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African English

Background of African English


- African English developed from a
pidgin that resulted from the condition
of the slave trade.
- African slave trade and European
imperialism.
- Abolition of slave trade.

Phonolog
y

Consonants
1. Clusters at the ends of wordsconsonant cluster is reduced variably
and systematically.
a. If the next words starts with a
consonant, it is more likely reduced
Ex. (west side- wes side
b. If the next word starts with vowels
there is no reduction
Ex. West end- west end

2. The th sounds- represents both


voiced and unvoiced
a. BEGINNING OF A WORD
-voiced sound th becomes d
-unvoiced sound th becomes t but
when followed by r it becomes f
b. WITHIN A WORD
-unvoiced sound th is pronounced as
f
-voiced sound th becomes v

c. END OF A WORD
-unvoiced sound th is pronounced as
f but when the preceeding sound is
nasals (n,m) it is pronounced as t
3. The sounds of l and r
-l and r undergo a process called
vocalization
Ex. Sister- sistuh
-r is not pronounced after the vowel of
o and u
Ex. Door- doe

4. l and r deletion- it is the rule of


deleting r and I everywhere.
Ex. Guard-god, sore-saw, tall-hoe, helphep
VOWELS
1. Front vowels like i and e often
has identical pronunciation
Ex. bin-Ben, pin-pen

Lexicon and
Semantics

A study of lexicon and semantics of AE should


reveal information about the type of meaning
that is associated with lexical items (words and
phrases) in the language system and it should
also reveal information about unique meaning in
the variety.
The lexicon is the repository for words and
phrases in a language system, and semantics
refers to the ways in which sounds and meanings
are related.

Three Reviews of the Lexicon


AE
1. list of lexical items that occur in the

variety
2. list of lexical items that are subdivided
into thematic topics
3. as a repository of words, distinct from
slang that are part of African American
community.

African Lexicons and


Meanings

Ashy- whitish coloration of black skin due to exposure to the Hawk


Kitchen- the hair at the nape of the neck which is inclined to be very kinky
Saditty- uppity-acting black who put on airs
CrowJane- a black or dark complexioned woman
Anigh- close or near
Pot liquor- juice from greens
Cuz, play sister- outsiders
The man- policeman
Throw some blows- to fight
Funeralize conduct- funeral services
Manish/womanish- characteristics of being a man.

Syntax of African
American English

Tense and Aspect Phases


or
Tenses
of
AAVE
Phases/Tenses of AAVE
Phase

Example
Pre-recent
I been bought it
Recent
I done buy ita
Past
Pre-present
I did buy it
Past Inceptive
I do buy it
Present
I be buying it
Immediate
I'm a-buy it
I'm a-gonna buy
Future
Post-immediate
it
Indefinite future I gonna buy it

-He been done work.


"he finished work a long time ago"
-He done been work.
"until recently, he worked over a long period
of time"

The aspect-marking form of been or BIN is


stressed and semantically distinct from the
unstressed form:

-She BIN running ('She has been running for a


long time')
-She been running ('She has been running').

BEEN used with Stative Verbs or Gerund


Forms
Rickford (1999) suggests that a better
translation when used with stative verbs is "for a
long
Fortime".
instance, in response to "I like your new
dress", one might hear Oh, I been had this
dress, meaning that the speaker has had the
dress for a long time and that it isn't new.
Ex.
I been bought her clothes(I bought her clothes a
long time ago)
I been buying her clothes(Ive been buying her
clothes for a long time)

AAVE grammatical aspects


Standard English
Aspect
Example
meaning
He works
Habitual/continuati He be working
frequently (or
ve aspect
Tuesdays.
habitually) on
Tuesdays.
Intensified
He is always
continuative
He stay working.
working.
(habitual)
Intensified
He steady
He keeps on
continuative (not
working.
working.
habitual)
Perfect
He been
He has been
progressive
working.
working.
He finna go to
He is about to go
Irrealis

Negation
The word ain't is used as a general negative indicator. Some speakers of AAVE use ain't
instead of don't, doesn't and didn't.
Ex.I aint know that. (I dont know that.)
.

Negative Concord is popularly called


"double negation". If the sentence is
negative, all negatable forms are negated.
Ex. I dont want none. (I want something.)

In a negative construction, an indefinite pronoun such as nobody or nothing can be inverted with the negative verb.
Ex. Dont nobody know the answer. (Nobody doesnt know the answer.)

Other Grammatical Characteristics


The copula be in the present tense is often
dropped, as in Russian, Hebrew, Arabic and
other languages.
Ex. You crazy. (You are crazy.)

There is no -s ending in the present tense


third person singular.
Ex. She write poetry. (She writes poetry.)
The phenomenon is also observed in questions.
Ex. Who you? (Who are you?)
Possessive case is inferable from adjacency.
This results to simplification of grammatical
structures.
Ex. My momma new house. ( My mothers
new house.)

Reporters:

Gargar, Dannah Jane


Honor, Mary Joyce
Lopez, Ruthwell
Monsanto, Glenise Ann
Montero, Jouanna Marie
Undalok, Rachelle Jane
Villarin, Bebe Gemma

Thank you
for listening

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