standard English. As stated in the text, these phrases include, “ hat up (‘leave’), lame (‘out of step’), and nickel n’ dime (‘petty’)” (20.) These phrases are generated from multiple outlets in the culture including famous Hip Hop music. There are also several “historically black words” said to “extend across generational, geographical, and social boundaries in African America” (23.) These words provide further insight into many defining characteristics of African American lifestyles. Some of the examples listed included, “ ashy (‘dry skin’) and suck teeth ( ‘to suck air through the teeth to express annoyance’)” (23.) These terms differ from slang in that they are more widely accepted among the culture. In conjunction with these historical words are words that AAE has assigned novel meanings to. These words cannot be found in the English Dictionary and often baffle teachers when used by students for class writing assignments. However, there are several words and phrases that most teachers will not encounter in their students’ writing assignments. Some of these words include what Standard English would label obscenities.
Obscenities in African American English can often be used with a different connotation than obscenities belonging to Standard English. Smitherman discussed in the text, “ the notorious AAE term muthafucka (or mutha or M.F.). Although it can sting like a curse word (that no good muthafucka), it can also express admiration (he a bad muthafucka) or add weight to a statement (you muthafuckin right)” (24). The important thing to understand when encountering these phrases is that many people do not consider them to be obscene.
Pronunciation of syllables and vowels is another unique aspect of AAE. When making vowel sounds there are several differences in the way ing/ink endings are pronounced along with complex vowels and the “E/i” sound. There are also variations with consonants such as “Th”, “r”, “l”, “V” and “Z”, “Str”, “Ing”, consonant clusters, and adjacent consonants. Pronunciation also has a dramatic effect on spelling patterns. Many words in AAE are spelled in the same manner that they are pronounced rather than by Standard English rules. The example listed in the text stated, “The –er ending on words with two or more syllables is spelled –a, -uh, or –ah, as in brotha (‘brother’)” (27.) These alternate methods of spelling commonly appear in formal writing assignments.
Grammar is yet another important distinction of AAE. There are several unique methods of using nouns, pronouns, adjectives, adverbs, verbs, and sentence patterns. Various linguists have been able to establish eight principles to keep in mind when studying AAE grammar. First of all, AAE is becoming streamlined in the United States. Second, AAE depends less on word endings and more on context. Third, AAE uses a verb system that emphasizes how something happened instead of when. Fourth, there are parallels in the languages spoken by West Africans before slavery. Fifth, many grammatical forms are assigned different meanings. Sixth, use of AAE varies according to demographic characteristics of a person. Seventh, AAE is currently in a transitional stage in convergence with Standard English. Finally, AAE grammatical features should not be considered errors because they conform to a different set of standards than implied by Standard English. (29). Surprisingly, when composing essays many students still conform to Standard English rules. Therefore, it may not be as likely that a teacher will observe this grammar in formal writing. However, it is extremely common for teachers to observe AAE rhetoric in writing.
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2 comments:
When i first read the article about African American English i have to admit that i was offended. Instead of becoming upset i kept an open mind. As a result, i learned some important information that i did not know. I had no idea that there were studies on this subject, and that it was a class taught at other universities as well. Although i do not agree entirely with most of the assumptions the research suggest, i do find that there are some legitimate points. Have anyone else heard about African American English before taking this class?
I had heard of it as Ebonics, but not AAE. I thought that the article was not approaching it from the best point, but that it made interesting observations. I do not agree, however, with many of the articles that state if you disagree you are racist. This only perpetuates the problem and turns off discussion of the topic. Plus, I can speak "hick" which I see as a dialect, not a language. While hick is no where near the level of AAE, this article and others creates a problem with this.
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